I recently listened to Melinda Hennings audiotape entitled “Voice Mail Magic”. This is a terrific example of signaling that you are genuinely interested in a win-win relationship with a prospective customer.
 
   Here’s the gist of her “Voice Mail Magic” strategy. Start with the premise that your first few telephone calls to a prospect are marketing, not sales. For this reason, schedule these calls outside of the prospect’s normal business hours to increase the likelihood you will get voice mail. Voice mail is not intrusive; the prospect can listen to it when he or she has the time. Cold calls that get through are intrusive and often push the prospect into a defensive posture. The first voice mail message should identify you and give a brief explanation of what you have to offer the prospect. Subsequent messages should remain brief but continue to add details of how your offering will benefit the prospect-show that you have done you homework. In each message request a return call but don’t expect one. Persist in leaving messages that help the prospect learn more and more about how you might help them. Space the messages based on the pace of the prospect’s industry. If the time between messages is too long, you will signal that they are not a priority to you and what you have to offer is not timely and important.
  
   This strategy sends a number of clear signals to the prospective customer.  You respect their time but are persistent because you genuinely believe you have something of value to offer them. Because each successive call adds to important details, you gain credibility. Because your messages are succinct, progressive and persistent, you are increasingly seen as authentic, that is, as someone who is what they say they are. In today’s world most sales situation start off with distrust or suspicious trust and struggle to get past this point. Henning’s process uses voice mail to move the relationship up the trust scale before selling takes place. It moves the customer from a defensive or adversarial stance to one where they are hopeful that you are what you say you are-because they see what’s in it for them. They can imagine a win-win business relationship. The act of becoming “hopeful” is an important step is the progression of trust and when trust is established, a customer can imagine a win-win business relationship.
 

Posted by John Todor on Saturday, July 15th, 2006 at 5:51 am.