Say their name at least twice, as people love hearing their own name, and it’s rapport-building. If you haven’t sent them an email yet, send an email as soon as you leave them the voicemail—give them more than one way to get back to you. Example 1: “Hi John, this is Aaron Ross from Salesforce.com. My number is 555-555-5555. John, I sent you an email a couple of days ago and hadn’t heard back, and I was hoping you could give me a quick courtesy response. I’ll resend it here in a minute. Again, Aaron Ross, 555-555-5555. Thank you and have a great day.” Example 2: “Hi John, this is Aaron Ross from Salesforce.com. My number is 555-555-5555. John, I’m calling to follow up on the email I sent you, I’d love to hear either way if you can please help me out or not. Again, Aaron Ross, 555-555-5555. Thank you and have a great day.” Example 3: (the mysterious version): “Hi John, this is Aaron Ross following up. My number is 555-555-5555. I’m free after 3pm today. Again, Aaron Ross, from Salesforce.com, 555-555-5555. Thanks and have a great day.” The last message is likely to get you the highest callback rate, since it is mysterious. I’m not a fan of this last message with new prospects because they can call you back thinking it’s something important only to find out “Oh it’s a salesperson,” and leaving a bad taste in their mouth. I suggest using it with people you’ve already had contact with who could or should recognize your name. Voicemail can be effective in combination with email. When people do call you back directly, they’ll often say things like, “I wasn’t going to call you back at first, but you were so persistent...” or, “Thanks for the reminder, I’ve been meaning to call you back.…” Voicemail can be effective in combination with email. Voicemail also lets them hear your voice and helps establish that you’re a real human, which is why it’s important not to get too mechanical with scripts and lose the humanity in your voice.