While it’s great that textile industries have a prominent place in the new codes, the fast-paced segmenting of technology is not represented at all. Nanotechnology, Software as a Service, Social Media, Search Engines, Organic Foods, Electric Cars, and so on – all missing! The 2012 NAICS codes are completely useless- unless you need to start a fire or prop up a wobbly table.

Market Mapper was born from the frustration of trying to dig valuable information out of these and other B2B information sources like ASP services or purchased lists. Broadlook founder and CEO Donato Diorio wanted to build targeted niche lists, track emerging companies in specific markets, and segment larger sectors or lists. No technology existed that could meet this need, so Donato built it.

Build Niche Lists No One Else Has

The best list is the one nobody else has. Market Mapper puts the power of list generation in your hands. Forget digging through irrelevant information. Target your specific niche markets. Simply start with a few example companies and a best keyword guess. Market Mapper scours the Internet and finds companies that match your parameters. Results get checked against the target company’s self-description on the “Home” or “About Us” pages to ensure you only get relevant results.

Be the First to Call

The list you build, you keep. It is your intellectual property that no one else has access to. Market Mapper will rerun your search on refresh cycle you choose – typically 30 or 90 days. Simply click “Keep Old Results” and Market Mapper highlights all new results. You will find companies as they emerge and you can literally be the first to reach out and build a relationship.

Superior Engagement

Sales and Marketing professionals know: the days of reaching out to broadly defined demographics are long gone. To stay competitive you have to get the attention of your targets by offering valuable content that is specific to their needs. Vague, unspecified information or irrelevant content is ignored. Market Mapper segments any existing list for you so you can engage with targeted, relevant information. Simply enter a list from places such as your CRM, a list vendor, or Broadlook and Market Mapper does the rest.

Now consider that this talented girl has been struggling with the loss of her Special Forces father and that to this point her grades haven’t been at the level required to get into the best programs. Telling her she needs to get her grades up to accomplish her goals won’t help heal the underlying cause of her poor grades. Children who have lost a parent already have a dream they know will not come true, and unfortunately many feel that none of their dreams can come true. Knowing this, what would you do to help her achieve her dream?

Children of Fallen Soldiers, an non-profit organization Broadlook has partnered with, has a vision of making dreams come true for kids just like this young lady. “After all,” explains COFS founder and director Chaplain TIG, “these kids are the ones living with the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms you and I enjoy every day. They deserve the best this country has to offer.” When COFS thought about how to go about making dreams come true for the children they serve, COFS knew that it had to fill a support role. They wanted to do something big for the kids like Make a Wish foundation offers, and at the same time, they wanted to provide a consistent mentorship similar to Big Brothers, Big Sisters but one that would take into account all the hopes and dreams the lost parent had for that child. Out of this desire, The America’s Dream Mentorship was born.

So how do you help that 13 year-old cellist make it to Carnegie Hall? The America’s Dream Mentorship offers a path. As one of the participants in the America’s Dream Mentorship, she and her mother with be flown to Julliard this year. She will get a private tour from the dean and have the chance to meet with three professional cellists so she can learn first-hand about the costs and benefits of pursing that dream. She will then be taken to the Hollywood Bowl where she will sit in the pit with the musicians and experience the emotional side of living this dream. If she decides that playing the cello really is the dream she wants to pursue, she will meet with coaches that will take into consideration her strengths as well as the major facets of life to create a strategic plan. “Boots on the ground mentors” will then work with the child regularly while reporting progress to the team at COFS so adjustments can be made along the way.

Currently, the program is limited to five children because COFS has made a commitment that they would not promise a 10 year mentorship program unless it was fully funded. Included in the pilot program are families that have been working with COFS for years. The America’s Dream Mentorship commits 10K per year to each child in order to fund any excursions or regular activities they require in order to make their dreams a reality.

