COLD CALL VOICEMAIL AND EMAIL

STRATEGIES THAT WORK

Michael Pedone
CEO & Founder
SalesBuzz.com

Gabe Larsen
Director InsideSales.com
Momentum Strategy Team
InsideSales.com
 Page 2

Introduction

At the close of 2014, the business world to a 2014 InsideSales.com study on opti- by eliminating repetitive tasks for your
was abuzz with speculation on the impli- mizing business communications. And, sales reps.
cations of a decision made by the world’s according to a DiscoverOrg survey of more
largest softdrink maker. But if you wanted than 1,000 senior executives, 75% of deci- You’ll also learn how to use email and
to call a contact at Coca-Cola Co. to dis- sion-makers have taken an appointment voicemail together as a powerful one-two
cuss the news, you wouldn’t be able to or attended an event based on an unex- punch. Cold email templates are provided.
leave a message at the beep. pected sales call or email.
Let’s dive in. It should be a lot of fun.
Coca-Cola ditched their voicemail system. Voicemail is certainly still relevant, but
as the art of leaving a voicemail evolves
It was the dial tone-heard-round-the-world, and integrates with email strategy, cold
and it spun the pundits into a frenzied email techniques draw deserved atten-
debate on the merits and value of voice- tion as well.
mail in today’s marketing, with many
arguing that voicemail is antiquated and In this ebook, you will learn why voicemails
unnecessary. In fact, recent statistics from fail and how understanding the archi-
Forbes claim that 80% of callers sent to tecture and objectives of your voicemail
voicemail do not leave messages because messaging enables you to drive more
they don’t think they’ll be heard. prospecting success and advance your
sales calls. You’ll also find proven voicemail
InsideSales.com research shows they’re templates you can start using today.
dead wrong.
You will discover how breakthrough
61% of executives say they are likely to technology can enhance your voicemail
respond to voicemail at work, according campaigns and increase your results

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 Page 3

Table of Contents

Introduction2 Published by InsideSales.com

1712 South East Bay Blvd. Suite 100
About the Authors 4
Provo, Utah 84606
Why Voicemails Fail and How to Fix Them 5 877-798-9633
The Reasons Voicemails Fail�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������5
Voicemail Basics��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������6 Copyright © 2016 InsideSales.com / 02v2
There are at Least Two Kinds of Voicemail���������������������������������������������������������7 All Rights Reserved
Make the Prospect More Likely to Take Your Call���������������������������������������������9
Advance the Sales Call���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������9
The Cold Call Template �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������10

Cold Call Templates 10

The Referral Template ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 11
The Competition Template�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������12
Email Takes Cold-Call Voicemails to the Next Level����������������������������������������13
Practice, Practice, Practice������������������������������������������������������������������������������������15

3 Tech Tactics for Cold Call Voicemail & Email Strategies 16

Tactic #1: Automate Your Voicemail Messages������������������������������������������������17
Tactic #2 Optimize Your Email & Track Response�������������������������������������������20
Tactic #3: Evaluate Your Effectiveness with Metrics���������������������������������������24

Summary & Credits 26

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 Page 4

About the Authors

Michael Gabe Larsen

Pedone Director InsideSales.com
Momentum Strategy
CEO and Founder
Team
SalesBuzz.com
InsideSales.com
—
—
www.salesbuzz.com
www.insidesales.com/
consulting

Michael Pedone shows SMB & Enterprise level An expert in behavioral economic principles
inside sales teams how to eliminate call reluc- and sales acceleration, Gabe Larsen has con-
tance and improve their phone prospecting, tributed his talent to Gallup and Goldman
qualifying, presenting and closing skills. He Sachs, where he served for years as a consult-
doesn’t train inside sales teams. He makes ing expert and derivatives analyst. Passionate
them better by showing them a step-by-step about providing technically enhanced consult-
“sales process” that can be used in any B2B ing for companies wanting to improve their
sales cycle.  people and processes, Gabe Larsen joined
InsideSales.com in 2013 as the Director of
Michael has 20+ years experience working in the ISDC consulting division. With his unique
straight commission sales and understands blend of technical ‘know-how’ and his elo-
first-hand the challenges sales people face quent understanding of what drives human
everyday when selling by phone. His system decision-making behavior, Gabe’s publica-
teaches how to be proactive, not reactive. tions and live webinars offer valuable insight
Some of the top sales trainers in the world into lead generation, social selling and sales
recommend Michael Pedone and his com- model optimization.
pany, SalesBuzz.com.

