When leaving a message, how long is too long?

There’s no ”cookie cutter” answer to this question, but here’s a few guidelines. It’s important to treat voicemail as receptionist or executive assistant in order to “make things happen”. If you are returning the call of a known business contact and need to confirm the date and location of a meeting or your interest in proceeding with a project, then a detailed message is totally appropriate. You want to leave enough information so a return phone call is not needed. This way you eliminate the dreaded game of “phone tag”. When you are calling a business contact for the first time, or you are in the early stages of your business relationship, lengthy voicemail messages are not effective because you haven’t yet built a foundation for how you will communicate. Future posts will focus on more of the when’s and why’s of leaving messages.

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What's The Phone Lady doing?

  • One-on-one coaching with 6 amazing entrepreneurs - info about sales coaching here
  • Designing a sales campaign - that includes phone conversations - for a waste management consulting firm
  • Creating client communication module for college students
  • Delivering remote learning on essential business communication skills for job search
  • Remote learning experience on sales and customer service skills for vet equipment company
  • Remote learning experience for financial advisors
  • In-person learning experience with new business owners on creating a sales process
  • Remote learning experience on essential skills to reach and inspire conversations with C-suite executives
  • Team coaching for a firm representing natural products for arthritis in dogs
  • Remote learning experience on sales and customer service skills for a transportation company
  • Remote learning experience on both discovery and sales calls for new startups

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