To get involved in making dreams come true, please visit Children of Fallen Soldiers. On their website you can learn how to create your own Expression of Appreciation, volunteer to introduce the program to your community as an Ambassador, or donate money to fund the America’s Dream Mentorship Program.

As a child, the world is mystery. That’s exciting!. Much has to be learned and remembered. When a child approaches a new task, they harbor no preconception of how to do it or what solutions are required – they go for it.They tackle it with an open mind.They figure out how to solve the problem – one step at a time. Experimentation and reconfiguration: the heart of creativity. As adults, we have the advantage of a mental database we consistently turn to for answers. Often, a database proves to be exactly what we need. If we need to answer a trivia question or recall how we successfully completed a task in the past, the database can be a life-saver. When we need to learn something new, or change the way we approach a task, it becomes a liability.

It hit me recently that children have not learned to rely on a mental database as I attempted to teach my six year old son about humor. We started with knock-knock jokes. He did not get it. His early efforts were the typical stuff of six-year old boys:

“Knock-knock dad”
“Who’s there?”
“Your pants are on fire” (enters laughing fit)

This happened over and over again, and I, like most of you reading this, did not find the joke to be as funny as he did. It missed the mark on irony and that crucial element of surprise. We left the project off at that and I figured I would come back to it later.

The next week I traveled to Dallas to give a presentation. When I opened my suitcase at the hotel I only had one dress shoe. The other one could only be at my house, or else in the collection of a strange type of shoe thief. In thinking about where it could be I used my database mindset in the way we have been taught to when we lost something. “Donato, think back to the last time you saw both shoes.” I remembered that my son and his two-year old sister had been playing with my shoes when I was packing. I picked up the phone, called home and asked to speak to my son.

“Hi Dad”
“Hey, I am here for my work presentation and I am missing a shoe. I remembered you and your sister playing with my shoes. Did you take it out of my suitcase before I left?”
“Knock-knock”, he said.
“I don’t have time for that right now. I need to know where my shoes are, can you just please go check?”
“Knock-knock” (in my sternest ‘Dad’ voice) “I said I don’t have time. I need to know if the shoe got lost at the airport or if it is at home so I can make other phone calls .. Go check and see if the shoe is somewhere where you and your sister were playing.” “Come on dad. Knock-knock. Pleeeeaseeee!” At this moment I decided to focus on the most important part of my life…being a Dad. Big breath and then: “Who’s there?”, I said. “Your other shoe is in your suitcase side-pocket. Ha Ha Ha”

Me, Dad, CEO, late 40’s, stunned by a six year old.

He got it. He really got it.

I knelt down, reopened my suitcase and there it was in the side pocket, carefully covered with socks stuffed over it. I cracked up. I had to hand it to him. He got the irony and the surprise down in under a week and he now gets humor. My humor. Adult level humor. However he is flexible to still use the “pants on fire” with his 4 year-old sister.

Upon reflection, I realized he figured out a concept like humor by relying on what I am going to call the research mind. He spent most of the week testing out different ideas of humor and noticing what got a laugh from adults. His open-minded approach led him to discover an authentic sense of humor. One that had both of us cracking up.

Most of us can learn a lesson from my six year-old – and from children everywhere. When we encounter something new, something that disrupts our process, we need to leave the database thinking in the dust. Instead, we need to step into our research mind and be open to all possible answers.

Of course, when I think about work, I think about Broadlook. The Broadlook tools offer an innovative alternative to our client’s usual process. Instead of going to a job board to find a candidate, or a business database to generate a lead, our tools take you directly to the largest source of information available anywhere – the Internet.

In order to fully utilize the software and get the best results possible, users have to transition to the research mindset to master them. While this is true of every new technology, Broadlook tools shift the paradigm in ways most software tools do not. For this reason, I have been a strong advocate of offering a training department for all of our clients to use as a resource. If you feel that your experience with the tools could be enhanced, then attend one of our many training classes. We even offer private lessons to show you how to maximize your investment.