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 Page 5

Why Voicemails Fail and

How to Fix Them

Despite the industry naysayers, voicemail No. 1, then your reps step right into prob-
is alive and well, but your sales reps are lem No. 2, potentially even doing more Unrehearsed Talking Points
blowing this opportunity in two ways. damage to your bottom line than if they’d Filler words (“like,” “um,” “just,” etc.) leave
never left a message in the first place. reps sounding unsure as they bumble
1 – They are not leaving a message at all through their talking points.
The Reasons
Adam Boalt, founder of LiveAnswer, On the flipside, too many reps rehearse
puts the voicemail abandonment rate at
Voicemails Fail an unnatural script. This results in voice-
between 50% and 75%. Unprepared Salesperson mails that sound more like recitations than
Too many salespeople pick up the phone, conversations.
“Everyone is looking for instant gratifica- are directed to voicemail, say whatever
tion, and if you can’t provide that they’ll comes to mind, and then wonder why no No Compelling Reason to
simply hang up. Companies are losing one calls back. If unprepared to leave a Call Back Given
business opportunities because people message, reps leave ramblings that are Often sales reps simply fail to create a
are not leaving messages.” easily deleted. compelling reason for a prospect to call
back. No attention is given to the pros-
2 – They are leaving messages that Unclear Objective pect’s pain points. Too many voicemails
kill sales. Your objectives change based on the type sound like this:
of voicemails you leave and at what point
Problem No. 1 is easily solved, right? in the sales process you leave them. If “Hey, Sharon. This is Paul. Just checking in
Simply instruct your reps to leave more reps cannot articulate the objective of the to see if you had a chance to think about
voicemails. voicemail, they will not create a compelling our proposal.”
reason for a prospect to call back. Reps
But if you don’t strategically fix problem without objectives leave vague voicemails It’s not a voicemail that intrigues or
that don’t merit response. begs response.

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 Page 6

Why Voicemails Fail and

How to Fix Them

Voicemail Basics Number of Overall Attempts

These voicemail fails need addressing
at the most fundamental level — voice-
mail basics. 5000
4472
4500
There are a few statistics to keep in

Number of Companies
mind that frame the importance of this 4000
understanding. 3500
• 80% of calls go to voicemail, and
3000
90% of first-time voicemails are
2329
never returned. 2500
• The average voicemail response 2000
rate is 4.8%.
• The average sales rep will only make 1500
968
between 1.7 and 2.1 attempts to 1000
reach a prospect by phone before 495
500 263 193 141 296
they give up. 102 87 54 51 44 43
• For sales organizations that rely on 0
lead generation to create sales, 8-12 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 >12
contact attempts over a 10-14 day
period is the optimal strategy to
Number of Overall Attempts
maximize the value of every lead.
• A well-crafted voicemail can improve
response rates by 3% to 22%.

