Would Somebody Please Call me Back?
Posted by: Barbara Duran on: 01/24/2009
One of the most frequently asked questions we get is “how do you get people to call you back?” It is arguably one of the most frustrating issues of our business. At Virtual Office Systems we have been answering this question for over 10 years and I must say, our answer has evolved over that time. This article will give you a clear and effective answer to a very important question. Before we delve in to how to get people to call us back, we must first understand why many of them don’t.
Case in point, I received a voicemail message not long ago from a woman who mentioned something about her son playing on my travel baseball team. There were a few inherent problems with her message. First of all, she did not leave her name. Secondly, her message to me was a series of seemingly unconnected sentences. As the receiver, I did not understand what she was asking or wanting me to do. Finally, she left her phone number one time, speaking rather quickly. So far, I haven’t called her back.
Now, you’re probably saying, well of course, but who would leave such an ineffective voicemail message? My answer, unfortunately, is … most people. After many years of closely examining this problem, we have identified the top reasons people do not return phone calls. They are as follows: Talked too fast, slurred words, unclear purpose of call, did not leave name, left phone number too fast and only ONCE, not warm at all and finally, no urgency or call to action.
So, if you do the opposite of the errors listed above you should get more return phone calls, right? Absolutely! But, we didn’t stop with just identifying what not to do. We have also clearly recognized the elements that make up a perfect voicemail message. Sounds interesting? Before we give the “final answer”, imagine hearing this voicemail message on your answering machine:
Hello, this is Mark Helsel, calling from Altoona PA. This call is for Mr. Robert Black. Mr. Black, the reason for my call is you had completed an online survey regarding your personal health. I spent some time reviewing your survey and there are a few things that I need to discuss with you regarding your survey. I’d like for you to please return my call no later than 5:00 pm on Friday, March 15th. It’s very important. The number for you to call me back is 814 932 4178. Again that’s 814 932 4178 Thank you very much. I look forward to speaking with you.
Would you return this message? I’ll be sure you would. You may not know exactly why, but we do because we have identified the top reasons people DO return phone calls. They are: They know the person leaving the message, they trust the person leaving the message, they are interested in learning more, they have respect for the person leaving the message, they are curious, they understand the message, the person leaving the message sounds professional and warm, there is a deadline. In fact, if you breakdown this simple message it has all the elements of an effective voicemail message.
Here is a check list. See for yourself.
___ Your name
___ Where you are calling from
___ Who you are calling for
___ The purpose of the call
___ The reason to call back
___ When they should call back (urgency)
___ Return phone number
___ Warm ending
If you want to leave voicemail messages that get return calls on a consistent basis, use these practical tips and you will see your numbers of people returning your calls rise dramatically.
Provided by Mark Helsel
01/24/2009 at 3:54 pm
As a telephone system end user trainer for the past 20 years I agree with your advice on how to leave a message most likely to result in a return call. It is interesting to ponder the lack of good telephone technique in business communications. The greeting is also helpful in drawing out the best possible message to be left. “Thank you for calling TCM Connect, this is Betty the Communications Manager. Please leave a message at the tone including your telephone number with area code, the name of your orgainization, your name, and a brief discription of the nature of your call. Thank you. A personalized voice greeting certainly is more friendly than a system stock recording. One of my pet peeves is a greeting that makes a promise that is not kept. Notice I do not make an excuse for not answering my phone, it is obvious I did not answer in person. I asked for what I need from the caller, I did not commit to call back by a deadline, although I do respond promptly to pertinent callers. My second irritation is when I answer calls from sales representatives or other callers that are not a priority at the time compared to what I’m doing, and they will not accept my reason. “I’m sorry this is not a good time for me to discuss that …can you call me back after 4pm today or tomorrow?” But they will not graciously say thank I will call you then, they continue to force themselves upon me at their conveniece until I lose my cool and enter a condition of stress stating my case more strongly. While I am on this topic…why do greetings tell callers “all of our representatives are assisting “other” callers at this time, please remain on the line for an available representative?” How about something more like….”Our representatives are with callers, remain on the line for the first available representative for assistance.” Telephone ettiquete on the job training supported by the business’ policiy and procedures for handling telephone calls, and performance feed back to staff members on their telephone techniques would do much to diminish less than satisfied customers.