At the time COFS first connected with Broadlook they wanted to build a nationwide network of churches. Widows of fallen soldiers have between six months and a year before they have to relocate off base housing. In many cases, widows and their families move back to their hometown and they lose the structure and support of life on the base. COFS wanted to create a network of churches and civic groups across the country that could be notified if one of these families was moving into the area and would help take care of them. Chaplain TIG knew the information could be found on the Internet, but getting to the information would take hours of manual research. With volunteer hours in short supply, they needed a better way. “We discovered that the best company to do that was Broadlook. We reached out and without a moment’s hesitation Donato said yes. Broadlook has supported us ever since.”

Through a combination of Profiler, Eclipse and Market Mapper, COFS has not only developed a nationwide support network, they have furthered their drive to collect Expressions of Acknowledgement, or EOAs, from across the country. EOAs are videos, letters, postcards or another creative expression from individuals across the county to children who have lost a parent in service of the nation. “One neat thing about this program,” according to Chaplain TIG “is that it is an exciting thing for the people sharing the EOA too. When somebody hears about kids who have lost a parent in the military they feel a pain in their heart and usually have no idea how they can help. EOAs are an outlet that gives everyone the opportunity to do something while providing these kids with an overwhelming outpouring of love that helps them hope for a better future.” Thousands of EOAs have been collected from people Children of Fallen Soldiers first located through their Broadlook tools. They have just passed with 5000 mark and hope to grow that number exponentially over the next year. Broadlook tools have also located 13 businesses that have donated to COFS and one company that is hosting a golf tournament to support the mission.

The next big push from COFS will come in the form of a national tour that will put the team on the road for the next two years. The tour will be centered on collecting EOAs at major events across the country, as well as gathering support for their new America’s Dream Mentorship program which offers a ten year commitment to each child accepted into the program geared toward making their dreams come true. COFS will be visiting large U.S. military bases and they have been invited to concerts as well as NFL and NASCAR events. COFS is looking for corporate sponsors who could benefit from the media attention drawn by a 72ft NASCAR rig that will look like a flag on wheels and an attention grabbing Lamborghini Gallardo. In preparation for the tour, COFS is reaching out to businesses and organizations across the country to ask for support. Broadlook’s lead generation platform plays a key part in this effort. According to Chaplain TIG, “The most important thing Broadlook tools have done for our organization has been a massive savings in our most valuable commodity – volunteer hours. As a small organization trying to do big things we do not have the luxury of wasting manpower or throwing money at a problem. We have to be very creative. With Broadlook we are saving 464,000 volunteer hours per year in research and data entry. That is massive, that is 200 volunteers at two hours per night per person.In the military we use the term ‘force multiplier’ to describe an attribute or combination of attributes which make a given force more effective than that same force would be without it. That is what Broadlook is for us.”

Based on these results, Chaplain TIG highly recommends that all companies looking to leverage the internet look to Broadlook as a solution. “But,” he adds, “I also suggest interacting with Broadlook to learn about client retention. We have consistently looked to Broadlook as an example of how to treat customers right, answer a call with a smile, and make people feel valuable. The whole team at Broadlook from Donato on down the line has made us feel as though we are a massive organization that they depend on in order to stay in business, but we aren’t. Instead we are incredibly lucky to be partnered with Broadlook.”

About Children of Fallen Soldiers:

Children of Fallen Soldiers (COFS) has been committed to the families of fallen soldiers since 2001. Their vision is to ensure that children of departed service men and women know that the people of the United States recognize their loss and are committed to helping them achieve their highest potential in life. Through the collection and distribution of Expressions of Appreciation and their new initiative, the America’s Dream Mentorship, COFS offers long term support to children that must shoulder the cost of freedom. If you would like to help this amazing organization please consider contributing an Expression of Encouragement. The COFS website offers examples or ideas as a starting point. Donations are welcome as well with options for one time gifts or monthly contributions of $1.00 or more. Finally, you can volunteer by spreading the word in your churches, schools, and businesses as an Ambassador for the program. Read more about the America’s Dream Mentorship.