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 Page 7

Why Voicemails Fail and

How to Fix Them

There are at Least Two Each type of voicemail has its own
eBook
objective. It is important for reps to under-
Kinds of Voicemail stand the kind of message they leave
depends of where their prospect is in the
sales process.
Cold Call – an unsolicited telephone
call to a prospect who has not previ- Whether you think of sales in analogous
ously expressed an interest in the terms of a battlefront, a sports field or
products or services being offered. space exploration, knowing your landscape
is crucial.
Warm Call – a call made to a pros-
pect who has shown an interest in Understanding the landscape of the type
your product or organization. They of call you are making, the type of voice-
may have filled out a web form, mail you will be leaving, and which path to
asked about pricing or responded take as you advance a prospect down the
to an email. sales funnel will improve the odds of get-
ting a callback.
Achieve 50–70%
Close Rates

Download Now

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 Page 8

Why Voicemails Fail and

How to Fix Them

First-time voicemail Follow-up voicemail

If you ask the question – “What are the two
types of voicemails?” – you’ll usually receive
the standard answer: “Warm and cold.” Objective(s): Objective:
• Get a callback AND advance • Advance the sales call
Wrong.
the sales call • Be persistent without
Regardless of whether you are calling a • Make the prospect more likely to being a pest
prospect for the first time in a cold call take your next call
scenario, or you are following up on a Avoid these blunders and practice
warm lead for the first time, you still have Avoid clichéd sales lines: lines that have a little more pizazz:
a first-time phone contact, which very
often results in a first-time voicemail. Any
other voicemail left after that first message • “Please call me back at your • “I was calling to follow up on
is a follow-up voicemail. These are the two earliest convenience.” the proposal.”
types of voicemails reps should master. • “I am calling to see if you had any
The prep work is different for each. questions.”
• “I just wanted to make sure you
If you make a first call attempt and leave got my email.”
a message, your next call to the same
• “The reason for my follow-up
prospect is still classified as a first-time
was to see if you had come
voicemail. A call does not qualify for a fol-
to a decision.”
low-up voicemail until you have personally
spoken to the prospect at least once.

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 Page 9

Why Voicemails Fail and

How to Fix Them

Make the Prospect More Advance the Sales Call 1. This message is from a client who
needs help.
Likely to Take Your Call Many reps put too much emphasis on 2. This message is from a prospect who
If you leave a strategic and compelling simply getting a prospect to return their may be ready to move forward.
voicemail about challenges that impact call. These reps resort to techniques 3. This message is a sales call.
your prospects, they will be more inter- that can actually hurt their relationship
ested in calling you back. One universal with prospects and damage your brand’s If you decide to return the call, hoping it’s
truth about decision-makers is that they credibility. a client or a prospect, and you discover it
are busy. In all likelihood, something — a is a sales call, you are going to be annoyed.
meeting or an event — will preclude them For example, one popular voicemail tactic
from returning your call immediately, even is to call a prospect and leave a mes- No sales rep who is genuinely interested
though their interest may be piqued. sage with your first name, phone number, in advancing their abilities and accelerat-
say you have a question for them and ing their career should want their first
This pays off the next time you call. Per- then hang up. personal interaction with a prospect to be
haps you get the prospect’s gatekeeper. framed by annoyance.
The gatekeeper calls into the decision- Some advertising this strategy claim to
maker, “I have so-and-so on the line for have callback rates that push 95% -- but If you are netting a 95 percent callback
you.” The decision-maker is more likely to what they aren’t admitting is that callbacks rate, but frustrating your prospects 100
associate your name with your message for this kind of voicemail also cost you sub- percent of the time with your tactics, you
and say something like, “Yes, I want to stantially in terms of trust and credibility. are better off not calling in the first place.
talk to them. Put them on hold and I’ll be
right there.” Think about the receiving end of this voice- This is why leaving a voicemail that not
mail. If you are a C-level executive listening only gets a callback, but also advances the
Your first-time voicemail can prime your to this message, you are going to recognize sales call is imperative.
prospects for future conversations. three possibilities:

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 Page 10

Cold Call Templates

See it in action…
The following cold call templates can help
you do this with precision.
Hi Joan, this is Michael Pedone with Tips:
The Cold Call Template SalesBuzz.com.

