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Communicating: Building a Better Voice Mail box
Ever had this experience? You call someone and get an answer machine or
voice mail with an unfamiliar voice and a cryptic message like, “Hi. I’m not
here right now, so leave a message and I’ll get back to you.”
The problem with that greeting is the lack of identification. You can’t really be
sure you’ve reached the person you intended. The message creates a
dilemma for the caller. What if the information you have is sensitive or
personal in nature? Should you leave a message and risk having it get to the
wrong person? If you don’t leave a message, you miss your chance to
communicate something important.
My favorite response to those anonymous voice machines is to say something
like, “Hey, it’s me, guess what? I just won $100,000 in the lottery and I’m
taking a bunch of friends to Mexico for the weekend. Call me so I can save a
seat on the plane for you.” Or if you want to be mean about it, you could say,
“Hi, I’m calling you on advice from my doctor. You need to take some
precautionary steps. Call me back so I can explain the situation.” Both of
these messages respond in-kind to the dolts who have voice mail but don’t
know how to use it.
If you want your voice mail to work for you, here are some clear
communication tips that will increase caller response and will make you a
clear communicator.
Update your message everyday:The message that starts with, “Hi, it’s
Tuesday October 14th and you’ve reached…” virtually guarantees that the
caller will listen to the entire message. The caller knows immediately what your
status is for that day and isn’t left wondering if you are in Alaska. If my own
experience with voice mail is any indicator, only about 1% of the office
telephones in America are updated on a daily basis, probably because most
people have forgotten how to record a message. But updating is simple. The
first time you update it will probably take you several minutes to figure out the
directions in your manual. By the fourth or fifth day you should be doing it in
less than 30 seconds, and that includes the message. A half a minute a day to
keep your caller better informed is a good use of your time. Another
advantage of daily updates is that when you are out of the office for a day or a
week, it cuts down on the number of calls waiting for you on your return.
Don’t be a dead end: Always give the caller options. Many, many customers
do not like to talk to machines. Give them a “zero out” option that allows them
to press zero and talk to a live voice. Your phone system probably has the
capability to ring at multiple stations when someone zero’s out. A small video
production company that I am familiar with set up its phone system so that
every phone in the building rings when a caller zeros out. Employees
understand that the “all ring” calls mean a customer has a problem and they
answer quickly. Another common dead end is the company that goes to the
expense of having a live receptionist who routinely dumps calls into dead end
voice mail. Train anyone who answer the telephone to always give the caller
the option of leaving a message or being placed into voice mail. Finally,
make sure your message assures callers that they can reach a human. Tell
callers things like, “… you can either leave a message at the tone or press
zero and ask to have me paged.” Or, “press zero at any time during this
message to speak with one of my associates.”
Be brief: A good message should last no more than 15 seconds. The
average person speaks at a rate of about 200 words a minute. 15 seconds
give you time for about 50 words. That’s a lot of chatter. This entire paragraph
is less than 50 words.
Stay away from scare words: How many times have you heard a voice mail
message say something like, “…if this is an emergency you can page me…”
Or, “… if this is extremely urgent press zero and my assistant will help you.”
Emergencies are for firemen and ambulance drivers. Few customers, even
those placing orders, consider their call an emergency. So why use language
that has a fear factor? A far more inviting statement would be, “… if you need
to speak with me right away, please don’t hesitate to dial…” Or, “…Your call is
very important to me, my cell phone number is.” Most people will think twice
before calling your cell or pager, but if they do at least they won’t feel like they
are interrupting international peace talks.
Modern telephone systems can help your business prosper. Make sure your
system and especially your voice mail messages are working to the max to
facilitate communication between you and your customers.
David Hains is a Communications Consultant. You can reach him at
David@TVDave.com
Ever had this experience? You call someone and get an answer machine or
voice mail with an unfamiliar voice and a cryptic message like, “Hi. I’m not
here right now, so leave a message and I’ll get back to you.”
The problem with that greeting is the lack of identification. You can’t really be
sure you’ve reached the person you intended. The message creates a
dilemma for the caller. What if the information you have is sensitive or
personal in nature? Should you leave a message and risk having it get to the
wrong person? If you don’t leave a message, you miss your chance to
communicate something important.
My favorite response to those anonymous voice machines is to say something
like, “Hey, it’s me, guess what? I just won $100,000 in the lottery and I’m
taking a bunch of friends to Mexico for the weekend. Call me so I can save a
seat on the plane for you.” Or if you want to be mean about it, you could say,
“Hi, I’m calling you on advice from my doctor. You need to take some
precautionary steps. Call me back so I can explain the situation.” Both of
these messages respond in-kind to the dolts who have voice mail but don’t
know how to use it.
If you want your voice mail to work for you, here are some clear
communication tips that will increase caller response and will make you a
clear communicator.
Update your message everyday:The message that starts with, “Hi, it’s
Tuesday October 14th and you’ve reached…” virtually guarantees that the
caller will listen to the entire message. The caller knows immediately what your
status is for that day and isn’t left wondering if you are in Alaska. If my own
experience with voice mail is any indicator, only about 1% of the office
telephones in America are updated on a daily basis, probably because most
people have forgotten how to record a message. But updating is simple. The
first time you update it will probably take you several minutes to figure out the
directions in your manual. By the fourth or fifth day you should be doing it in
less than 30 seconds, and that includes the message. A half a minute a day to
keep your caller better informed is a good use of your time. Another
advantage of daily updates is that when you are out of the office for a day or a
week, it cuts down on the number of calls waiting for you on your return.
Don’t be a dead end: Always give the caller options. Many, many customers
do not like to talk to machines. Give them a “zero out” option that allows them
to press zero and talk to a live voice. Your phone system probably has the
capability to ring at multiple stations when someone zero’s out. A small video
production company that I am familiar with set up its phone system so that
every phone in the building rings when a caller zeros out. Employees
understand that the “all ring” calls mean a customer has a problem and they
answer quickly. Another common dead end is the company that goes to the
expense of having a live receptionist who routinely dumps calls into dead end
voice mail. Train anyone who answer the telephone to always give the caller
the option of leaving a message or being placed into voice mail. Finally,
make sure your message assures callers that they can reach a human. Tell
callers things like, “… you can either leave a message at the tone or press
zero and ask to have me paged.” Or, “press zero at any time during this
message to speak with one of my associates.”
Be brief: A good message should last no more than 15 seconds. The
average person speaks at a rate of about 200 words a minute. 15 seconds
give you time for about 50 words. That’s a lot of chatter. This entire paragraph
is less than 50 words.
Stay away from scare words: How many times have you heard a voice mail
message say something like, “…if this is an emergency you can page me…”
Or, “… if this is extremely urgent press zero and my assistant will help you.”
Emergencies are for firemen and ambulance drivers. Few customers, even
those placing orders, consider their call an emergency. So why use language
that has a fear factor? A far more inviting statement would be, “… if you need
to speak with me right away, please don’t hesitate to dial…” Or, “…Your call is
very important to me, my cell phone number is.” Most people will think twice
before calling your cell or pager, but if they do at least they won’t feel like they
are interrupting international peace talks.
Modern telephone systems can help your business prosper. Make sure your
system and especially your voice mail messages are working to the max to
facilitate communication between you and your customers.
David Hains is a Communications Consultant. You can reach him at
David@TVDave.com
David Hains Media Solutions
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