What Are Automated Voicemail Drops? Do You Need It?

If you were to call 10 of your closest friends and family members from a number they wouldn’t recognize, how many would answer? If you guessed that the majority wouldn’t answer, you’re right in line with research findings that give us all a good reason to consider using automated voicemail drops.

The Pew Research Center conducted a survey in 2020 to learn more about the phone habits of adults living in the United States. They found that about 80% of participants didn’t answer their phones for unknown callers. About 67% of those participants said they did check for voicemail messages from unknown callers. Only about 14% reported ignoring voicemail messages from unknown callers.

How does that give you a good reason to consider automating your voicemail drops? You can’t do anything about the growing number of consumers who will not answer their phones for unknown numbers, and you can’t make them recognize your number.

What you can do is leave a voicemail, and now you know that nearly 70% are likely to at least listen to that message. That makes perfecting your voicemail skills essential to your long-term success.

Those statistics do vary by demographics, but the chances are high that your voicemails are at least reaching human ears half the time, if not more frequently. Leaving voicemail messages manually adds a significant amount of time to the telephone sales process, and that’s why automation is essential.

What are Automated Voicemail Drops?

Automated voicemail drops are pre-recorded voice messages that are automatically left in a recipient’s voicemail box. Instead of repeating the same message over and over, you can use an automated system to do that for you. This allows you to send a consistent message to every person on your call list who doesn’t answer their phones simultaneously. Pre-recorded messages and automated drops speed up the sales call process for every member of your team.

How Automated Voicemail Drops Work

The process of listening to a phone ring and then speaking at the beep is outdated. There’s no reason to go through that process repeatedly when you can follow a few simple steps to embrace automation.

Here’s how it works:

1. Create a script for the voicemail messages you want to use, and then record those messages in just the right tone. Make sure each message is the proper length to play to the end before a voicemail cuts it off. You can assign different voicemails to different categories of numbers, ensuring the right message for every recipient.

2. Start making sales calls, preferably with the use of an autodialer. Automatic dialing and voicemail drops will save the most amount of time, enhancing results for every member of your team.

Related: How to Choose the Right Virtual Phone System for Your Business

Automated Voicemail Drop Benefits

• Hours saved every week. It takes considerably less time to use an automated system to deliver your calls than it does to wait for the beep and speak your message manually to each contact on your list. While it may only save a couple of minutes on one call, those minutes add up to hours of saved time.
• Consistency in messaging. Every message is guaranteed to deliver the same information and in the same tone when it is recorded once and then used repeatedly. At times, humans may leave out critical details, but a pre-recorded message is the same for each call, ensuring accuracy and the message is saved in its entirety.
• The perfect tone, every time. It’s common for sales agents, marketers, and other professional call agents to sound less than enthused when leaving some voice messages. They get fatigued from running through the exact words repeatedly for hours on end. They have bad days and struggle to hide their emotions. Automating the message ensures the perfect tone for every single call.
• No more cut-off messages.  If you use a top automated voice drop system that utilizes copper/PRI lines from the carriers instead of VoIP, you don’t have to worry about messages getting truncated or starting off mid-sentence. Incomplete messages are more likely to get a delete than a response. Using the right platform will ensure the message begins right after the tone and isn’t cut off and the full message is delivered as long as it’s the proper length.
• Clarity in every message. Automated voices speak clearly, ensuring every word is understood by all recipients. That can save your message from getting deleted due to an accent or accidentally slurred word.
• Less stress on call agents. Call agents can relax more when they don’t have to memorize scripts and then repeat them clearly and repeatedly. When they can create one effective pre-recorded message and deliver it to all numbers they are calling, they can focus more on speaking to consumers who do answer their phones.
• More efficient training for new agents. New sales representatives are guaranteed to mess up some voicemail messages while learning the ropes. Inexperience is guaranteed to impact their results, but you can set them up for success by allowing them to pre-record voicemail messages. Someone with more experience can approve their messages before they start calling and dropping. The risk of messing up a message is dramatically reduced if not eliminated.

