I'm sorry, I'm out of my office. Would you please leave your name and number and I'll return your call as soon as I can."

How many of us are still waiting for our reply? Technology has made our selling lives both easier and more challenging. Voice mail is a challenge that forces us to redefine our telephone strategies.

Create Interest. If a customer doesn't need your product or service immediately, the probability of getting a reply is slim to none. To increase your odds of success, treat each phone call as a sales call.

You have about 10 seconds. Prepare what you are going to say. Your message should spark interest. Present a benefit that sounds so interesting it's worth a return call. This requires some research on your part -- to find out what's of interest to this customer.

Change Procedure. Leave a message saying, "I've been trying to set up an appointment with you. I know how busy you are. If June 6 at 10 won't work for you, please call me at (your phone number)."

When you arrive on June 6 at 10 a.m. and the receptionist says, "Do you have an appointment?" you can say "Yes." Try to do this with sales calls that are geographically close to confirmed appointments. You still run the risk of a prospect who won't see you, but at least you aren't making a special trip to his location.

Get Through the First Time. Since most prospects return calls to people they know, always get referrals. Selling is not only about who you know, it's about getting to know the people who know the people you want to know.

Ask your customer to call the prospect for you to say you will be in contact. That introduction increases the probability that your prospect will return or take your call.

When you call a referral, always tell the receptionist "John Doe asked me to call Mr. Prospect." If the assistant screens calls, she will mention the person who referred you to the prospect.

Get help. Sometimes there is a screener before you get to voice mail. Enlist the help of the screener and you might actually speak to your prospect. Explain, "I've been playing phone tag with John Doe. Can you see if he will speak with me for a few minutes about the benefit to him or his company?"

Change times. Think about calling when your prospect has to answer his phone. Most screeners are out before 8 a.m. at lunchtime, and after 5 p.m. Calling at these times gives you higher probability that the prospect will actually pick up his phone.

Keep trying. Persistence does pay off. You should not leave 10 messages a day, however trying at different times with different strategies should eventually work.

--Source: Maura Schreier-Fleming is president of Best@Selling, a sales training and consulting organization in Dallas, Texas. Maura speaks at conferences about sales and business improvement and works with business and sales professionals on real-world skills and strategies. She is the author of the book Real-World Selling for Out of-this-World Results.