During this holiday season, it is more likely that you won’t immediately reach those you telephone. What with vacations, holiday travel, and don’t forget the last minute gift buying, the person you are calling may not be as readily available. So, chances are that you will be leaving more than the normal number of voicemail messages over the next couple of weeks.

Accordingly, if you are trying to reach a prospect or make contact with a potential referral source, it is important to make sure your purpose for calling is clear, and your message is both succinct and informative to avoid it being quickly forgotten.

Tom Collins of morepartnerincome has a couple of posts relating to leaving voicemail messages that can benefit all of us. Actually, his first post referenced social skills relating to email messages and in-person meetings, as well telephone voice messages. The gist of his ideas:

  • Reflect appropriate emotion (better if personable and friendly),
  • Consider tone (whether on the light side, strictly business or humorous, will depend on purpose of the call and the relationship with the listener), and
  • Match listener (both tone, emotion, speed, attitude, etc. of recorded message; e.g., whether that persons is enthusiastic, informal, deliberate, etc.).

His second post gives us three tips on the details of the voicemail message you leave:

  1. Give name of reference – if your name isn’t known to the person you are calling, quickly drop the name of a reference (and purpose for your call),
  2. Leave your info – repeat your name and telephone number twice and the second time slowly (I hate it when people leave their information so fast it is necessary to repeat the message to get name and number – if it’s someone unknown to me, forget it, they’ll NEVER get a call back), and
  3. Call back – even after leaving your name and number, mention that you will call back on a day certain, since you know they are busy (as Tom says, it actually could set up a sense of obligation to take your next call).

Both contain some good lawyer marketing advice. Thanks, Tom.