Last week I shared a couple of examples of cold call voice mail messages. Most everyone who commented was spot on with their analysis: The calls were awful.

They were examples of many things that give salespeople who use the phone a bad reputation. Such as,

• no research prior to the call, therefore the message is not targeted, contains no possible value, and in these cases are irrelevant
• the first caller was obviously just reading from a script. As you know, I insist that sales pros are totally prepared with what they will say, delivering it like an actor works from a script, not someone reading a technical manual out loud with words they can’t pronounce
• the messages are borderline deceptive, with the sole intent to get a return call.

As I promised, I’ll share with you my return call to the message I received. Fair warning, for professional salespeople, it is a bit painful to listen to:

PRESS PLAY TO LISTEN 

Ouch. As you might have noticed, I was feeling a bit sorry for the guy. He is just doing his job. But it saddens me that people in sales/lead generation view themselves as the “bottom of the barrel,” and “just telemarketers.”

I can’t rid the world of bad calls and misguided philosophies and methods. However, I, and other sales leaders can continue to provide solid ideas and training to help those who want to do things the right way, and have success.

Instead of repeating myself, I suggest you read my rant/recommendation on Voice Mail: Enough of the Crap Already. Here’s the REAL Story

And, if you haven’t already, register for the free live training I’m doing tomorrow with Crystal Thies, 7 Sales-Killing LinkedIn Mistakes and What to SAY to Get in and Sell. We will share ideas for doing research, being relevant, what kind of messages to avoid, and word-for-word ideas you can use so there’s no chance your calls will be put in the categories these are in.