BREAKING THE VOICE MAIL BARRIERWritten by C.J.Hayden
Even if you never place a cold call, you still have to reach people by phone. That customer who was so interested last month never called you back, and now you must call her. You call once, twice, three times, but you can't get her in person. How can you manage to close a sale if all you ever get is voice mail? Doing business in age of voice mail can be extremely frustrating. While it is true that some people leave their voice mail on all time, you can sometimes get through by calling off hours. Try calling before 8:30 or after 5:30. You may also find people at their desks during lunch hour. So should you keep calling or leave a message? Actually, you should do both. Assume that most people won't call you back, so just keep right on calling them. Josiane Feigon, principal of telesales training and coaching company, Telesmart Communications (www.tele-smart.com), suggests that you try pressing "0" or "0"# to transfer to receptionist. That way you can verify that person you are trying to reach is still in same job position, and find out when they are expected to be in. Whether you reach your prospects or not, never make them wrong for not returning your calls. Rather than saying, "I haven't heard from you," let them know you are eager to speak with them, and wanted to try again while you were in your office. Feigon recommends, "As a rule, try not to leave any more than three voice mail messages over a 10-day period of time and then lay off for a month." Speaker and trainer Melinda Henning of Doing Business by Phone (www.unforgettablelearning.com) says that way to deal with voice mail is to use it as an advertising medium. In other words, leave a voice mail commercial. Especially if you are cold calling, Melinda suggests that you compose a series of different commercials, each one revealing some new and interesting fact about your business, and another reason for someone to speak with you.
| | Advantages of EmailWritten by Scott F. Geld
Email has changed way we do business. Sure, people complain about amount of Email they receive. But when all is said and done, using Email has impacted business in a positive way and has edge over other methods of communication. Here are five advantages of using Email: Managing Email is Easy You can manage all your correspondence on screen and so can your customers. Your proposal can be answered, revised, stored, and sent to others, all without reams of paper involved. Email is Fast Mail is delivered instantly...from your office to anywhere in world. No other method of delivery can provide this service. Timely buying and selling decisions can be made in a heartbeat. Email is Inexpensive Compared to telephone calls, faxes, or over night courier service, Email is less expensive. Email is Easy to Filter The subject line on an Email makes it easy to prioritize messages. The reader can identify ritical correspondence quickly and dealt with it immediately. Unlike regular mail which needs to be opened and reviewed, or voice mail which requires you to either listen to or scan all your messages for those that require immediate attention.
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