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Fone Ads, is an experienced Direct Marketing solutions
provider, we help you get excellent results in your direct
marketing efforts by providing the best quality
marketing solutions available. 's only focus is to
provide the best solution to ensure that your marketing
campaign's objectives are successfully met.
| Five
Steps to Success with Direct Marketing |
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Here are some
pointers that we think you'll find helpful.
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- Define your target.
You may have many target markets but each needs to be
well defined. Over 50,000 different lists are available
in North America for business and consumer target
markets.
- Determine the best method to reach
your target.
Mail, phone, fax, email, online or any combination.
- Perfect the offer.
Does your offer have credible value? Is it
understandable, relevant, unique, imaginative, urgent,
and risk free? Have you communicated the next step for
your prospect to take? Is it measurable?
- Set the timing.
When is the best time for your message? How long
until the follow-up?
- Start now!
Then get ready to handle the increase in business.
Nothing ensures success more than a prompt response to
customer enquiries!
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Voice Broadcasting Applications:
Political
campaigns (fund-raising, grassroots campaigns, GOTV
Calling)
Enhancing
direct mail campaigns for increased response rates
Instant
information delivery (emergencies, financial market, product
recalls)
Notification
of meetings, seminars and conferences
Communicating
with MLM networks / down-lines
Corporate
branding and company image enhancement
______________________________________________________________________________________
Advertising,
Sales and Marketing
Outgoing
Voicemail Messages that Get Results
1. Brevity is the Soul of a Good Message. When you leave your outgoing message, do you often find that recording time expires before you're finished, so you have to re-try? That is God's way of telling you that you talk too much. Get to your point quickly about who you are and how you would like the caller to best get a hold of you. An excellent idea is to provide an early means for the person to bypass the entire greeting and go right to the "speak after the beep" phase. That helps the caller abbreviate her time even if you are long winded in your message. Just a quick burr in my saddle: they have not reached the desk of your name. The desk doesn't have a personality and take messages. They have reached your voicemail system and need to be made to feel that this is the same as reaching you, at least as effective.
2. Establish Identity. "Hello. You have reached the voicemail of
Mike Nelson, the president of www.XYZMerchant.com
" That's not a bad introductory line, because it tells the caller who you are and what you do. If he is looking for the secretary he's got the wrong extension and likely won't leave a message for you. You can enhance your value by providing instructions on how to get elsewhere, based on how often mistaken messages are left for you. You will learn this by trial and error. If you handle all mutual fund issues and someone else handles stock options, yet you continually have messages left for you about stock options, you may want to leave "If your call is concerning stock options, you need to speak with Jim Smith at extensions 123." This can also point to an improvement opportunity in the main corporate system that may have routed the caller to your line.
3. Practice Polite but Positive Inflections. There's nothing worse than getting to the actual voice of a voicemail system and recognizing immediately that the person doing the talking would rather be somewhere else and really doesn't want your call. Tell me it hasn't happened to you. When it does, do you leave a message? Probably not, because what you heard put you in a bad frame of mind. So when you leave outgoing messages, write down what you want to say and rehearse it 3 or 4 times so it sounds natural. Sit up in your chair with your head held high and in your most optimistic voice begin the recording, and whatever you do, don't leave your message after an argument or receiving bad news. You won't be able to disguise your attitude.
4. The Human Option. No matter how positive you sound and how distinct and clear your message is, some folks, particularly older people, refuse to speak to an answering system. After you introduce yourself, the first thing you need to do is give them an opportunity to bypass your greeting and get to an entity with a pulse. Yeah, I know, your Admin Assistant will just take down the same message that the caller could leave, but for this group of people it puts them more at ease to hear a live human at the other end of the line.
5. Better Options. Voicemail systems can easily get filled with calls, especially for important people like you. If wading through voicemail messages isn't your idea of fun, you may want to steer the people to other ways to reach you. For example, many people leave their cellular numbers. Great in emergencies, but watch out, because many times you are out of range or your cell phone is off, so the caller gets ANOTHER voicemail system. I try to steer people toward my email address, knowing that I can skim my email far faster than listening to dozens of messages. The caller gets the added benefit of having written documentation so the information is as accurate as he wants it to be. You get the same accuracy benefit and the
time-savings.
