A ringless voicemail drop (RVM) delivers a pre-recorded message straight into a lead's voicemail box — their phone never rings. They see a voicemail notification with your number as the callback, listen when they want, and call you back on a line you already answer in DirectREI (your softphone, AI receptionist, or forwarded cell). It's a softer touch than a cold call and cheaper than a mailer.
Pricing — pay only for what lands
Each drop costs 15¢, charged from your prepaid credit balance only when it's successfully delivered. Drops that fail (voicemail box full, landline, carrier not covered) are refunded automatically — the campaign card shows Delivered vs Failed honestly. There's no monthly fee; available on every paid plan.
Set up once (Voice Outreach page → Voicemail Drops tab)
- Accept the terms. A one-time attestation the account owner confirms — see the legal section below, it matters.
- Record or upload your message. Record right in the browser (⏺ Record) or upload an MP3/WAV/M4A. At least 5 seconds; 20–30 seconds is the sweet spot. Say who you are, why you're reaching out, and ask them to call you back — the number they see is yours.
- Have a phone number connected. Drops display one of your connected numbers as the callback — that's what makes return calls land in your CRM. No number connected = no drops. Multi-number accounts can pick which numbers a campaign uses: edit the campaign → Calling numbers (the same picker exists on Cold Call and AI Call campaigns — great for keeping a local number per market).
Two ways to send
- One-off drops: CRM → select contacts → 🎙️ Voicemail drop… on the bulk bar → pick a recording → confirm. Good for a quick pass over a hot list.
- A Voicemail Drops campaign: create a campaign with the 🎙️ Voicemail Drops channel, pick its recording on the campaign, enroll contacts (select → Add to campaign), then press Send drops — the Voice Outreach page in the left nav is the home for this (recordings, the live drop queue, and every Voicemail Drop + AI Call campaign in one place; the All Campaigns page works too). Start only queues people it hasn't already dropped to — pressing it again after enrolling more contacts is safe. Automations can auto-drop too ("new lead → Enroll in campaign") once you turn on Let automations send voicemail drops, which also has its own daily spend cap.
Drops go out during allowed hours (8am–9pm in the lead's local time) and each delivery shows on the contact's timeline. The campaign card counts Dropped like other channels count Sent.
The legal part — read this before sending
- DirectREI automatically skips opted-out contacts, litigator- and DNC-flagged numbers, and blocked numbers, and delivers only during legal hours.
- Florida is refused entirely — state law bans ringless-voicemail solicitation outright — and so is Washington. The filter uses the lead's property, mailing address, or area code; it's best-effort, not a guarantee.
- Run the DNC & litigator scrub on your list first, and keep your consent records — the attestation you sign says the consent side is yours.
What makes a drop convert
- Sound like a person, not an ad — one take on your phone-quality mic beats studio polish for this.
- Lead with their context: "calling about your land in [county]" out-pulls a generic pitch.
- Keep it under 30 seconds and end with a clear ask: "give me a call back at this number."
- Answer your callbacks! They ring the number you dropped from — your connected line. If you use the AI receptionist, it picks up the ones you miss.