At a certain point in every session with a particular client, I hand him a prioritized list, essential notes for the conversations and the phone; he paces in the adjoining room and makes calls while I work on another area of the office.

Early on, he'd come back to me with all of the supporting documents and a hangdog expression. "Nobody was in; I left messages." I said that was fine; we just needed to know when they'd be calling back so we'd know where to put the documents – the desk, the tickler file or back in the cabinet. If someone's message said she was on the other line, there was a reasonable expectation of a response within the hour; we'd keep the papers nearby. However, there was no sense in taking up valuable prime real estate if we knew the return call wouldn't come for many days.

"Um, well, Joe's voicemail said he'd be on vacation until Monday, so I just said he should call me back. For everyone else, I just left my name and number and asked them to call, pretty much."

I pointed out while that meant we could put the materials for the discussion with Joe in the tickler file in Monday's slot, for the rest of the inquiries, we were at a dead end. The messages didn't really move the efforts forward, so we were left with the following issues:

--Some people wouldn't have a clue why he was calling, so when they did return the call, if they didn't know the answers off the tops of their head, they'd have to call back, starting another round of phone tag.

--Other people would call at their convenience rather than his. If they didn't know why he was calling, it meant another round of phone tag if they didn't catch him in; even if they did know why he was calling, their reply might come at an inconvenient time for him to handle the response, again requiring him to call them back, and another round of phone tag.

The purpose of leaving a phone message is to accomplish as much as possible towards achieving the goal without overwhelming the recipient; in the best case scenarios, you could accomplish everything in voicemail messages and never have to talk to anyone at all, leaving actual conversations for situations requiring negotiation or greater context.

When you place a phone call, you have no idea whether you will get the intended person, the gatekeeper (a secretary or assistant, a spouse, babysitter or child) or voicemail. The gatekeeper may not have the time (or motivation) to take a detailed message, and the voicemail or answering machine may cut you off after 15, 30 or 60 seconds. Thus, planning is essential, for all but the most casual calls.

When leaving messages, you need to be prepared, concise and clear. Dash off some bullet points to make sure you cover everything. Start by asking yourself:

1) What is your desired outcome?

Start with the end in mind. What's the absolute essential end-result? If you overwhelm with too much information, the recipient is going to zone out and have to replay the message, but if you leave too little, you've wasted everyone's time.

Before you ever pick up the phone, be clear about the CALL TO ACTION. Know what you want from the recipient, and be sure to ask/state it (politely).

2) What would you want to know if you were receiving the call?

Whether you are calling a client, a prospect, a colleague or your mom, there are certain key things you need to provide:

Who are you?—Don't assume anyone can recognize your voice on the phone; if you're calling someone who doesn't know you at all and isn't expecting your call, repeat your name at the end of the conversation.

Why are you calling? Offer a clue, at the very least!

For example, I get calls from people who say "Hi, my name is Jane Jones. Please call me at 555-1234." I have no idea whether they are calling about my professional organizing or speaking services, or if they want information about NAWBO (I'm my chapter's membership chair) or if they want to be hired.

At least three times in the past year, I've returned these vague calls and found people had meant to dial Radio Shack and wanted help with their electronics.

By when do you need or want a reply? Be polite, but provide a sense of urgency if there is one. If the question will be moot after Friday at 2 p.m., say so.

How can they reach you? ? Provide your phone number; if you leave an email address, spell it out, and consider that high frequency sounds are distorted over the phone; make it clear if you said "F as in Frank" or "S as in Samantha".

When's the best time to reach you (if it's important that they reach you and not your voicemail or email)?

Don't forget to make a notation in your calendar/planner to indicate to yourself that you've made this call. If you're busy and forgetful, this prevents you from nagging someone unnecessarily.

3) When should you NOT leave a detailed message?

--If you are leaving bad news that is not time-dependent
--If you are trying to negotiate or be persuasive
--If you are introducing yourself to a prospective client
--If you don't know enough to know what the call to action should be

Voicemail works great for getting a piece of information quickly (a name, a fact, a verification of a completed task), but it's a terrible way to tell someone bad news (unless they needed a response immediately) or want them to consider hiring you.

In such cases, make your message specific, and give the recipient everything he or she would want or need to help you both achieve your goals. For example, I tried a few times to reach someone who'd asked me to call this morning. I left a message:

"Hi, Sherry, this is Julie Bestry with Best Results Organizing. Your email requested I call this morning before Noon so we could discuss your organizing needs. Your assistant says you were called away unexpectedly. I'm sorry we missed one another, but I'm looking forward to speaking with you. I will be in the office at 423-XXX-YYYY until 2 p.m. today and after 1 p.m. tomorrow. Otherwise, please feel free to leave me a voicemail message, or, if it's more convenient, you can email me at organize@juliebestry.com, and tell me when is the best time to reach you. Thanks, and have a great day!"

Finally, if you're on the receiving end of a request for information, there is no excuse for not returning the call at all. At the very least, if you can't offer anything useful, you can leave a message after business hours and say "I received your message, but I am crushed under something very heavy and will not be able to get you that information until Tuesday morning when we can rent a crane."

--
Julie Bestry, Certified Professional Organizer®
Best Results Organizing
"Don't apologize. Organize!"
organize@juliebestry.com
Visit http://www.juliebestry.com to save time and money, reduce stress and increase your productivity

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