6. Tell Them What to Do. "You've reached John. When you hear the beep, you know what to do. Bye." Ever heard a version of that? Well, in general terms, they do know what to do, but in specifics-uh uh, doesn't happen. This kind of outgoing message leaves you open for everything from a five minute diatribe to a "This is Sam. Call back." You need to tell in specific terms what you want them to do to be the most effective and timely. I hit them with four instructions:
Who are you
What is your purpose and importance
Should I return your call and when
How and where should I reach you to reply
This keeps the caller focused and minimizes random soliloquies and rants. If you don't tell them what to do, they have the freedom to do whatever they want to.
7. Give Value. Here's one for the notepad. People are already in a declining frame of mind when they get voicemail because they wanted you in person. Many will walk away even after leaving a message wondering if you will call back, worry about when (if the matter is urgent), and generally have a hollow feeling inside. How about offering an option to get some instant value in the form of information in lieu of getting you? Examples…
"To listen to today's travel forecast, press 1."
"To learn the difference between a fixed rate mortgage and an ARM, press 1."
"For a quick laugh, press 1 for the joke of the day."
Get it? You're not forcing her to listen to this before leaving the message, but if the caller wants, she can access information from you in your absence. You're not just providing the final piece of a painful puzzle; you are now providing a service.
Use of these seven techniques allows you to effectively eliminate wasted time on the phone checking your messages so you get the ones you want without deciphering the whims of disparate voices that may not be relevant to you.
Lead
With Your Strength! Never Ramble---30 Second Voice Mails Or
Less
—Great voice mail messages get lots of call backs
—Leave a voice mail that is fast and friendly,
packed with great info!
1. Your voice mail message should
always include your phone number twice--once at the beginning and
again at the end of the voice mail. Speak at a fast pace
when leaving a voice mail BUT slow down and speak clearly when
leaving the contact information. It is very frustrating for the
producer to miss the phone number and have to replay the voice
mail message.
2. The “30 Second Voice Mail Pitch”!
Never ramble. Lead with your strengths and focus on
the benefit to the listener. Pick one or two benefits
that the listener can use immediately to make their life better.
This will not be your only chance to pitch to that media contact.
Believe me, there will be more voice mails to follow!
Practice your “30 Second Pitch” until you can say it naturally
and conversationally with enthusiasm and joy.
3. Never leave more than one message per
day EVER. I usually like to keep the follow-up process to
leaving a message once every two to three days for radio, four to
five days for TV and weekly for Print.
4. Keep calling and try to actually speak
to the person. Try to find out when they will be
available from the receptionist. Email the contact letting him/her
know you would like to call at a specified time. Then set your
clock and CALL. But be ready with your “30 Second Pitch”.
5. It is always better to speak personally
to your contact. I like to say in my office "voice
mail is pretend work"! But with these tips you can make voice
mail work for you.
6. Always fax or email information
pertaining to your subject matter. This way, the media
contact will have something in their hands with your phone number
on it that makes it easier for them to contact you.
7. When following up on your fax or email,
never simply say did you get my fax or my email? Always
say "I am just following up on my email about . . . (and go
into a few exciting points about your topic). This refreshes their
memory plus allows you to get another "pitch" in.
8. Never leave the same message twice. Always
change your "message" to include another great point
about why they would want to have you on. Keep changing the
content until you get the results you desire.
9. Practice leaving yourself a message and
if you get bored listening to yourself then you know you are in
trouble! Your voice mail is an audition.
Preparation is the key--know what you are going to say and then
say it with high energy and confidence!
10. Speak on the loud side and prepare
your pitch. Practice your pitch on some smaller stations
FIRST to work out the glitches. Never wing your pitch and cut out
all of the "umms".
EXTRA TIP: You must capture the
attention of the producer within the first 10 seconds--or else
your phone call will be wasted. Your message will be deleted. Your
voice and tonality is the key. Do NOT be monotone and boring
because no matter what you are saying you will NOT be heard. Only
practice and becoming comfortable with your script will let you
sound natural and flexible. Be excited and raise and lower your
tonality, essentially mesmerizing the listener with a
high-quality, easy to listen to, flow of information.
MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL: Your voice
mail is an audition for the interview--if your message is filled
with verbal talent, enthusiasm, credentials and knowledge--they
will like you!
INFORMATION ON YOUR COMPANIES VOICE MESSAGE
* A seven-word blurb about the services and products you offer.
* All the various ways someone can contact you -- address, fax,
and electronic mail, for example.
* Announcements about upcoming events, such as sales and
promotions.
* Any special discounts you're offering.
* A time when you win be available to return calls.
* Whenever possible, an option to speak with a person.
* A way to skip past your message.
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