Skip to content
Vera

Twenty seconds, and nobody is listening yet.

Voicemails that get returned, and the person between you and the buyer.

You leave forty voicemails a week and get one callback a month.

What Vera actually is

A phone call with someone who is not there. You say the thing out loud, they answer the way a real person would, and you get to do it again — as many times as it takes, with nobody listening.

1She calls youA real phone call, about ten seconds after you tap. Lock screen, headphones, car — wherever you take calls.
2She plays the other personNot a coach reading tips. Voicemails & Gatekeepers, with someone on the other end who answers back.
3She pushes when you are vagueFollow-up questions, interruptions when you ramble, and a straight read at the end on what landed.
Start Practising

15 minutes free · no card needed

Start Practising

15 minutes free · no card needed

“What if I am bad at it?”Everyone is, on the first one. That is the entire reason it happens here and not there.
“What if I do not know what to say?”She asks first and follows up on whatever you answer. You never start from a blank page.
“What if it is awkward?”It is, for about twenty seconds. Then it is a conversation, and nobody heard the twenty seconds.

Not practising doesn’t save you anything.

The ticket, the evening, the weeks of applying — all of it is spent before anyone says a word. The practice is the only cheap part, and the only part that changes how the rest goes.

Start Practising

15 minutes free · no card needed

What they'll actually say

A prospect who pushes back, then follows up on however you handle it.

  1. Leave me a twenty-second voicemail. Go.
  2. That was forty seconds and you led with your name.
  3. I am the executive assistant. What is this regarding?
  4. They are not available. Would you like to leave a message?
  5. Make me want to call you back in one sentence.
More about this one

Most voicemails are deleted before they finish, because they open with the rep's name and company — which is the least interesting information available and arrives exactly when the listener decides whether to keep listening. Gatekeepers have the same problem in reverse: they are trained to filter, and the way most reps talk to them confirms they should be filtered. Both are twenty-second problems with rehearsable answers.

Why this one is hard

Opening with yourselfName and company first is the standard opener and the reason most voicemails are deleted.
LengthPast twenty seconds, the delete happens before your reason arrives.
Treating gatekeepers as obstaclesThey are usually well informed and can help, and they can tell how you are treating them.
No callback reasonA message that gives no reason to call back does not get a call back.

What Vera listens for

First five secondsWhat you lead with decides whether the rest gets heard at all.
Length disciplineTwenty seconds is short and almost everyone overruns on the first attempt.
Gatekeeper toneWhether you treat them as a person with information or an obstacle to route around.

Related practice

Cold CallsOpeners, the early brush-off, and staying on the line past the first no.Ghosted DealsRe-engagement that is not a fifth "just checking in".Your 30-Second PitchThe answer to "so what do you do" that you give forty times a week.For SDRs & BDRsPractice the opener, the brush-off, and the voicemail — on your own time.

Common questions

How long should a voicemail be?

Around twenty seconds. First attempts routinely run double that without the speaker noticing.

Should I leave voicemails at all?

Combined with an email referencing the call, many reps still find it works. Alone, it works far less well.

How do I get past a gatekeeper?

Usually by being straightforward and treating them as someone who knows things. Tricks are recognised instantly by people who screen calls all day.

Who this matters most for

For SDRs & BDRs

Rehearse it once before it counts

Your first 15 minutes are free. No card required.

Start Practising