Let’s be honest: most sales voicemails end up deleted within seconds. But here’s the thing—that doesn’t mean voicemails are useless. When done right, they’re a powerful tool in your multi-channel outreach strategy.
The mistake most reps make is treating voicemails like mini sales pitches. They ramble for 60 seconds, bury their phone number at the end, and wonder why no one calls back. The reality is that voicemails rarely generate direct callbacks, but they serve a different purpose: they plant seeds that make your other outreach efforts more effective.
The Real Purpose of Sales Voicemails
Here’s what you need to understand about voicemails: they prime prospects, they rarely convert them directly. The average callback rate from a cold voicemail hovers between 2-5%. If you’re expecting 20% of prospects to call you back, you’re going to be disappointed.
So why leave voicemails at all? Because they accomplish four critical things that support your overall outreach strategy. First, they introduce you. When a prospect sees your name in an email later, there’s a tiny spark of recognition—“Oh yeah, that person called me.” Second, they create familiarity. By the third or fourth touch, you’re no longer a complete stranger. Third, they demonstrate persistence in a professional way. You’re showing you care enough to actually pick up the phone. Finally, they support your email outreach by creating multiple touchpoints across different channels.
Think of it this way: Sarah, a VP of Sales at a mid-market SaaS company, receives 50-100 emails a day. Your email might get lost in the shuffle. But if she hears your voicemail in the morning mentioning that you just sent an email about outbound scaling, she’s more likely to actually look for that email. The voicemail doesn’t get the callback, but it gets the email opened.
When to Leave Voicemails Strategically
Not every call attempt should result in a voicemail. If you leave a voicemail every single time you call, you start to look desperate and potentially annoying. The key is to be strategic about when you leave messages.
On your first call attempt, leave a voicemail. This is your introduction. Keep it simple: “Hi Sarah, this is Alex from Flowleads. I work with B2B sales teams scaling their outbound. My number is 555-123-4567.” That’s it. You’ve planted the seed.
On your second attempt, usually a few days later, leave another voicemail. This time, reference any other outreach you’ve done. “Hi Sarah, Alex from Flowleads again. I sent you an email about outbound scaling—wanted to see if you had any questions. Give me a call back at 555-123-4567.”
On your third attempt, skip the voicemail. Why? Because you’re trying a different time slot to actually catch them live. Maybe the first two attempts were at 10 AM. Try 4 PM instead. Don’t leave a message—just try to get them on the phone.
By attempt four or five, if this is still a high-value prospect worth pursuing, you can leave another voicemail. But this one needs a new angle. Maybe reference a specific email you sent, share a relevant industry insight, or mention something you noticed about their company. “Hi Sarah, I saw you just posted about expanding your sales team. I sent you some thoughts on scaling outbound—might be timely. I’m at 555-123-4567.”
For attempts six and beyond, alternate. Don’t saturate their inbox with voicemails. One voicemail for every two or three call attempts is plenty. And if you’re not getting anywhere after 8-10 total touches across all channels, it might be time to move on.
The 30-Second Voicemail Framework
The structure of your voicemail matters just as much as when you leave it. Here’s the framework that works consistently across industries and roles.
Start with a five-second introduction. State your name and company clearly. Don’t mumble. “Hi Sarah, this is Alex from Flowleads.” That’s all you need. No need to say “My name is…” or “I’m calling from…” Just state it directly.
Next, spend 10-15 seconds on your reason for calling. This is not a pitch. You’re not closing a deal on voicemail. You’re creating just enough curiosity that they might engage with you through another channel. “I’m calling because I work with B2B sales teams scaling their outbound—thought it might be relevant given your recent hiring.” Notice how this connects to them specifically without going into a full product pitch.
Then, spend five seconds clearly stating your phone number. This is where most reps blow it. They rush through their number like they’re reading off a grocery list. Slow down. Group the digits. “My number is five-five-five… one-two-three… four-five-six-seven.” Those pauses make it easier to write down.
Finally, close with a five-second recap. Repeat your name, company, and number. “Again, that’s Alex from Flowleads, 555-123-4567. Looking forward to connecting.” This repetition increases the chances they actually have your contact info.
The entire message should clock in under 30 seconds. Anything longer and you’re pushing your luck. People decide in the first five seconds whether they’re going to listen to the rest, and anything over 30 seconds feels like a burden.
