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Home | Sales & Marketing | Leaving the Perfect Voice Mail

Leaving the Perfect Voice Mail

30 July, 2008 06:38:00
ABCN

Part of your job as a team member at a NETWORK center is to keep in close contact with your prospects and clients. This includes phone communications and leaving voice mails when necessary.

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Follow these ALLIANCE-recommended tips to get better results from your voice messages.
Here are a few ALLIANCE-recommended tips on voice mail etiquette to help you remain professional and accessible:
  1. Create a reason for people to call you back. If you want the person you're calling to call you back, don’t leave information that would allow the person to make up his/her mind. Add a call-to-action to your message by providing a key date or something of interest that will entice the person to return the call.
  2. Repeat your phone number twice. If the person can’t quickly write your number down, you’ve given them a good reason to not call back.
  3. Avoid asking the person to call you back at a certain time. This provides them with an excuse not to call you.
  4. Never say in your message that you plan to call them back. This just gives the person an excuse to ignore your message.
  5. Try to avoid leaving messages on Friday afternoons and Monday mornings. Messages left on a Friday afternoon are the least likely to be returned. For most people, Monday mornings are very busy and, as a result, only high–priority activities will get their immediate attention.
  6. Don't leave voice mail messages at odd hours. Most voice mail systems offer a time stamp and the person hearing the message will suspect you really did not want to talk to them.
  7. The best hours to leave voicemail messages are from 6:45 AM to 8:00 AM and from 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM. Aggressive people are usually working during these time periods, and the person receiving your message could potentially view you as one.
  8. Wisely use time zone changes to make as many calls as possible during the optimal voicemail periods.
  9. Be personable yet professional, and link your message to something of interest to the person you are calling (such as another person or event). The recipient may view your message as a waste of time if you have no purpose other than getting your name in front of them.
  10. When leaving a message with multiple points, be sure to immediately disclose how many you will be making. This will prevent the recipient from accidentally fast-forwarding or deleting it before it is completely heard.
  11. The optimal message is between 8 and 14 seconds. If you can’t say it briefly, don’t say it at all. Leaving a long message is an invitation to have the entire message skipped.
  12. When leaving your phone number, don't give your website address. This will give the person an opportunity to make a decision about you without calling you back.
  13. Refer to a mutual acquaintance (of whom they think positively) in your message as a way of connecting with the recipient.

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