Regardless how good a sales person you are, you really can't show your "fancy moves" if all you've got is a voice prompt asking you to "leave a brief message". Ordinary sales people will leave a boring voice message when they hear the prompt, while some choose to fire an email to the prospect instead. So what makes you (and your voice mail or email) so unique that the prospect actually returns your call?
1. Don't give up calling, but please do not call more than once or twice a day. If your prospect is busy, (s)he is busy, this is as simple as that. Also do not call everyday - this is stalking and it definitely will backfire on you sooner than you can finish the alphabet song. 2. It's o.k. for them to select another vendor, and don't hesitate to express this point in your message. Often if your prospect had chosen someone else already, they'll at least call you back to let you know. Otherwise they'll call and perhaps to explain why they haven't make the decision yet. Either way your prospect will respond to your message if you make it clear that it's absolutely alright if they picked someone else instead - all you want is a closure of the matter instead of leaving it hanging in midair.
3. Sometimes it helps to send a handwritten note to thank your prospect for his/her time. You'll be surprised the psychological impact that little piece of paper has. Even if you can't close the deal this time, your note will definitely leave a mark and boost your ranking a lot. 4. Be persistent. The chances are it takes time to crack the door open so be patient. Even after months of your initial contact, if you can just keep showing up on your prospect's radar every now and then, you might still have a chance when the opportunity arises.
5. Make your message fun to listen to (or to read if you are sending an email). Don't just do the canned sales pitch, be creative and be casual. The idea is that you want your message to stand out from everybody else, so as long as it's not too far-fetched, some humor will only spice up your message and motivate the prospect to respond. 6. Create a sense of urgency for your prospect to respond, but not too pushy. The usual "10% off if you order by the end of the month" won't get you too far. 7. Make sure you try to dig up as much information as possible regardless of whether you get the deal or not.
Not only it helps when selling to this prospect again in the future, but it also helps you to position/reposition yourself when you go against your competitors elsewhere. (e.g. Was that because of price? Quality of the product? Pre/Post-sale service and support? Product usability and suitability for their needs? etc...)