Real Voicemail Scripts That Work
Let’s look at some actual voicemails you can adapt for your situations. These aren’t meant to be read word-for-word from a script—they’re frameworks you can personalize.
For your first voicemail, keep it simple and introductory: “Hi Sarah, this is Alex from Flowleads. I’m calling because I work with B2B sales teams scaling their outbound—thought it might be relevant given your recent hiring. My number is 555-123-4567. Again, Alex from Flowleads, 555-123-4567. Looking forward to connecting.”
For a follow-up voicemail where you’ve already sent an email: “Hi Sarah, Alex from Flowleads again. I sent you an email about outbound scaling—wanted to see if you had any questions. Give me a call back at 555-123-4567. That’s 555-123-4567. Thanks!”
When you want to reference a specific email you sent: “Hi Sarah, it’s Alex from Flowleads. Just following up on the email I sent yesterday about improving your team’s connect rates. I think you’ll find it relevant. If you have a few minutes, I’m at 555-123-4567. Again, 555-123-4567. Have a great day.”
For a pattern interrupt approach that’s a bit different: “Hi Sarah, Alex here. This is probably going to voicemail, but I wanted to quickly share that most sales teams waste 40% of their calling time on bad data—and there’s a simple fix. Thought it might be worth a quick chat. 555-123-4567. Talk soon.”
And for your final attempt before you stop pursuing: “Hi Sarah, Alex from Flowleads. I’ve tried reaching you a few times—I know you’re busy. This will be my last message unless I hear from you. If improving your outbound ever becomes a priority, I’d love to help. Feel free to reach me at 555-123-4567. Wishing you the best, Sarah. 555-123-4567.”
How to Deliver Voicemails Effectively
The words matter, but so does how you say them. Your delivery can make or break a voicemail.
First, speak slightly slower than you normally would. When we’re nervous or rushing, we tend to speed up. Force yourself to slow down, especially when saying your phone number. Smile while you’re talking—it sounds weird, but it’s audible in your voice. You sound friendlier and more approachable. Sound energetic but not salesy. There’s a difference between enthusiasm and that pushy car salesman vibe.
Stand up when you’re recording or leaving a voicemail. It opens up your diaphragm and makes your voice sound more energetic and confident. Be conversational, like you’re leaving a message for a colleague, not delivering a presentation.
On the flip side, avoid speaking too fast. Your prospect can’t rewind your voicemail easily. Don’t sound overly rehearsed or robotic. If you’ve said the same voicemail 50 times that day, it’s easy to slip into autopilot. Keep it fresh. Don’t be overly enthusiastic to the point where it sounds fake. Don’t mumble your phone number—this is the most important part. And don’t sound like you’re literally reading from a script, even if you are.
The Voicemail Drop Option
If you’re making high volumes of calls, leaving individual voicemails can eat up significant time. That’s where voicemail drop technology comes in.
Voicemail drop allows you to pre-record messages and automatically leave them when you hit voicemail, without waiting for the beep. You record a voicemail in advance, and when you reach someone’s voicemail system, you just click a button and your pre-recorded message plays automatically. While that’s happening, you can move to your next call.
The time savings are substantial. A live voicemail takes 45-60 seconds when you factor in waiting for the beep, leaving the message, and hanging up. A voicemail drop takes 5-10 seconds. If you’re making 100 calls a day and hitting voicemail on 60 of them, you’re saving yourself nearly an hour.
Tools like Orum, Nooks, Outreach, Salesloft, and PhoneBurner all offer voicemail drop functionality. The technology integrates with your dialer so it’s seamless.
But voicemail drops come with trade-offs. They’re less personalized because you can’t reference anything specific about that particular call or prospect. They can sound canned if your recording quality isn’t good. And some prospects can tell it’s a pre-recorded message, which might rub them the wrong way.
Use voicemail drops for high-volume plays where you’re running a relatively standard message across many prospects. They’re great for initial introduction voicemails that don’t need personalization. But don’t use them for strategic accounts where personalization matters, or situations where you want to reference something specific like a recent email or company news.
If you do use voicemail drops, record multiple versions. Create one for initial introduction, one for follow-up that references an email, and one for final attempts. Test them before you deploy them widely. Listen to the playback, make sure it’s under 30 seconds, check the audio quality, and confirm it sounds natural and not like a robot.
Measuring Your Voicemail Effectiveness
Like any sales activity, you should track how well your voicemails are performing. The challenge is that voicemail impact is often indirect.
