Statistics show that as much as 80% of all business-to-business telecommunications is done through voice mail. There is no "silver bullet", or magic method for dealing with voice mail. However, here are some ideas to consider:


Zero-Out: In most voice mail systems, this action will get you to an operator who can tell you if that person is even in the office that day, and they can tell you the best time to try calling that person back.
 
Call on the hour or half-hour: Because so many busy decision makers spend much of their time on conference calls that are scheduled for the top or bottom of the hour, they may pick up your call thinking it is their scheduled conference call. Be careful with this strategy because they will probably be on the defensive since you are not the caller they expected. Apologize, then use the few seconds you might have with them on the phone to explain the purpose of your call and try to gain their agreement to accept your call back at a later time. This may sound like an odd strategy, but it's better than the alternative, which is leaving a voice mail message that never gets returned.
 
Leverage their administrative assistant go ahead and leave them a voicemail, but let them know that you are going to get to their administrative assistant directly to schedule a meeting/conference call with them.


While there is no sure way for getting around voicemail, these tips should increase your overall effectiveness when up against the voicemail challenge!