Hi {Prospect’s Name} this is {Your Name} The word “avoid” intrigues your pros-
The reason for my call is that I have
with {Your Company}. pect and immediately allows you to
an idea on how to possibly help you
mention a common pain point they
avoid being rejected by gatekeepers
I’m calling because I have an idea on how can relate to.
in your sales calls.
to possibly help you avoid {specifics of
common pain} and wanted to see if it I wanted to see if it would make sense Other intriguing words include:
would make sense for us to have a quick for us to have a quick conversation to Cut, reduce, eliminate, prevent, solve,
conversation to find out more. find out a little bit more about what improve, enable, allow
we have to offer.
I can be reached at {Your Number}.
I can be reached at 888-123-4567. Write down your phone number as
Again, my name is {Your Name}, with {Your you say it. This ensures you are speak-
Company} at {Your Number}. Again, this is Michael Pedone with ing slowly enough for your prospect
SalesBuzz.com and my number is to write it down.
Thanks {Prospect’s Name}. 888-123-4567. Thanks Joan.

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 Page 11

Cold Call Templates

See it in action…
The Referral Template
Hi {Prospect’s Name}, this is {Your Name} Hi Warren, this is Michael Pedone with Tips:
with {Your Company}. AccountingXYZ.

I was speaking with {Referral Name} over Get your opinion

I was speaking with Jim Green over at
at {Referral’s Company Name} regarding TWorks3 regarding how we helped Industry research will enable you
how we helped him/her reduce {common him reduce costs associated with to pinpoint specific pain points
pain/concern} and he/she mentioned that Sarbox compliance, and he mentioned that will compel your prospects to
I should give you a call to get your opinion I should give you a call to get your call you back
on this strategy. opinion.
The best industry research will take
I can be reached at {Your Number}. I can be reached at 888-123-4567. into account firmographic, demo-
graphic, geographic, psychographic
Again, my name is {Your Name}, with {Your Again, this is Michael Pedone with and histographic considerations about
Company} at {Your Number}. AccountingXYZ and my number is your prospects.
888-123-4567.
Thanks {Prospect’s Name}.
Thanks Warren. Always thank
Be sure you always thank your pros-
pect for their time. Courtesy is
contagious, and your prospect appre-
ciates your politeness.

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 Page 12

Cold Call Templates

See it in action…
The Competition
Template
Hi Susan, this is Michael Pedone with Tips:
Hi {Prospect’s Name}, this is {Your Name} CloudTrackingXYZ.
with {Your Company}.
Recently helped
We recently helped MedNow,
We recently helped {Competitor 1}, {Com- DocOnCall and FixYouUp eliminate This is a powerful incentive for your
petitor 2} and {Competitor 3} avoid the stress of slammed office sched- prospect to call you back. C-level exec-
{common pain} while at the same time ules by mobilely optimizing their utives always want to know what their
{desired benefit} and wanted to see if this paperwork process, and wanted to competitors are doing.
might be something you would possibly see if this might be something you
be interested in knowing a little more would possibly be interested in know- Be authentic. Only reference compa-
about as well. ing a little more about as well. nies that you have truly worked with
and helped.
I can be reached at {Your Number}. I can be reached at 888-123-4567.

Again, my name is {Your Name}, with Again, this is Michael Pedone with Contact information
CloudTrackingXYZ and my number is Repeating your name, company infor-
{Your Company} at {Your Number}. 888-123-4567. mation and number at the end of the
call is crucial. No one likes to re-listen
Thanks Susan. to a voicemail to find contact info.

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 Page 13

Cold Call Templates

Email subject line stats

Using simple, direct words like

“Update” or “Intro” have a nearly
90% chance of being opened.

The most opened emails have sub-

ject lines with two words or less. On
Email Takes Cold-Call Voicemails to the Next Level average, these types of emails have
an open rate of 80%.
The InsideSales.com 2013 Optimizing Business Communication study found that the top
three communication mechanisms most likely to elicit a response at work are email, office Subject lines with 5 or more words
phone and cell phone — in that order. are the least opened — with a suc-
cess rate of less than 15%.
Sales reps are missing an important opportunity to connect with prospects if they do not
use these methods together. Email is one of the key ways to make sure that your voice- Stats courtesy of Vorsight research.
mail messages are heard.