Second half significance: what is it? Donny Howell, and members of the Halftime network invite professionals to transform their first half success into second half significance that creates an enduring impact on the world. HALFTIME Talent Solutions offers assistance in creating second half significance while enhancing faith-based nonprofit organizations ability to “accomplish daring Kingdom objectives.”

In 2010, Greg Barnes, founder of HALFTIME Talent Solutions, participated in a retreat at the Halftime Institute, a program dedicated to helping people discover their calling for second half significance. As an experienced recruiter working at the world’s largest executive search firm he immediately understood the void of professional recruiting services fulfilling this mission. He knew that the best way he could personally create significance in his second half was by starting a firm that focused on placing proven and passionate executives and leaders with Christian nonprofit organizations in need of executive expertise.

Recognizing his own opportunity for second half significance, Donny joined Greg in creating HALFTIME Talent Solutions just over one year ago. They have applied their expertise to the accomplishment of a mission greater than themselves. “We are very lucky to bring market experience, market intelligence, and passion to the work we do. For us, it is not just a job. It’s truly a mission. We do not leave it at the desk at 5pm – it’s a part of us,” shared Donny.

Through a combination of passion, experience and the right tools HALFTIME Talent Solutions experienced a 250% increase in year-over-year revenue. They had 40 successful placements during their first year in operation. Additionally, all searches have been completed in under 90 days.

Donny is the Director of Candidate Development and Research Operations.
He knew that in order to make that the greatest impact and achieve their mission objectives, using the best tools available would be imperative. Donny discovered Broadlook while researching a couple of solutions for his old company. After seeing Broadlook in action, Donny knew the Broadlook platform would enhance the way his previous firm did business. When Donny made the decision to join Greg at HALFTIME Talent one of the first tools he instituted was the Broadlook platform.

“When we started HALFTIME Talent Solutions it was imperative for us to contact the heads of nonprofit organizations and we utilized the Broadlook platform for sales and business development. We have also relied on it for our sourcing needs and brand awareness. It has been invaluable to us in this past year,” said Donny. “We just completed our first year of operations and here are just some of the successes I can attribute to Broadlook; the addition of several thousand new potential candidates, sources, and sales targets to our database. That has been such an incredible plus for us. Whether you are a retained or a contingent firm, Broadlook satisfies everything you are looking for.”

The education and training offered by Broadlook further distinguished the Broadlook platform for Donny.

“The customer service at Broadlook is impeccable. I do not think I have ever dealt with a more responsive company. The training department is always supportive, available and willing to do whatever it takes to increase the value of the tools. It is really incredible.”

About HALFTIME Talent Solutions:

Dedicated to helping successful executives into significant roles in the Christian nonprofit sector, HALFTIME Talent Solutions brings over 75 years of collective recruiting experience combined with deep passion to the challenge of matching nonprofits with dedicated leaders. HALFTIME Talent Solutions offers three distinct, but related, areas of client service for faith-based nonprofits at below market rates. Retained executive search for full time leaders and key management personnel needs, interim executive management services for short-term or temporary projects and talent solutions consulting and resources to improve nonprofit organizations’ recruiting and talent management process. If you are interested in learning more about HALFTIME Talent Solutions please visit their website at www.halftimetalent.com , call Donny directly at 214-468-9055 or email him at Donny@halftimetalent.com

Imagine a database of 170,000 legal professionals complete with fresh and accurate contact information. Now image that it is complete with areas of practice, education data such as law school and graduation date, honors received. Don’t forget the undergrad school, year, degree and honors.

