Voicemail – do I need it?
A lot of our clients ask us whether they really need professional recorded voicemail, when they can simply record it themselves. I tell them to try calling a business that doesn’t have it.
Every day I have to call companies and have to leave messages on shocking voicemails, obviously recorded by their receptionists (and by the sound of it, on a lunch break through a mouthful of chocolate muffin). Or worse, I leave an important message with someone’s P.A and get told they’ll call me back shortly… only to find out three days later that the message was never even passed on and got “lost” in a pile of paperwork. It’s frustrating, costs both our businesses money and it’s not exactly a professional impression, is it?
The way your voicemail sounds is like your business “shop front window” -your reputation depends on it being a true reflection of your professionalism.
Yesterday we set up voicemail for a local accounting firm. They currently get hundreds of calls a week that go to their voicemail. These messages are then taken down by hand, put in the right accountant’s inbox and then each one has to be called back. As you can imagine, this process drives everyone involved crazy, including their clients!
We set up individual voicemail for each of the five key accountants. Now instead of clients leaving vague messages on the general voicemail, they feel comfortable leaving their confidential information and know that only their personal accountant will hear it.
Now the accountants can prioritise their call backs as well as having the right files and answers on hand before they call each client. Plus, the company is saving money with shorter calls and no unnecessary return calls.
And, if they needed another reason to be happy with their voicemail solution - it’s also the “green” option – without handwritten messages they’re saving the trees!
What does your voicemail message say about your business?
With professionally recorded voicemail, you can offer callers so much more that the option to “leave a message after the beep”. We’ve helped thousands of businesses create lasting impressions with their voicemail, like the voicemail message that we recorded last week for a real estate company:
“Hi you’ve reached ABC Realty. We’re either out showing one of our exclusive properties or signing over a sale to a happy customer, but we promise to get back to you before the sun sets. Leave us a message or call Lisa directly on 0415 ### ### and get the answer to your question immediately. ”
Tags: answering machine, messages, voicemail
