Is voice mail useful? (hint: it’s in the greeting)

A poor voice mail message goes something like this, “ Hi it’s (so and so), call me at (phone number)”. Quite honestly, I find these types of voice mails frustrating. They’re no different than an email without substance. This kind of communication is inefficient, time consuming and not very effective. Furthermore, most people’s inclination is to leave these types of messages for last. If you want to ensure a quick priority response to your voice mail message, learn to leave detailed messages.

Voicemail is an effective useful tool, when used properly. Most people don’t understand how to use it. So tell them... In your voicemail greeting, tell your caller what type of detail you want them to leave in their message to you.

Here’s an example of an effective personal voicemail greeting:
Hello, you’ve reached (NAME) at (COMPANY). I’m sorry I unavailable at the moment, but if you’d like to leave your name, telephone number and details of how I can help you, I’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you for calling (COMPANY) and have a great day. (15 seconds).

When you receive a message with detail of what’s required, you can return a call with the information to assist with the inquiry. You deal with it efficiently, usually with one return call.

Truth be told, not everyone listens to greetings, but the majority do. This simple thing can help improve the way you communicate using voice mail.

Contact me for free voicemail greeting sample scripts and voicemail etiquette ideas at 905-709-2656 ex.111 or miguelr@vertigoal.com