Treat the voicemail and follow-up email as a handoff. The voicemail earns enough attention for the prospect to recognize the email, which carries the substance and gives them an easy way to respond. Keep the trigger and requested action consistent, then give each touch a different job. Write the voicemail for the inbox and build it around a response path the prospect can complete without calling you back.
Choose the shared thread
Decide what the prospect should recognize across the call and email. Pair each voicemail with a matching email using the same trigger and requested action.1 Draft the email's reason and response ask first, then build the voicemail from that messaging.2
Give the two touches different amounts of detail. Exact copies of the voicemail and email reduce the chance of a response to either.3 Reserve certain questions for the voicemail so the two touches do different work.4
Before dialing, fill in four pieces: the context that makes the outreach relevant, the subject or topic the email will cover, the information it will contain, and the response you want. The voicemail can then point to something the prospect can act on immediately.
Leave the voicemail
Keep the recording short enough to create recognition without forcing the prospect through the whole pitch. They should understand why the email deserves attention and what to do next.
Make the first voicemail 15 seconds and context-only, lead with the strongest context you have, and save the full pitch for the email.5 Direct attention to the email, give the prospect a reason to reply, and identify the sender at the end.6
Name the email's subject in the voicemail when you can. This turns the voicemail into a heads-up and roughly doubles the odds that the email is opened.7 Close with a direct request to respond to the email.8
Use this shape:
I am calling about [context]. I have sent an email titled [subject] with the detail. Please reply to that email if [condition]. This is [your name].
Make the context specific enough for the prospect to recognize the email, then stop. The voicemail has done its work when they know which message to find and how to answer it.
Send the follow-up email
Send the email while the voicemail is still familiar. The opening should connect the two touches, and the body should carry the detail the voicemail left out.
Send the follow-up the same day, ideally within the hour, because a delayed email loses the familiarity created by the voicemail.9 Reference the voicemail in the first line so the email has a clear reason to exist.10
A useful body follows the call, states what you planned to cover, provides the information, and invites questions:
I called about [topic] and reached voicemail. I planned to cover [topic], so I wanted to send over [information]. Take a look and let me know what questions you have.11
Use voicemail as the subject line when the message's job is to connect the call to the email.12 If the email carries more detail, keep the opening easy to scan and make the reply request visible. The prospect should be able to answer from the email without reconstructing the voicemail.
Keep the same reason throughout the email. Add the information that helps the prospect judge it, then ask for a response they can give without scheduling another exchange.
Continue the sequence
The handoff is complete once the voicemail has pointed to the email and the email has been sent. Later touches should give the prospect another chance to answer, with the email remaining the place where the response happens.
Place a voicemail early in the sequence and pair it with an email.13 If the prospect stays silent, use another voicemail as a renewed pointer to the inbox, then continue scheduled follow-ups until you receive a firm yes or no.14
Set a stopping rule before you start. Leaving up to two voicemails keeps the call support focused on engaging the buyer through email.15 Move on from voicemail when another recording would add no new context or make the email easier to answer.
What not to do
These mistakes break the handoff by giving the prospect disconnected messages or asking for the wrong action.
- Do not use a callback as the success condition. The goal of the voicemail is an email reply.16
- Do not make the voicemail and email exact copies, because identical messages reduce the chance of a response to either.3
- Do not leave more than two voicemails in the sequence.15
Before the next call, write the email subject, context line, and reply request. Record the voicemail from those same elements, send the email while the connection is fresh, and use later calls to direct the prospect back to that message.