Phone tag is not an olympic sport
 Recently,
I was speaking with a senior sales executive at a large pharma company
when he interrupted the conversation and asked, "By the way, do you
have any programs on voice-mail etiquette?" Before I could reply, he
went on to say, "You know, we are constantly looking for ways to give
reps and their managers more time in the field, and I?ve come to
realize that one of the biggest time wasters out there is voice mail."I could hear his brain clicking away, calculating the hours and days of productive selling time he and the company were losing, all because of voice mail -- something that was originally designed to make everyone?s life easier and more efficient. I understood exactly where he was coming from. I immediately had flashbacks to my time as a district manager and product manager, when on an average day it was not uncommon to have 50 voice-mail messages to sift through. One rep always liked to start off his message with a little ditty. Sometimes he sang it to me; other times he spoke as if he were auditioning for a community theater production. Then there was a woman who spoke so quickly and imparted so much information that even if I had taken a course in shorthand, I?d have been hard-pressed to keep up with her pace. The stories are endless. I'm certain that most of you reading this article have many of your own. So to all of those who live and breathe by the necessary evil we call voice mail: This article's for you. Lifesaver or time waster? Ah, voice mail. What would we do without it? In many ways, it is one of the greatest inventions of the late 20th century. On the other hand, it can be -- and often is -- a frustrating, time-wasting communication option that runs amok. Individuals in large organizations and folks in outside sales positions frequently lament their full mailboxes. They moan about the laborious chore of clearing their voice mail and the dreaded chatty colleague who uses this electronic option to carry on endlessly about little or nothing, saying in five minutes what could have been said in 30 seconds or less. For every minute wasted sending or listening to pointless or inefficient voice-mail messages, there are squandered opportunities for more customer interaction, more creative thinking and more tangible contributions to the bottom line. There is also the very real risk that if you get a bad voice-mail reputation, your comments and requests may be overlooked or sidelined on a regular basis. Just think about it: Your manager has three spare minutes to check voice mail, and your message is one of 15 that need to be addressed. If you are known as a rambler and weather commentator, versus a "get right down to business" communicator, what do you think your chances are of being listened to rather than skipped over? Not good. So, starting today, you can boost your image and productivity by remembering these key points for recording thoughtful voice-mail messages: ? Speak clearly, slowly and deliberately -- especially when giving telephone numbers and names. Help with spelling if appropriate. ? Don't call from a cell phone unless absolutely necessary, and unless you are certain that the connection is solid. This prevents garbled messages, two-part messages and cut-offs. ? Do not repeat your message -- say it only once and clearly. ? Do not give running commentary about your day, the weather, etc. ? Only need-to-know information should be given. If the person is interested in knowing more, he can call you. ? Avoid "fluff" statements like "Hi! How are you?" ? If making more than one point or imparting more than one key piece of information, list them as tightly as you can -- preferably no more than two to three points. Writing them out in bulleted form in advance may help keep you focused. Anything longer probably requires a live telephone conversation. ? Don't leave open-ended messages that require unnecessary return calls, such as "John, I have that figure you needed for your meeting." Unless there is some extenuating circumstance surrounding the confidentiality of the information, etc., just leave the requested details and be done with it. ? People aren't mind readers -- especially busy people. So put your message into context, and provide the right amount of information or background so the listener doesn't have to call you back for clarification. ? Know as much as you can about the voice-mail system, especially if it's your own. If date and time are automatically recorded, there is no need to repeat that information in your message. Conversely, if the system doesn't capture that data, you may need to make note of it, especially for time-sensitive matters. If you've already fallen into bad voice-mail habits, or if you're new at this exchange, one of the best things you can do is to play back your messages before sending them. As you listen, ask yourself, "Was this clear? Did it get to the point? Could I have sent it with less extraneous information?" -- and finally, "If I had to listen to myself a dozen times a day, would I cringe or welcome it?" You can make the difference between someone smiling or groaning when they hear that 23rd voice-mail message is from you.
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