We call it the Living List. “Living” because it is not full of dead, Zombie data. (Dead but still walking around). Using Broadlook’s proprietary technology, the data is kept fresh. Other list providers may have a team of 30+ researchers continuously updating the list, but the process takes six months or longer! Contact information degrades at a rate of 4% a month. Useless, outdated and dead data stays in the list for months on end. Stop wasting time with Zombie Data.

The top 250 firms in the country completely update every 30 days and the entire list refreshes once per quarter. This ensures we have the freshest Living information available. Using innovative technology, backed up by human verification, our Living List guarantees better, fresher, more reliable data than anything else currently available.

Based on feedback from our users, our first foray into the list business is our Living List of Attorneys. We have captured the data on the top 1250 law firms in the country. Our unrivaled list offers a depth of information never before seen. Now you can go out and find multiple points of attorney information in a single search. A sampling of the information provided in the Broadlook Living List of Attorneys includes:

• Name and contact information (including title, phone, email address).
• All practice areas
• Law school and graduation year
• Honors earned
• Undergrad degree and graduation year
• Other advanced degrees earned

Recruiting and business that serve the legal market can now eliminate the need for costly, tedious research. Our Living List contains a wealth of information that would take a full team more than 60 days to complete.

We have multiple packages to meet client’s needs. Tier One data offers the top 250 firms, including the AmLaw 200, and completely refreshes every 30 days. Tier Two data covers firms ranging from 150 people to 30 people and updates every 60 days. The list can also be broken into geographic segments.

Want to work with living data? Schedule a Living List Demonstration.

Remember the yuppie grad student in the movie Good Will Hunting? In the bar scene, Will Hunting, the main protagonist, puts him in his place. The guy had no original thought. None. On the surface, the grad student appears to speak with authority. In reality, he had no understanding of the topic. He simply regurgitated whatever theory he happened to be reading at the moment.

Parroting popular thinking happens too often. Especially in business. Business and sales books happen to be some of the trendiest books around. Suddenly everyone starts promoting themselves or their product using the hot new buzzwords. Many of these books can be considered good, or even great. However, instead of analyzing, thinking and tweaking their business to improve the process, many businesses rush to embrace the new ideas whole-heartedly. As a part of this cycle, the last “great idea” goes in the trash before it has even had a chance to work.

At Broadlook, we have watched the same embrace of trendy ideas happening in the data sector. All businesses start at the same place – the need for data. All organizations need people to contact to generate revenue. In the past that meant turning to lists. As list services trended upward, more data services entered that market. As more companies began generating lists they differentiated themselves from the competition by popularizing the idea of a niche list. The data desires of business leaders followed the trend once again.

Next the push came for businesses to get more contacts per company. Years ago ZoomInfo led the charge by offering businesses more information than any other service before them. Unfortunately for businesses, much of the data found had been aging. The next idea that gained traction naturally centered on the desire for fresher contact information. Business card trading services promised a solution. In reality everyone shared their worst contacts and kept the best for themselves. While fresh information could be found, key decision makers or truly valuable information could not. The next evolution occurred when data aggregators entered the marketplace. These aggregators, such as InsideView, collect data from multiple sources, put it together, and gain some intelligence through that process. While the data may be somewhat better than their predecessors, data aggregators depend on databases of static, aging information.

Concurrently, businesses have wanted access to more knowledge per contact and have turned to social networking sites such as LinkedIn to provide access to that data. While it is feasible to use LinkedIn to connect with somebody, the time it takes to get those connections working can often be significantly longer than the requirements of the business demand.

Eventually, businesses realize they want it all. Good data, more contacts per company, fresher contact information, social data – and they want it to flow seamlessly into CRM. This has been the point that our customers have turned to us for a comprehensive solution. Using our automation tools, businesses can create exclusive niche lists. They then pull the best information from the live web to gather the freshest information available for multiple contacts at each company – including social data – and effortlessly integrate it into their CRM process.

Ready to think for yourself? Want to target a specific niche and focus on results instead of the next data trend? Then you are ready to say goodbye to services and implement a solution.

