The voicemail that gets called back

Most voicemails on funding leads are never returned because they are indistinguishable from every other one. The fixable part is being specific about something only the merchant and you know about — which, on an inbound lead, you have.

The shape

Your name and the company, once, clearly.
"You put in a funding application this morning" — the specific act and roughly when.
One reason to call back that is not "to discuss your options". A question about the amount or the timing works.
Your number, said slowly.
Your number again, because they were reaching for a pen the first time.

What kills a callback

In the voicemail	Why it fails
A pitch	They can decline it without calling you
"Give me a call back when you can"	No reason and no urgency
A rate or a number	Now they are shopping, not calling
Your number said once, quickly	Unusable, so the message is moot
One on every single attempt	Trains them to recognise and ignore

The last one is the most common. A merchant with six voicemails from the same company has learned the number, and the follow-up cadence is now working against itself.

Pair it with a text

A short text immediately after the voicemail — naming the same application, from the same company — gives them something to reply to without calling, and it makes the next call from that number recognisable rather than anonymous. Keep it about the application rather than about rates, for the carrier reasons as much as the sales ones.

Questions brokers ask

Under fifteen seconds. Past that the merchant deletes it before your number arrives, which makes the whole message pointless.

Your name and company, the specific application they submitted and roughly when, one concrete reason to call back, and your number said slowly and then repeated.

On the first attempt and around the fourth. One on every attempt teaches the merchant to recognise the number and ignore it, which works against the rest of the cadence.

No. A number in a voicemail turns the merchant into a shopper who no longer needs to call you back, and you do not have a real number to give before seeing statements anyway.

Yes. It gives the merchant a way to reply without calling and makes your next call recognisable rather than anonymous. Keep the message about their application rather than about pricing.

Keep reading

The follow-up cadence that actually worksMost brokers stop at two attempts. Most connections happen after that.The first thirty seconds of the callThey filled in a form. Open like someone who knows that.Texting merchants: what SMS consent requiresCarriers enforce more than the law does, and they enforce it faster.