To be totally honest, when you start your own small business you aren’t doing it to waste your time on the telephone cold calling. Unfortunately somebody needs to follow up on your leads and this often falls to you. You spend 2 hours here, 1 hour there and suddenly it’s the end of the afternoon and you have 3 voicemails on your phone but no new customers. However, there is a better way!

Whilst cold calling can feel productive, in reality most calls will not go through. Some will go to voicemail and you’ll leave them a long-winded message you don’t really want to leave. A few may pick up but half of these will say they aren’t interested before you’ve finished your first sentence. This is where a ringless voicemail service can help small businesses save time by reaching leads without having to spend hours making individual calls.

You’ll be spending a lot of time waiting for the phone to ring, looking up new numbers and trying to psych yourself up after being hung up on rudely.

If you have a large company with a call centre it won’t matter too much as you’ll be able to absorb the cost. However, if you’re a small business and you’ve also got to do payroll, sort your website and reply to customer emails you’ll find it painful. Every hour you’re spending on cold calling is an hour you could be spending serving your existing customers.

The Maths Don’t Add Up

Let’s do some quick maths. Let’s say you make 50 calls in an hour (this is on the high side). 8 people answer and 2 of these are mildly interested. You spend 20 minutes following up with these 2 people. So in total you’ve got 2 warm conversations.

Over a week this could give you 10 warm leads from 5 hours of work. However, your time isn’t free. If you value your time at $50/hour this has now cost you $250 to get 10 maybe’s. This isn’t too bad.

The problem with cold calling is that most of your time is spent on people who won’t pick up. However, if you could get rid of this completely and only call people who responded you’d have a completely different outcome.

What Is A Ringless Voicemail Service?

A ringless voicemail service allows you to leave a pre-recorded message to someone’s voicemail. They won’t be disturbed by their phone ringing and will simply get a small notification and listen to your message when they can.

This means you don’t have to wait for your call to go through. You won’t get hung up on. You can record your message once, upload your list of people and let the system do all the work whilst you do something useful such as have your lunch.

People will also be in a better mood. Nobody likes their phone buzzing when they’re having their meal. Leaving them a calm voicemail they can listen to when they want will seem less pushy and therefore they’re more likely to listen. If your message is good they’ll give you a call back. You’ve essentially made them a warm lead without having to dial a single number.

How Can Voicemail Drop Software Save You Time?

The actual sending of the messages is one thing but the software itself is the next. A voicemail drop service is your control panel. You upload your contacts, choose/record your message and set a time to send.

I love that this is very simple. You’re not learning a complicated system. For most small businesses it’s as simple as sending a mass email. The difference is your message will go into their voicemail which people generally pay more attention to.

A good service will also show you how many people you’ve dropped, how many have called back and which numbers didn’t work. This is more important than you might think. Removing bad numbers will save you wasting your time next time. Some services will even allow you to schedule by time zone so your message won’t go through at 6am for someone on the other side of the country.

Who Can Benefit?

Sales staff aren’t the only ones who benefit from using drops.

A roofing contractor can follow up on quotes. A dental practice can remind patients they’re due a cleaning. A real estate agent can inform previous clients of new listings. A gym owner can remind inactive members to come back. A local accountant can remind their clients about tax deadlines.

As you can see they’re all people who know who you are or have some reason to listen. This is where the software really benefits you. You’re not cold calling people but keeping in contact with people who would appreciate it.

How To Write A Good Message

Even if you have the best software in the world, if you don’t write a good message you’ll get nowhere. Most messages are bad. They’re long, sound like they’ve been written and start with a robotic greeting.

Keep it short! 20-30 seconds. Give your name, business name, reason for calling and what you want them to do. Only include 1 thing to ask them to do.

Be yourself. If you’d say ‘Hey it’s Mike from Hartwell Roofing just following up on your quote’ then say it. Don’t try to make it sound fancy. People can tell when it’s a generic script from a company and will delete it. If possible include something specific such as the job or date. This shows they’re not just getting random messages. Give them a clear number to call. Speak slowly and if needed say it twice.

Legal

I know nobody wants to read this but small businesses often get caught out by not including this. In the US there are laws such as the Telephone Consumer Protection Act that may apply. Over the years guidance has changed. I’m not a lawyer so make sure to get someone to run over your plans with you before doing anything large.

However, it’s quite simple to stay within the guidelines. Simply only message people who have done business with you or asked to be contacted. State who you are at the beginning. Include an opt out. Keep track of where each number came from.

A good ringless voicemail service should help with this. Look for services that will clean your list, limit how many hours you can send and include opt outs. If they get evasive or unclear when you mention complying then move on. This is your name on the line.

Getting Started

Don’t go all in on day 1. Please don’t. Start with 1 small friendly list. Maybe 100 previous customers. 1 simple message.

Look at the price. Some companies charge a few cents per drop. Some have monthly costs. Whilst it’s tempting to go for the cheapest option sometimes they won’t deliver well or have poor support. If they have a free trial, take advantage of it. Ask them a silly question to see how quickly they reply.

Give it a couple of weeks. How many have called back? How many were incorrect numbers? Has anybody complained? Tweak your message and timing. Try again. For best results pair your drop with a short text/email the next day. This will almost always give better results. Within a month you’ll know if it’s worth it. For most small businesses it is.

Conclusion

Whilst cold calling isn’t dead, spending your whole week on it is not ideal for a small business. Using a ringless voicemail service means you can contact people without interrupting them. Voicemail drop software makes this process even easier, allowing you to send messages in minutes without spending hours making individual calls. Using a short and friendly message will mean you get your afternoons back whilst still getting calls back. Start small, try it out and keep what works.

FAQs

How Can Small Businesses Save Time On Cold Calling?

Many move to using pre-recorded voicemails. They only follow up on people who call back. This means they don’t get any annoying ringing, hanging up or incorrect numbers.

What Is A Ringless Voicemail Service?

A service that sends your pre-recorded message directly to someone’s voicemail. They’ll get a notification and can listen when they want.

Is A Ringless Voicemail Service Legal For Small Businesses?

It can be but there are laws such as TCPA that may apply. Most businesses will have consent, honour, do not call lists, state who they are and include an opt out. Get a lawyer to run over your plans.

What Is Voicemail Drop Software?

This is your control panel. You upload your contacts, choose your recording, set a time and view results.

How Long Should My Message Be?

Aim for 20-30 seconds. Include your name, business name, why you’re contacting them and what you want them to do.

Will Customers Call Back?

Yes plenty will. Especially previous customers and warm leads. Including a friendly message and a short follow up text/email the next day will usually increase responses.

How Much Does A Ringless Voicemail Service Cost?

Most will charge a few cents per drop or a flat monthly rate. Look at what they include such as reporting, scheduling and compliance.