Is your recruiting niche trending up or down? Not knowing this vital information leaves recruiters in a typical conundrum – measuring the effect rather than the cause. Without good metrics, you cannot proactively position yourself in the hottest markets. Working in the wrong market could mean no job orders, no placements, no sendouts, and eventually, no business. Broadlook’s most recent Job Pulse release puts the power to ensure their own success directly in the hands of recruiters.

BIG DATA vs. Niche Analytics

Traditional providers of analytics fail to reach the level of specificity that recruiters require. For example, a big data company may offer analytics on the number of software developers in the Milwaukee market in the 50 to 80K range. Unfortunately, that is absolutely useless in the recruiting process. The only groups benefiting from that information are large companies looking to open a new plant – like Intel. Big data serves only that infinitesimal population – not recruiters.

Niche analytics can start in one place only -with you and your specific needs. Broadlook’s most recent Job Pulse release provides a tool designed to give recruiters the power to track their own job market analytics. For example, what if I am NOT looking for all software developers – just those developing for the iPhone? I don’t want to track the entire software development market. The information I need will be buried in a general category. However, with Job Pulse 3.0, I can track my specific niche, iPhone developers, once a week for six weeks and then once a month after that – giving me the specific information I need to be successful in my business.

Never find out after the fact again. Tracking your market is now possible. Schedule a demonstration now.

Not everyone in the sales industry can be rightly called a sales guru, but anyone that develops a technique successful enough to gain an impromptu meeting with one of the world’s most celebrated rock stars by shouting out to him in a crowded café qualifies in our book.

According to the preface in Kraig Kleeman’s 2008 book, The Must React System: A User’s Guide to Cold Calling, front-man for the rock band U2 and leading social change activist Bono simply wanted to enjoy a cold beverage and just “sit” for a few minutes – alone. Yet, determined as he was to protect his small amount of downtime and simply enjoy his cold drink and sandwich, Mr. Kleeman did what according to Bono “no other human being can do. He approached me during private time and gained an unsolicited, 45 minute meeting.”

In addition to befriending rock-stars, Kraig has also shared the stage with former President George W. Bush at the World Leader’s Forum in 2011, and is a sought after speaker at sales conferences, executive retreats, and motivational events. Kraig has also accepted an invitation to present on “Optimizing Prospecting to Drive Revenue” at the AA-ISP conference (American Association of Inside Sales Professionals) in April 2012.

Kraig’s status as a well-known authority in sales and lead generation prompted Broadlook co-founder Dan Hughes to reach out with an initial call. At first it seemed like just another sales call to Kraig, but as Dan described the technology, Kraig knew that he needed to see it in action.

In less than a week of using the Broadlook Suite, Kraig was hooked. “In a matter of months we grew our database using the Broadlook tools from about 30,000 names to approximately one million. All of them are prime targets for us to have opt into our newsletters or download our whitepapers. It has just been spectacular! We would have had to pay at least 10 employees for well over a year to achieve the same results manually.”

According to Kraig, implementation of the Broadlook Suite, especially Profiler and Eclipse, has radically increased our target universe, our conversion rate, and bottom-line revenue. Broadlook has also been, “The best support organization we have ever worked with,” said Kraig. “The support team is responsive and quick. It is just superb.”

The success Kraig and Blaire Group have had attracts many third party vendors, all of them asking for an endorsement from Blaire Group. However, Broadlook is the only product that Blaire Group openly endorses. “In fact,” shared Kraig, “I will probably end up giving Broadlook three or four shout-outs during my talk at the AA-ISPA conference simply because of the measurable impact the tools have had on my business”

About Blaire Group

Serving the B2B market, Blaire Group has worked with 1000’s of businesses to modernize their sales process. The Must-React System is the world’s leading selling methodology. “What we have found is that unsolicited calls that turn on the “value-proposition technique” other sales training companies teach blend in with all the other calls out there. According to the research done by Blaire Group it simply does not work. Instead of retooling the broken value-proposition approach we teach our clients a completely new way of getting a prospect’s attention – by leading with information relative to your target’s professional mandates, “ explains Kraig. The Must-React System is not based on speculation or wishful thinking. Instead, it has been built from the ground up based on scientific research. A quick look at Blaire Group’s website or Kraig’s personal LinkedIn page confirms that results from implementing The Must-React System have created an enthusiastic group of supporters.

