Leave A Message At The Tone

(By Pat Bryson) First impressions are lasting and sometimes your voicemail message is the first thing prospective clients experience. What does it reflect about you? Most voicemail messages are boring. “You’ve reached me…. leave a message.”

We work in a creative industry. You’d think we might be a bit more creative in our voicemails. How about this?

“Hi, you’ve reached (your name). I’m out helping other clients to create successful marketing campaigns. If you’ll leave me your name and phone number, I’ll be in touch to help you to do the same.” 

Or, how about this? “You’ve reached (name) at the world-famous KXXX. I’m out helping clients who refuse to participate in this sluggish economy. Leave me your name and number and I’ll do the same for you. “ 

And then there’s your main station number. I know that most of us have automated answering services that direct the caller to punch in the appropriate extension or to spell out the person’s last name. Now, that’s providing we know HOW to spell the person’s last name, or even what it is. My favorite is when I have successfully jumped through the hoops and at last arrive at the correct extension only to hear, “I’m sorry, this mailbox is full and can’t accept new messages.” Sound familiar? If you must greet callers with automation, please ensure that they can indeed leave a message. 

I called a station a few months ago and was greeted by a real, live person who sounded happy to be on that end of the line. She said, “Hello, this is _____. How may I make your day great?”  My response: “You just did.”

First impressions are lasting. Make it easy and fun for people to connect with you. If they can’t connect you can’t sell them. 

Happy connecting and happy selling!

Pat Bryson is the CEO of Bryson Broadcasting International, a consulting firm that works with sales managers and salespeople to raise revenue. She is the author of two books, A Road Map to Success in High-Dollar Broadcast Sales and Successful Broadcast Sales: Thriving in Change available on her website. Read Pat’s Radio Ink archives here.