In nearly all the CRMs sales organizations are using these days, the option is available to
create your own email templates. You should have a minimum of three email templates to
match the above voicemail templates — one for cold calls, one for referrals, and one for
the competition voicemail template.

Even though you have three templates, they should all have
the same subject line: Voicemail

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 Page 14

Cold Call Templates

Decision-makers are more likely to open

Email template example eBook
an email with the subject line “voicemail”
because they want to be sure they didn’t Hi {Prospect’s Name},
miss anything.
I just left you a message regarding
The most effective “voicemail” email tem- how we recently helped competitor
plates will follow the lead of the voicemails. 1, 2, and 3 eliminate {common pain}
and gain {desired benefit}. I wanted
For example, if you are referencing the to see if it makes sense for us to
competition voicemail template, your email have a quick conversation. I can be
should read: reached at {your number}.

Thanks,
{Your Name}

Optimize cold
calling efforts

Download Now

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 Page 15

Cold Call Templates

Practice, Practice, needs. The more natural and authentic

Tip
you sound in your recordings, the more
Practice likely your prospects are to trust you. Leave voicemails for yourself and
Even the best voicemail templates will be then listen to them. Hearing your
ineffective if their delivery fails. Reps who There are a lot of tools available to help recordings will give you a better
do not practice delivering these messages you use all of these communication mech- understanding of how the tone
before actually leaving them in a pros- anisms to your advantage and advance of your voice can be adjusted to
pect’s voicemail inbox will sound stilted your sales cold calls. Maximize your voice- reflect the urgency and intent of
and scripted. mail and email efforts by using technology your message.
to automate these communications
Remember that every actor who ever won and evaluate metrics that measure your
an Oscar also had a script. You need a effectiveness.
script and a playbook in order to succeed,
but you have to rehearse that script until it
feels and sounds natural.

In practicing your delivery of these voice-

Sales Acceleration Platform
mail templates, you can inject your own Dialing, emailing and motivating powered by predictive
personality and creativity to make these
approaches genuinely yours.
analytics and machine learning

The Brevet Group found that although 92%

of all customer interactions happen over See a Demo
the phone, only 13% of customers believe
that a salesperson can understand their

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 Page 16

3 Tech Tactics to Optimize Your

Cold Call Voicemail and Email Strategies

Data tells us that voicemail is indeed alive 61% of Executive Say They Are Likely to
and well. In fact, we recently conducted Respond to Voicemail and 87% to Email
an Optimizing Business Communication
study that set out, in part, to understand 100%
87% 87%
the preferred communication channels of 90%
80%
78% 78%

business professionals. Most interested in 70% 61%

the response from busy decision-makers 60%
43%
50% 39%
in the executive suite, we found that 61% 40%
35%
of senior executives said they are likely to 30% 23% 22%
14%
20%
respond to a voicemail. 87% said that they 10%
are likely to respond to an email. 0%
Email Text Mobile Office Voicemail LinkedIn Instant Facebook Twitter Fax Video Chat
Message Phone Phone Messaging
Now, of course, “likely to respond” and
actually responding are two different
things, but it is important to note that from More seasoned executives (ages 35-55) visual communications — like visual voice-
a self-reporting, psychological perspective self-report to prefer voicemail at higher mail programs where the content of a
busy decision-makers believe that they rates than decision-makers aged 24-35, voicemail is transcribed into a text mes-
would respond to voicemail messaging. who only preferred voicemail in favor of sage that appears on your mobile device
Facebook and instant messaging. The or is sent to your email.
We’ve already examined the powerful 24-35 subset self-reports their preferred
potential that lies in the combined efforts methods of communication to be mobile, Watching these business communication
of cold call voicemail messages and cold email and text. trends provides insights into how to maxi-
emails, and this strategy is supported by mize voicemail and email technology to get
InsideSales.com data on the impact of age Voicemail is not dying, but it is changing that “very likely” response from the busy
on preferred communication methods. and adapting to methods that incorporate decision-makers you hope to reach.

