17 Tips to Voice Mail Survival      

1. If your goal is to get the phone call returned, don’t leave enough information to allow the person to make up their mind. Leave them with only enough information to return the call. (You must create a reason.)

2.  Repeat your phone number twice. If the person can’t write your number down quickly, you’ve given them a perfect reason to not call back.

3.  Never ask the person to call you back at a certain time. This only provides the person with an excuse not to call you.

4.  Never state in the message that you will plan to call them back. Again, this only gives the person an excuse to ignore your message.

5.  Messages left on a Friday afternoon are the least likely to be returned. For most people, Monday mornings are very busy and, as a result, only high–priority activities will get their immediate attention.

6.  Do not leave voicemail messages at odd hours of the night. Most voicemail systems offer a time stamp and the person hearing the message will immediately suspect you did not even want to talk to them.

7.  The best hours to leave voicemail messages are from 6:45 AM to 8:00 AM and from 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM. Aggressive people are usually working during these time periods, and the person receiving your message will potentially view you as one.

8.  Use time zone changes wisely to make as many calls as possible during the optimal voicemail periods listed in the previous tip.

9.  Voicemail messages are an excellent way to introduce yourself to a person. Be personable, yet professional, and link your message to something of interest to the person you are calling (such as another person or event). The recipient may view your message as a waste of time if you have no purpose other than getting your name in front of them on their voicemail.

10.  When leaving a message with multiple points, be sure to state up front how many points you will be making. This will prevent the person receiving the message from accidentally fast forwarding or deleting the message before it is completely heard.

11.  If you can’t say it briefly, don’t say it at all. Voicemail is not “story time”. Leaving a long message is an invitation to have the entire message skipped.

12.  If your goal is to get the voicemail returned, add a call to action by providing a key date or something of interest that will encourage the person to return the call.

13.  When leaving your phone number, do not leave your website address as well. This will only give the person an opportunity to make a decision about you without calling you back.

14.  Leave a “PS” at the end of your message. A “PS” is a very quick statement about an additional piece of information that will connect with the person.
 
15.  Use the person’s first name at least twice in the message. Don’t use their last name, as it may give the impression you have no relationship with them at all.
 

16.  As a way of connecting with the person, refer to a mutual acquaintance in your message. (Caution: Make sure the recipient thinks positively of that person!)

17.  Avoid leaving messages that are longer than 30 seconds. Better yet, strive to keep them shorter than 20 seconds. The optimal voicemail message is between 8 and 14 seconds.

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