A voicemail drop is when a prerecorded message is sent directly to your lead or customer’s voicemail box. The process can be done either by sending ringless voicemail messages (RVM) through a service or through a similar manual direct-to-voicemail interaction. In either case, your client’s phone doesn’t ring. Instead, they’ll simply get a notification that they have a voicemail.
This makes voicemail drop an easy way to deliver information-heavy messages. It also allows your leads to listen to your message at their convenience without requiring an interruption, and doesn’t require your agents to spend time on cold calls with uninterested parties. In addition, voicemail drop software can also be integrated with your customer relationship management (CRM) program, saving your team even more time.
How Voicemail Drop Works
Voicemail drop is simple to use, making it a great option to get messages about your latest promotion or remind customers to pay an upcoming bill. Although steps for automated voicemail drop vary by software provider, it usually works by selecting a message, choosing the person or persons to call, and clicking to send the message.
The telephone marketing software uses adaptive signaling technology for direct server-to-server access to landline or mobile phone voicemail boxes. For voicemail drop outreach, you:
- Create a prerecorded message and add it to your library
- Select a contact list from your CRM or import data from other files
- Choose which people to call or the whole list
- Click to start sending voice drops
The software then uses adaptive signaling technology at a server-to-server level to access landline and mobile phone voicemail boxes for everyone on your list. Your sales team can then move on to other tasks or you can also often customize your caller ID and see who’s heard your voicemail using a dashboard that provides real-time data.
As a result, voicemail drop works best for sales teams in all industries with high-volume sales, such as auto dealerships and real estate agencies. Small businesses may also use ringless voicemail to send payment reminders or encourage customers to take advantage of a promotion.
Voicemail Drop Providers
Consider what features you want from your RVM before selecting a voicemail drop provider. Some companies offer only voicemail drop services, whereas others add phone dialers or act as your small business phone system.
Drop Cowboy is voicemail drop software that lets you upload contact lists from CSV or tab-separated values (TSV) files from your CRM. It offers an open API and integrates with more than 1,400 applications, making it a great tool to add to your existing tech stack. Drop Cowboy offers a drop-based plan with no subscription for 9.9 cents per drop. Or you can start with a basic subscription for $20 per month plus 3.9 cents per drop for up to 513 drops. Visit Drop Cowboy to explore plans and features.
Ring.io is a sales dialer that offers voicemail drop automation. It works via a Chrome extension and integrates with Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho, and Pipedrive. With Ring.io, you get unlimited prerecorded voicemails, calling, and call recording. Plus, you can use Ring.io’s auto-attendant and call queuing features to help sales teams connect with leads quicker. Prices start at $69 per user, per month. Explore pricing options by visiting the Ring.io website.
Drop is web-based RVM software with an application programming interface (API) that makes it easy to integrate with your existing CRM or phone dialer system. You can quickly upload a comma-separated values (CSV) file with phone numbers and start sending voice drops within minutes. With Drop, you only pay for successful voicemail drops. Pricing is based on volume. For 1,000 drops, you’ll pay 5 cents per successful drop, whereas 10,000 drops are 3.5 cents per drop. Head to the Drop website to find a plan that’s right for your business.
Voicemail Drop Alternatives
Several other reputable voicemail drop providers offer affordable rates, tracking capabilities, and features like text messaging. Consider requesting a free trial or demonstration of each RVM software to see which one delivers the best experience for your team. Another voicemail drop alternative is to speak with your phone service company to see if the voicemail drop is an available feature.
Call Loop is a great choice if you want to create campaigns with ringless voicemail messages, voice broadcasts, and text messaging. All plans, including the free version, come with at least one keyword, so you can text leads and encourage them to reply with your keyword to join your loyalty program or opt-in for promotional emails. Call Loop offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card needed. The company provides pay-as-you-go plans or monthly subscriptions. You’ll pay 5 cents per RVM, or plans start at $29 per month for 250 message credits. Head to the Call Loop website to pick a plan for your business.