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 Page 17

3 Tech Tactics to Optimize Your

Cold Call Voicemail and Email Strategies

Tactic #1: Automate Your minutes a day — approximately 1/8 of their

eBook
entire workday — talking into somebody’s
Voicemail Messages answering machine. Increase the number
Every study we’ve ever done shows that of calls to 85 or 100 per day, and the time
voicemail works — and works even better sink only increases.
when planned, strategized, and made an
integral part of prospecting. Even with little As a result, many sales reps conclude that
to no optimization, leaving voicemail gets a the time investment simply isn’t worth the
3.5% to 5% response rate. That means that potential results.
for every 21 voicemails left, a rep gets 1
callback. With the right message, approach Automating the voicemail process, how-
and targets, the rate can go as high as ever, makes the time sink disappear.
10% to 12%.
Some readers might have a knee-jerk reac-
Despite the data-driven evidence that leav- tion to the idea of automating voicemail.
ing good voicemails pays off, voicemail When poorly executed, automated mes-
remains an underutilized prospecting tool sages can feel impersonal and scripted Align sales & marketing
for one simple reason: time. — making both sales reps and their buyers
shy away. However, using the techniques to boost revenue
It takes anywhere from 30 to 120 sec- discussed in this ebook moves your mes-
onds to leave a single voice message. If saging beyond obnoxious and impersonal,
a rep makes 60 calls a day, and 70% go and instead communicates real solutions Download Now
to voicemail, they’re spending 45 to 60 that can help your prospects.

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 Page 18

3 Tech Tactics to Optimize Your

Cold Call Voicemail and Email Strategies

For example, a business services company dials while sending the same clear, focused
Example
InsideSales.com consulted with was able message personalized to each client.
to nail this technique, netting high callback Hi {Prospect’s Name},
rates. As an organization that special- Using a dialer system, reps can record
ized in auditing compliance, they simply highly focused voicemails and then leave My name is Gabe Larsen with
did some research on their prospect list them with the simple click of a button. CompanyXYZ.
beforehand, reviewing each prospect’s The pre-recorded voice message feature
compliance statement online. They called we created at InsideSales.com saves reps I was reviewing your compliance
these prospects, leaving this automated even more time, allowing them to move statement online and would like to
voicemail message. onto their next call immediately after click- discuss it with you.
ing to leave a voicemail. As PowerDialer™
Two things made their campaign success- pulls the next best record, the voicemail for I can be reached at 888-123-4567.
ful. First, they used a solid cold calling the previous call is left quietly in the back-
technique, and secondly they were able ground. Eliminating the voicemail time sink Again, this is Gabe Larsen with
to leave a lot of automated messages in gives reps freedom to do what they do CompanyXYZ and my number is
a short amount of time, maximizing their best—forge connections and make sales. 888-123-4567.

Thanks.

“We grew revenues 3x by driving call volumes and

improving dial-to-connect rates by 37 percent.”
– Russ Hearl, VP Worldwide Sales Development

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 Page 19

3 Tech Tactics to Optimize Your

Cold Call Voicemail and Email Strategies

52
Dials a Day
Depending on the role and the expecta-
tion of their organization, sales reps might
make anywhere from 25 to 80 dials a day.
Of the 52 calls an inside sales rep makes, 8
will result in an actual connection. Outside
of the connections, there will be 44 oppor-
Research from the Bridge Group puts tunities to leave a voicemail. Assuming the
the average at 52 calls per day. Using that voicemails last at least 120 seconds, auto-
number as a baseline, we can see how a mated messaging saves a rep 7.33 hours

8
Contacts
good automated voice message system
fuels productivity.
of productivity over the course of a week.
Over the course of a month, PowerDialer™
saves a rep 29.333 hours.

