Want to increase the chance of a prospect returning your call? A message will mean nothing to a prospect if it isn’t targeted and relevant to the individual and her company. To do this you must research both the person you are targeting and the company for which she works, and then determine what is important to her. LinkedIn, as always, is a great tool for learning about the individual. The company website and information online or offline (such as news publications) are good sources of information.

Here’s an example of an effective voicemail message you can leave (follow this up with a related email the next day):

Good morning, Mr. Jones. My name is Linda Kern and I’m with The Kern Group. I read in Manufacturers Journal this month that your company is having a challenging time reaching your sales targets. We can help you with that! In one situation our manufacturing client improved their sales by 29% and exceeded their annual goal. I’d love to schedule a short 10 minute phone call to see how we might be able to help Jones & Sons. I am available April 30^th and May 1^st in the morning, and May 2^nd in the afternoon. Please call me at 416-520-4897 to schedule this call. Again that’s 416-520-4897. I look forward to hearing from you.

In your research you are looking for trends in their business and industry. These are often called “trigger events.” A trigger event is a change in a company’s priorities and can be either internal or external to the company. Here are some examples:

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Internal

• Quarterly earnings
• An acquisition
• Change in management
• Company downsizing
• New strategic direction

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External

• The economy
• Oil/gas prices
• Government regulations
• Weather conditions
• Moves by competitors

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Once you’ve found out this information you then need to think about the impact your products or services could have on their business in light of these events? How could you help them address these issues? What value could you provide? What success have you had with other customers in similar situations that you could tell to this prospect?

Trigger events are great conversation starters because they ensure that you are being relevant to your prospects, showing them that you would like to discuss issues that they are dealing with right at that moment. And these discussions position you as a credible and informed source of information and help to them. Aligning your message in this way is a skill that will dramatically impact the success of your sales.

In a future post we will talk about how often you should call and/or email.