I recall this sales person telling me about a prospect he hadn’t been able to connect with for two weeks, we owed prospect a proposal and were to schedule a demo as part of delivery. My sales person had called probably 10 times in two weeks, never leaving a message for about 7 of those calls and only leaving a message of “Call me when you get a chance.” for remain 3 calls. Guess what? The prospect never got chance to return call.

I’m not an expert on use of voicemail. I just know that you need to communicate with people if you need something to happen. People are on move and some people are never at their desk. Leave a message that is meaningful if you call someone and get their voicemail. If you need something, ask for it. If it’s not urgent, say so. If it’s urgent, make it clear. If you need to speak directly, state why and ask for best time to call. Voicemail is a reality of business. I’m still not sure if I like it or not.

Telephone

No matter how inquiry comes in ALWAYS try to phone person. If they ask only to be contacted by email you should honour that. But if they email, or fill out an online form and include their phone number it means they are willing to be called. So call them. Make friends. Invite them to be your guests. You don't have to be a "closer" or arm twister. Simply call them back and use most persuasive words, "May I help you?" You'll be surprised as how easy it is.

Keep records

The great majority of guests do not rent after a single email or phone call. They have a general interest, they look around over time, they talk with people, they get side tracked considering other locations and then, maybe they decide to go to your area. It might be a day or a week, a month or years. Wise sales people keep a long list of everyone who has ever inquired. These are your leads and they are money in bank.

One word of advice though that you have to be careful of is data protection act. So please make sure you contact guest and say to them is it okay if I keep your details on file, or have a disclaimer in your emails or literature that way guest knows that you are holding confidential information on them. I don't know how it works in Europe but in UK data protection is a legal act - and you can personally be held responsible for missing or leaked data.