In our last blog post, we offered some tips for crafting a useful – and pleasant – voice mail greeting.  Just as important is leaving a clear and concise message. When you hear the beep on the voice mail of an important prospective client or key customer, you might feel a little nervous.

Here are some suggestions so you don’t hang up thinking, “I sounded awful” or end up like the young man in that cell phone commercial who keeps deleting his voice mail to a girl and each time, the message gets worse and worse. 

• Give your name, company and telephone number. Be sure to give your phone number slowly so the listener has time to write it down. There’s nothing worse than listening to a voice mail message six times because the caller has rattled through the phone too fast. In fact, give the number twice – and give it slowly.
• Provide enough information so the person knows why you’re calling but try to avoid a 10-minute message. No one likes to listen to a rambling, long message.
• On the opposite end, if you’re cold-calling someone, don’t be too cryptic (“This is Jane Doe. Please call me at 555-1234.”). Chances are the person won’t even bother to return your call.
• Be clear as to whether you expect a return call or if you’ll give the person a call back later in the day or maybe the following day. You can also indicate if you plan to follow up via e-mail so the person knows to be on the lookout for an e-mail message.
• Be pleasant and engaged. Who wants to hear a rushed message from a Grumpy Gus? Insert a smile and up your chances of getting a call back.
• If it’s a voice mail you are particularly nervous about, consider writing down bullet points of what you want to say so you don’t get off track or forget anything important.

Ever gotten a ridiculous voice mail message? We want to hear about it! Please share.