Have you ever heard a good voice mail greeting? A greeting so good that before you leave a message, you give that the person a compliment for having a a great voice mail greeting.
I’ve received many compliments for having a great business voice mail greeting. The primary reason why I get so many compliments every day, is because I am a control freak… however, the caller doesn’t realize it.
Is Your Business Voice Mail Greeting Like Everybody Else
When you call a business associate voice mail or even yours, I bet you hear the following…
“You’ve reach Cathleen Kennedy’s cell phone. Please leave a detailed message. I will call you back as soon as possible.”
Sound familiar? Do you think there’s any problem with the voice mail? Probably not, because it may sound like yours. But here’s the problem…
When is as soon as possible?
5 minutes after the message is left, 30 minutes, 3 hours, or the next day? I have no clue and neither does the caller whose is leaving a message.
A.S.A.P. Is Synonymous To When I Feel Like It
Your business voice mail is really saying: “I’m Ms. Super Important Know-It All, I’m busy. Let me remind you that voice mail messages need to be very detailed, because you’ve probably never used this technology. Anyway, I’ll call you when I feel like it. Chow!”
Here are 7 Steps To A Better Business Voice Mail Greeting:
1) Listen To Your Voice Mail 3 times. Is there anything that you could improve upon. Remember, for he most part your voice mail greeting is your initial impression. You know the cliche about first impressions, so I won’t repeat it.
2) Delete Your Current Voice Mail. Accept the fact. Your voice mail is lazy. You rushed to put it together and there’s nothing special about it. If your business is important to you… hit the delete button.
3) Tell Your Caller What To Do. What would be important for them to do besides leave a detailed message? For example, I ask my callers to tell me who referred them to me.
4) Write A Script. Take time to think about you what you have to say. What can you say in your message that will make more people want to do business with you?
5) Smile When Your Re-Recording Voice mail. No explanation necessary. People can see your smile, even when you make a recording.
6) Don’t Keep It Short. Your not in a race to get off the phone. Take 10 to 20 seconds to let your voice mail be an automated assistant.
7) Ask Feedback. Most likely you won’t have to. If you have a great message, you will have callers tell you so.
Do or Don’t. There is no try.
Kendall Matthews
P.s. What is your unique business voice mail script?
