Tele-sales expert Art Sobczak is one of those people that gets right to the point - and I really like that. Here he shares the most likely reasons as to why prospects don't return your calls.

"The same reasons apply to all salespeople leaving voicemails," says Sobczak. "Pick any three (or more) of the following reasons."

The message is too long. Grab their attention within 10 seconds or you're done. Picture someone picking up their voicemails in a busy, noisy airport; they don't have time to listen to your life story.

It's not about them. They don't care about you, or that you're their new "account manager." And really, why should they? They're just like Tony Keith in his song, "I want to Talk About ME."

You sound salesy. Mention that you have a new product, a service, that you want them to do business with you, or that you want to meet with them, and you evoke the same resistance as when the store sales rep says, "May I help you?" Face it: most people run the other way when a salesperson approaches them.

Most people don't return voicemails from sales reps. News alert: They're swimming upstream as fast as they can to stay up with their daily piles of work and emails. Very few say, "Oh, good. Another call from a sales rep. Move that to the top of the to-do list."

You only called once. Even if someone returns the occasional voicemail, who do they call? Probably not the one-time caller. A buyer I interviewed told me that he never returns calls, and the only sales reps who have the remotest chance of even getting through his screener next time are those he recognizes as having left several interesting voicemails.

Now that you know why they aren't calling back, it's time to start fixing those problems. Sobczak will be back tomorrow with advice that will help you craft messages that get returned.

Art Sobczak, President of Business by Phone, Inc., specializes in one area only: working with business-to-business salespeople - both inside and outside - designing and delivering content-rich programs that begin showing results from the very next time participants get on the phone. Learn more at www.businessbyphone.com

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