For more information on Blaire Group and The Must React System please call (800) 654-7887, visit www.blairegroup.com, or email Kraig at response@blairegroup.com

What is the secret to sales dominance? Yep, that’s right. Lots of practice.

This bit of wisdom applies to every area of our lives – as most of us know by this point in our careers. Any real success has been the result of doing it over and over again. However, all too often we get stuck in a rut and start doing the same thing again and again, yet expecting different results – and that’s insane.

In the buzzworthy book, Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin, the steps of a specific type of practice designed to improve performance have been laid out. Colvin calls it deliberate practice. We call it being deliberate…mindful down to the most ridiculous level possible. Yes, a reduction to the ridiculous. Sometimes you must go to an extreme to initiate change. If you want to improve your voicemail performance, then you had better get deliberate in your practice. This means creating a highly structured practice routine that offers ample opportunity for high repetition and immediate feedback.

Know what you want to achieve

Becoming a voicemail genius means knowing the differences between a great voicemail, an average voicemail, and a terrible voicemail. Approach voicemails with a scientific outlook: listen to every voicemail you get and score it using our Voicemail Scoring System. The Voicemail Scoring System is available to anyone who signs up for our monthly newsletter. Save the highest rated and isolate key elements you want to emulate.

Practice Directly

Practice your voicemail message over and over. Let someone listen to your voicemail, or record it. Are you a manager? Record your team so you do not get caught in disputes over what was actually said. If your voicemail sounds like one you would delete, then it needs work. Separate those elements that require improvement, and then focus on one at a time until perfect voicemails become second-nature.

Practice in the game

This consists of three phases: before, during, and after.

• Before you make any calls, start with setting a goal for your voicemails that day. Will you be working on your tone? Your passion? The length of the message? Whatever it is, decide how to accomplish that goal by developing specific, technique-oriented plans.
• During voicemails top performers focus on their execution, at the same time as completing the work. This process, called metacognition, works by mentally observing your own process from the outside. Develop this skill and you will be able to react to changing conditions quickly -in addition to improving your voicemail skills.
• After each voicemail evaluate your performance. Most voicemail systems provide the option of listening to the voicemail you just left. Listen to the recording – it will not lie! The recording gives you the most specific feedback on what you can improve. Doing this as much as possible will improve your voicemail performance more than anything else you can do.

Following the steps above to improve my own voicemail performance led to my developing Broadlook’s newest webinar, “Voicemail as a Science.” The response to our first offering was enthusiastic and we will be offering it again May 9th. Register now. In the meantime here are some of my top voicemail tips to get you started:

• Leave your telephone number twice and say it in two different ways in order to ensure understanding. People who grew up in different places attenuate to different accent. For example, someone who grew up in New York would hear the number perfectly while someone who grew up in the South would not. Leaving the number twice in different ways helps everyone hear it. It would go something like this, “Call me back at 8-7-7-9-7-7-8-0-8-0. Again that is 8-7-7-9-77-80-80.
• Use bullet points instead of scripts. Scripts cause you to sound wooden while bullet points ensure that you get across everything important without sounding like a robot.
• Use the person’s name often. People pay attention when their name has been said. After all, they have been paying attention to their own name their whole life. If you want to get someone’s attention, use their name.
• Have a sticky ending message. One of my employees always says, “Make it a great day” at the end of her voicemails and emails. If you create your own message, it becomes part of your personal brand and increases your memorability.




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