How Good is Your Greeting?

What kind of first impression do your customers and prospects get of your business when they get your voice mail greeting? Is it enthusiastic and professional? More important, is it concise and helpful?   Or, does you greeting sound more like this one?

‘Hi, this is Ralph P. Schmoozer, president, founder and CEO of Ralph P. Schmoozer and Associates. I’m sorry that I can’t take your call right now. I’m either on the other line or away from my desk. But your call is very important to me. So, please leave me a detailed message with your name and your phone number at the sound of the beep and I’ll be sure to get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks for calling and have a nice day.’

That greeting took 40 seconds to deliver 86 words. But, how helpful was it? Callers really only want to know two things – did they get the right company and when will someone get back to them. Phrases like ‘I’m sorry that I can’t take your call right now’ and ‘But, your call is very important to me’ don’t add any content value. They just waste the callers’ time. And saying ‘ … as soon as possible’ isn’t specific enough either.

So, let’s give Ralph’s greeting a badly needed make-over and wind up with:

‘Hi … this is Ralph Schmoozer with Schmoozer and Associates, your one-stop shop for small biz technology needs. Please leave a detailed message and I’ll return it within four business hours. Thank you.’

This version only took 15 seconds to deliver 34 words. It answered the caller’s two questions and even added a branding message. It projected a better image of Ralph and the business because it was more courteous, caller-friendly and concise.

So, take a few minutes to assess how good your greeting is and improve the quality of that first impression it gives callers. And I’ll be calling you soon to find out how well you did.