Track how many voicemails you’re leaving through your CRM or activity logging. Track callbacks by monitoring inbound calls and attributing them to voicemail when possible. Track email opens after leaving voicemails—do people check their email shortly after you leave a message? And track meetings that originated from voicemail touches, even if the actual booking happened through email.
Set realistic expectations. If you leave 100 voicemails, you might get 2-5 callbacks. Of those callbacks, maybe 30-40% turn into meetings. So 100 voicemails might generate one meeting. That sounds terrible until you realize that voicemails don’t drive meetings directly—they support your multi-channel approach. Those 100 voicemails might lead to 15 additional email opens, which lead to 3 meetings.
Test different approaches. Try a standard introduction voicemail versus a pattern interrupt approach. Send each to 100 prospects and measure callback rates and email engagement. The data will tell you what works for your market.
Integrating Voicemails with Multi-Channel Outreach
Voicemails work best when they’re part of a coordinated multi-channel strategy, not a standalone tactic.
Here’s an example sequence: On Day 1, send an email at 8 AM. At 10 AM, call and leave your first voicemail: “I just sent you an email about improving your connect rates—wanted to reach out directly too.” On Day 3, send a second email. On Day 5, call at 4 PM and leave a second voicemail: “Following up on the emails I sent earlier this week about connect rates. I think there’s something here worth discussing.” On Day 7, send a LinkedIn message. On Day 9, call but don’t leave a voicemail, and send a third email.
Notice how the voicemails reference the emails, and vice versa. Your voicemail might say: “I sent you an email yesterday about improving connect rates—check it out when you get a chance.” Your email might say: “I just left you a voicemail—wanted to follow up in writing too.” This creates a cohesive experience where each channel reinforces the others.
Sarah might ignore your first email. But when she hears your voicemail mentioning the email, she goes back and looks for it. When she sees your second email, she recognizes your name from the voicemail. By the fourth or fifth touch, you’re a familiar presence, not a random stranger.
Common Voicemail Mistakes to Avoid
Let’s talk about what kills most sales voicemails. The biggest mistake is leaving messages that are too long. When someone rambles for 45 seconds about their amazing platform and how it’s helped hundreds of companies increase revenue by 30%, the prospect deletes it before the phone number even comes up. Keep it short: “I’m calling because we help sales teams scale outbound—thought it might be relevant.”
Another common mistake is not leaving your phone number, or leaving it only once at the very end when the prospect has already tuned out. Always say your number twice, clearly and slowly.
Being too salesy is another killer. When you sound like you’re reading from a telemarketing script with over-the-top enthusiasm about your “AMAZING opportunity that could REVOLUTIONIZE their business,” it triggers immediate deletion. Instead, be conversational: “Thought there might be a fit worth discussing.”
Mumbling your name or company name makes it impossible for the prospect to even know who called. Speak clearly, especially at the beginning of the message.
And finally, not practicing your voicemails before you start leaving them for real prospects means you’ll sound stilted and awkward. Record yourself, listen back, and refine until it sounds natural and fits within 30 seconds.
Key Takeaways
Voicemails are a supporting player in your outreach strategy, not the main act. Here’s what you need to remember:
Keep every voicemail under 30 seconds. Any longer and you’re wasting the prospect’s time and your own breath. Get in, deliver value, get out.
State your name, company, and phone number twice. Once at the beginning and once at the end. This gives them two chances to capture your info.
Create curiosity rather than pitching. Your goal isn’t to close a deal on voicemail. It’s to create enough interest that they engage with you through email, LinkedIn, or a callback.
Leave voicemails strategically, not on every single call attempt. First two attempts, yes. Third attempt, no. Fourth attempt and beyond, be selective based on the prospect’s value and whether you have something new to say.
Always reference your other touches, especially emails. This creates a cohesive multi-channel experience and increases the chances they’ll engage with your email outreach.
Remember: voicemails plant seeds. Your emails, LinkedIn messages, and follow-up calls harvest them. Used together, they create a persistent but professional presence that eventually breaks through the noise.
Ready to Build a Multi-Channel Outreach Strategy?
Voicemails are just one piece of an effective outbound strategy. If you want to build a comprehensive approach that combines phone, email, and LinkedIn into a system that consistently books meetings, we can help. Our team has trained hundreds of sales teams on multi-channel outreach that actually works.
Book a call with our team to discuss how we can help you build an outreach strategy that gets results.