Additional benefits of a voice message manager…

44
Voicemail Clarity: Using automated messaging ensures that your message sounds as crisp,
Opportunities clear and enthusiastic at 5:30 p.m. as it does at 8 a.m.

Conciseness: Automated voice messaging ensures you don’t ramble. Data shows
voicemails that fall between 18-30 seconds receive the most callbacks. Anything
Hours Saved over 30 seconds and the callback rate drops.
In a Month

29.333
Creativity: A voice message manager tool allows you to merge recordings. For
example, you might leave a voice message that incorporates a 15-second customer
testimonial directly into your script.

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 Page 20

3 Tech Tactics to Optimize Your

Cold Call Voicemail and Email Strategies

Tip

+ +
Don’t dismiss the combined
power of email and voicemail.

Data gathered from companies

using Vision reveals that prospects
Who is Interested? When to Contact? What Content?
are more likely to click through on
links in email messages when the
Tactic #2 Optimize Your Email & Track Response email message was referenced in
a voicemail.
The first half of this ebook clarifies how what content to offer them. Vision, a pat-
email and voicemail can work in concert ented, enterprise-grade technology by
to make your prospects more likely to InsideSales.com provides these power-
respond to your cold call/email message. ful insights.
Of course, one of the holy grails of sales
is identifying genuine engagement and Vision tracks every sales email and pro-
buying signals. Pinpointing who is engaged vides detailed reports on email opens, file or two after your original call, you would
and knowing when to contact them and downloads, message forwards and website receive a Vision alert and could pull that
what content to share with them are valu- visits. When prospects interact with email, prospect to the top of your dialer.
able insights that all sales teams need. Vision sends actionable, real-time alerts.
This technology enables you to reach out
Email tracking software can show you So, if you left a cold call voicemail for your to them at just the right moment when
which prospects are the most engaged, prospect, followed it up with an email, and they are sitting in front of their computer,
the best times to reach out to them, and your prospect opened the email an hour thinking about you and have time to talk.

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 Page 21

3 Tech Tactics to Optimize Your

Cold Call Voicemail and Email Strategies
Here are a few email templates you can
use with email tracking software:
Cold email template example

Cold Email Template Subject Line: 10 minutes to get a 27% increase in revenue

Cold emails that provide prospects with an Hi {Prospect’s First Name},

enticing offer net higher open rates than
those that feel generic and impersonal. A I have an idea that can be explained in 10 minutes that can get {Prospect’s Com-
simple call-to-action resonates with read- pany Name} its next customers.
ers. Once you receive a Vision alert that
your email was received and opened, you I recently used this idea to help a client {SaaS Company/Competitor} see an imme-
can confidently call your prospect, knowing diate 27% lift in business.
your offer is top-of-mind.
{Prospect’s First Name}, let’s schedule a quick 10-minute call so I can share this
strategy with you.

I can be reached at {Your Number}.

When is best for you?

Thanks,
{Your Name}

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 Page 22

3 Tech Tactics to Optimize Your

Cold Call Voicemail and Email Strategies

Offer Email Template Offer email template example

Emails that provide your prospects with additional resources can Subject Line: LinkedIn Job Posting
help advance your buyer’s journey. 50% to 70% of the buying Hi {Prospect’s Name},
process is often completed before a prospect engages with a
salesperson. Vision provides actionable insights when your offer I saw on LinkedIn that {Prospect’s Company Name} is
links are clicked or your attachments are downloaded. These looking to expand its inside sales team. We are the world
alerts provide insight into your buyer’s journey of self-education, leaders in sales acceleration technology. I’m reaching out to
helping you know the right time to reach out with additional infor- see if you’re the most appropriate person to have a conver-
mation and resources. sation about our platform and how you can increase your
revenue by 30% in 90 days.

