Now that there are convenient, non-threatening ways to communicate via email, it's harder than ever to get prospects on the phone to discuss a potential ad program with your association magazine. Busy prospects and clients routinely screen their phone calls with voicemail. How many times have you called and left a message for your prospect only to get an email in return a few minutes after the call?

Blame it on voicemail, blame it on email-blame it on the weather, if you like. The truth is, it's not that your prospects are too busy to talk…they are simply too busy to talk to you. What can you do to change that around?

TALK TO ME, BABY

When no one is returning your calls, the easy option is to put down the phone and start relying on email as the primary communication vehicle to identify, qualify, and close a potential advertiser. Perhaps we turn to email because when our calls go unreturned, deep inside we know we're in for a "no." Rejection is easier to swallow in an email than in person.

But that's the very reason to pursue a phone call with your prospects: It is also harder for them to say "no" if they are talking to you in person- at least not without giving you a decent chance to make your case. Furthermore, it is extremely difficult through email to identify a prospect's market needs and to position your publication above the competition as a targeted, cost-effective ad buy reaching an active community of professionals. Remember that a phone call- a real-time, two-way conversation- allows you to ask questions. And the answers to these questions determine a prospect's market needs, establish ad timing, and develop a cost-effective advertising program.

Most important of all: the phone is the best medium for effectively overcoming a prospect's objections to starting a program in your publication and to push an advertiser beyond a single-ad commitment. Here are some suggestions to get prospects back onto the phone.

1. Know the keys to effective voice mail.

• Spell it out. Your association's name- not the acronym- needs to be clearly stated at the beginning of the message. Not all prospects may know your organization's acronym, and worse yet; they could get you confused with another association or publication.
• Remember the goal. The goal of your voicemail message is to make a quick connection that will pique the prospect's attention enough that they need to call you back for more information. It is about what they need, not about what you need.
• Change it up. Don't leave the same message every time you call. Have a progression of messages that focus on a prospect's need in the market, the timing of an issue relative to their industry, and other similar companies that may be competitors who are advertising in your association magazine.

2. Call early and call late. Decision makers are often out of the office or tied up in meetings in the middle of the day. Ad sales professionals frequently forget that early morning and late afternoon/ evening can be a great time to reach an elusive prospect. There is no rule that says you have to wait until after 10:00 a.m. to make a cold call.

3. Set an appointment time. You have left several messages and still no return call. Now is the time to turn to email as an ally and use it effectively. Send a brief email to your client introducing yourself and the association. Verify that this individual is the correct contact to make advertising decisions for the company. Ask to set a call time with the prospect that is convenient to their schedule. State that the purpose of the call will be to start a dialog about the prospect's need to reach your members.

Client relationships are developed by talking with your prospects- not by email. Use your expertise in your association's field as a catalyst to get a conversation underway. An advertiser will remember the enthusiasm, knowledge and responsiveness of a great advertising sales person. They will not remember the person who penned a great email.

Carrie Hartin (chartin@networkpub.com) is chief operating officer for Network Media Partners, Inc. in Hunt Valley, MD.