Best Practices for Using Automated Voicemail Drops Effectively

Sending automated voicemail drops that stand a good chance of receiving a response is about the same as mastering the art of leaving voicemail messages. The only difference is you only have to get it perfect one time because you can save it and use it as long as it remains relevant and accurate.

It’s easy to find lists that tell you exactly what information to provide in a voicemail, but the magic happens after you have the words down on paper. Use these best practices to get the perfect voicemails recorded and dropped:

• Think about your target audience. What tone of voice is most likely to grab their attention and make them want to respond?
• Keep your words in the active voice, avoiding the passive voice. Voicemail messages don’t require you to become a master of grammar, but this is one writing lesson that will help you keep those messages concise and engaging.
• Speak clearly, focusing on enunciating every word so that it’s clearly understood.
• Write your script down even if you know what you want to say. It’s the best way to stop yourself from rambling or including unnecessary information. If you struggle to create a script, simply list the details you need to include and then work them into sentence format.
• Include your phone number at the beginning and end of the voicemail. That will save listeners from listening to the message again if they miss it the first time around. The more effort and time it takes to respond to the message, the less likely they are to do so.
• Get to the point. Many listeners won’t give you more than a sentence or two before they hit delete and move on with their day.

The Craft of Writing Great Voicemail Drop Messages

Crafting effective voicemail messages is the perfect topic for a sales meeting or sales team newsletter. Automated voicemail message drops are guaranteed to save every member of your team a considerable amount of time as long as they use the drops routinely.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean every voicemail message they send will deliver maximum results. That’s where understanding the craft of writing and delivering a great voicemail comes into play. From determining what information is critical and what is just fluff to manipulating the voice and word choice for just the right tone, there’s a lot for inexperienced representatives to master.

Once you sign up for a voicemail automation system, find time to teach every member of your team how to use it properly. You can practice recording messages together, giving everyone an opportunity to learn style and technique from one another. That enhanced skill combined with your automated drop program should help enhance results for the team.

Related: Benefits of a Virtual Phone System for Businesses and Remote Employees

Split Testing with Automated Voicemail Message Drops

Website marketers have been split testing or A/B testing websites, apps, and other digital products for years. The goal is to find the most effective designs or the best-worded content to maximize results over time. This approach works incredibly well for telephone marketing and sales as well, and it’s much easier with an automated drop process.

It works like this:

1. Create two or three versions of a voicemail and pre-record each one to your satisfaction. They should deliver the same information for the same group of calls but with different words, tone of voice, length, or other factors.
2. Drop each version of the voicemail using a pre-determined list of phone numbers, noting which list of numbers received which version of the message. You can do this easily through most leading automated voicemail message drop programs.
3. Once your calls have been completed, review the data. Which version received the most callbacks, website visits, or other responses?
4. Eliminate the use of ineffective voicemail messages in favor of those proven to deliver enhanced results.
5. Use what works for one voicemail to craft other successful voicemail scripts. Keep testing until you have an effective voicemail script for every group of numbers on your call list.

How to Get Started Automating Voicemail Messages

Whether you make calls personally or have a team of representatives to lead, now is the time to take advantage of automated voicemail drops. Even if you aren’t concerned with improvements in your training process or eliminating stress for your agents, automating your call system can save time.

In turn, saved time allows you to dial more numbers in every shift. If you can’t afford to bring more agents on board but want to increase your call volume, automating voicemail drops will help. Each representative will reach more numbers every time they show up to work, and they will do it without increasing stress or feeling overwhelmed.

If you’re ready to get started, the steps are simple:

1. Find a reputable automated voicemail message drop service online.
2. Sign up for service after you determine your needs.  
3. Learn how to pre-record messages and drop them into voicemail boxes as needed. Reputable services will make it intuitive and easy to learn.
4. Train your team to use the automated voicemail system effectively. Ensure everyone is using it on all calls to maximize efficiency and results.
5. Continue to record new messages as your call focus changes with time. It’s always easy to replace messages or add new ones.

To learn more about automated voicemail drops or schedule your demo, contact VoiceShot at your convenience. We use the latest and most effective technology to maximize the quality of every voicemail dropped. Allow us to guide you toward an automated phone system that saves time and improves employee morale on the sales floor.