By: Adam Gomez
Do you feel like leaving a voicemail is a waste of your time? You’re not alone. I’ve worked with many recruiters who’ve expressed this belief to me in confidence. But, maybe how we use voicemail needs to change in 2017.
The truth is we rarely have the opportunity to get a client or prospect on the phone directly without first establishing a “virtual relationship” through voicemail. Understanding this reality, it’s necessary to implement a voicemail strategy. In particular, if a recruiter or account manager receives a fresh lead there should be a plan in place for leaving multiple unique messages that tell a story. The story should include at least 2-3 reasons they should want to have a conversation with you.
When a healthcare professional completes an online application they bombarded by calls, text messages, and emails from several different recruiters. Chances are they’re not answering too many of these calls or messages. But there’s a good chance they’re listening to messages and selectively responding when it’s convenient for them to do so. There simply isn’t enough time in the day for them to talk with every recruiter. It’s much more practical to weed out some recruiters. And selecting those recruiters you will contact based on how they communicate through voicemail, text, or email is a great place to start.
Similarly, hospital contacts receive several calls from many different agencies. Sometimes even multiple calls from different account managers within the same agency. It’s not practical for them to return every single voicemail they receive. How they respond depends on the message, specifically, the perceived value you’ve created for them in the story you’ve told through your voicemail messages.
In 2017, the goal of leaving messages should be to tell a story. But remember any good story has to capture the audience’s attention. A great way to do this is to make the story about them—not you. For example, how will having a conversation with you impact them in a positive way? What will they be missing out on by not calling you? And how will their experience change (for the better) when they do contact you? And why not lead with this information? After all, it’s likely you only have a few seconds to capture your audience’s attention!
Is leaving voicemails a waste of time? If you’re expecting an action (calling you back), but you’re not creating a perceived value than you’re limiting your opportunity for success to “chance”. At best you’re not being efficient with your time. Perhaps, it’s not leaving a voicemail that’s a waste of time but rather the old style of leaving a voicemail that is no longer relevant.