I am available next week at {two times you are available},

Absolute Automation and can be reached at {Your Number}. What does your cal-
endar look like?
Email Logger & Contact Creator for Salesforce
®

Thanks,
{Your Name}

P.S. I’ve attached a free ebook about building a world-class

sales team that you might find interesting.
Get it Now

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 Page 23

3 Tech Tactics to Optimize Your

Cold Call Voicemail and Email Strategies

Follow-up Email Follow-up email template example

Template
Hi {Prospect’s Name},
Sometimes when connecting on a cold
call, a prospect might ask you to follow Last time we talked, you requested I get in touch in {time frame}. I may be a bit
up with them again at a later date. If they early, but I figured it’d be worth checking in.
postpone connecting for months at a time,
it can be a good indicator that they need Have you given any additional thought to our conversation about {common pain
more nurturing via email before they are point}? I’d be happy to discuss some solutions with you and answer any questions.
ready to engage in a conversation. Vision
alerts can help you see how your prospect What does your calendar look like?
interacts with your email drip campaign.
When you notice that he or she is opening Thanks,
your emails, clicking your links, and down- {Your Name}
loading your attachments, it can be a good
indicator that a specific, targeted follow-up
is due, even if the time frame established
in your original call has not lapsed.

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 Page 24

3 Tech Tactics to Optimize Your

Cold Call Voicemail and Email Strategies

Tactic #3: Evaluate Your

Effectiveness with
Metrics
If the performance of even the best voice
and email messaging strategies and tools
isn’t measured and evaluated, it is difficult
to determine their effectiveness.

Sales acceleration technologies, like

PowerDialer and Vision, enable reps and
managers to pull reports that provide valu-
able sales insights. The reports also reveal
useful data that can help target reps’
efforts and drive sales.

“Without Vision our inside sales team would feel like

they’re flying blind. They use it for everything to help
close their deals at the end of the quarter.”
– April Larsen, Sr. Director, Sales Systems & Processes

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 Page 25

3 Tech Tactics to Optimize Your

Cold Call Voicemail and Email Strategies
Here are some data-driven best practices you can use to guide your voicemail and email strategies:

Voicemail strategies Email strategies

• To maximize call-to-contact ratios you should call • Emails sent early morning and/or late night = maximize
between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m., as well as 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., open rates.
on Wednesday and Thursday. • Some data suggests many execs are viewing email on
• Clearly label and organize the prerecorded messages the weekends.
in your platform’s message library to ensure you can • “Re:” in an email subject line generates a good open
find the right message at the right time. response; “Dear” does not.
• Adding additional recipients in the carbon copy helps
Keep in mind: boost open rates.
• Industry research suggests 1/3 of emails are being
• 92% of all customer interactions happen over the read on mobile devices — subject lines seen on such
phone, according to The Brevet Group. devices only utilize 35 characters.
• 80% of sales require 5 follow-up calls after a first
meeting. 44% of sales reps give up after one follow-up. Keep in mind:

• Some email tracking technologies, like Vision, do

not require any CRM to work. They can work as
standalone solutions.
• Regular audits of email performance increase
forecast accuracy.

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 Page 26

Summary & Credits

Armed with the proven cold call voicemail and email strategies dis- CONTENT
cussed in this ebook, you are ready to begin implementing what you
Michael Pedone |
have learned.
SalesBuzz.com

Voicemail is a valuable but underutilized sales tool. Implementing a Gabe Larsen |

successful cold call voicemail strategy and automating it maximizes InsideSales.com
productivity and advances the sales process.
WRITER
Highly focused, professional voicemails are delivered by reps who have
Chelsi Linderman |
prepared and practiced their talking points. These voicemails become
even more effective when enhanced with targeted emails.
EDITOR

Email messages that are referenced in voicemail messages, and vice Leo Dirr |
versa, yield higher response rates. Email tracking technology acceler-
ates the sales cycle with actionable sales insights. DESIGNER

Scott Humphries |
For a more in-depth discussion of the best practices shared in this
ebook, watch the webinar featuring Michael Pedone of SalesBuzz.com
and Gabe Larsen of InsideSales.com, available here.

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