With Slybroadcast, you can schedule your messages or send them out immediately. It provides an intuitive app that works on iOS and Android phones, so your team can schedule voice drops from anywhere. Plus, it gives API access for developers and the ability to customize your caller identification number. Slybroadcast offers pay-as-you-go plans, starting at 100 deliveries for $10 or monthly subscription plans starting at 100 deliveries for $8. Learn more about Slybroadcast by visiting its website.
Voicemail Drop Pros & Cons
Voicemail Drop Pros | Voicemail Drop Cons |
|---|---|
Affordable way to get a message out to many people at once | May confuse customers who don’t understand why your call didn’t ring their device |
Increases team productivity by automating repetitive tasks | Repeat voice drops to leads may come across as spam |
Works well for multiple departments, including sales, marketing, and collections | You must check cold lead phone numbers against the Do Not Call database |
Voicemail Drop Best Practices
When used sparingly for sales, voicemail drops have high success rates and provide an efficient way to reach many people at once. However, if leads don’t understand who you are or how you got their number, they may feel your company is sending spam to their voicemail box. Avoid adverse reactions and boost your success rates by following these voicemail drop best practices:
Use Voicemail Drops Responsibly
Although there are some legal concerns regarding voicemail drops, you can avoid problems by using voicemail drops responsibly. For all drops, make sure to:
- Check national and state Do Not Call (DNC) lists before sending voice drops
- Provide a way for people to opt-out of future messages, such as a toll-free number
- Immediately update customer files if they request DNC status
Be Transparent in Messaging
Unfamiliar and unclear messages sound like phone spam to your leads. This results in a negative view of your business. However, by providing your information and personalizing your message, you can assure people you’re an upstanding company that wants to help solve a problem.
Your ringless voicemail message should clearly state your company’s name, who you are, and provide an opt-out phone number. For higher success rates, consider only sending RVMs to people who’ve recently interacted with your website, such as downloading a white paper. This way, you can start your message by referring to how you got the individual’s phone number, thereby signaling that your message isn’t spam.
Create Professional Recordings
Deliver an outstanding first impression with professionally recorded voicemail greetings. Doing so helps reduce background noise while keeping your messaging consistent and on-brand. Start with a well-written script that meets legal and professional standards. Then you can record it yourself or hand it over to a professional voice service.
Track Voicemail Drop Success Rates
Your teams should record multiple voicemails and track call data in your CRM. Doing so helps you analyze messages with the highest response rates and eliminate ones that aren’t working. You may also want to consider tracking:
- The time and day you sent the message
- Differences in opening and closing statements
- How rates differ between warm and cold leads
- Different voicemail lengths
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How do you send a ringless voicemail?
Most RVM software makes it easy to send a ringless voicemail using prerecorded messages. You may import a prerecorded voicemail from your files or record one using your RVM software. Next, you upload your contact list, then select one or all recipients to receive your message. Lastly, you can either schedule a time to send or click to immediately deliver your ringless voice drops.
Is ringless voicemail effective?
Yes, ringless voicemail is effective when companies follow best practices and personalize RVMs to customer segments. Several voicemail drop providers suggest a 96% answer rate for ringless voicemails, placing this type of outreach higher than traditional cold calls or emails.
How long should a voicemail drop be?
For high answer rates, your voicemail drop should range from 18 to 30 seconds. An RVM is similar to an elevator pitch, so keep it short and relevant. For best results, play around with length to find your optimal timing.
Bottom Line
Ringless voicemail drops are an excellent way to deliver messages to many people without spending hours dialing numbers and waiting for voicemail services to pick up. Although it’s typically used for sales, your marketing teams may use it to follow up after a lead downloads a digital asset, or your billing department can send RVMs as payment reminders.
However, most RVM providers can’t replace your small business phone system. If you want to provide sales teams with communication and collaboration tools, we recommend the voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) provider RingCentral. You can try RingCentral out by taking advantage of its 15-day free trial.
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