Being that I have been at Holdcom for a few months now, I decided it was time to change my cell phone voicemail greeting to something a bit more polished. Keep in mind, I have had the same voicemail message for probably 6 years, just transferring the same greeting every time I would get a new phone. Since I never hear my own voicemail, I never thought about changing it. Little did I know, my voicemail message could easily be working against me, and it took me this long to notice?! 

Once I listened to my original recording, I knew it was time for an upgrade. I asked around for some tips about writing and recording voicemail greetings. Here's my process:

What's wrong with this voicemail message?

• "Hey, What's Up?" isn't going to make a good impression for business calls.
• "Umm..." never makes you seem confident or professional, either.
• "I'll get back to you whenever I can" really means, "I'm probably screening your call and I won't call you back."
• "BEEP!" My message was cut off, and for six years, I didn't know and no one told me. Ouch.

How I fixed it:

     1. I wrote down what information I needed to know from a caller.

     2. Then, I wrote down what I wanted to say and read it out loud a few times until I was satisfied with the flow.

     3. I rehearsed and recorded my voicemail script a few times to hear how I sounded. (I tend to talk relatively quickly, so I wanted to make sure the message didn't sound rushed.)

     4. For the final recording I recorded my message while smiling so I sounded happy and approachable.

     5. I checked my final recording by listening to my voicemail message from both a cell phone and a landline, and also asked a friend to listen for a second opinion.

My new voicemail greeting:

My new personal voice message recording sounds clear, concise and sophisticated. Just by changing my voicemail message I felt I had substantially upgraded my image.  I always want clients and colleagues to view me as professional, that is why a professional well thought out personal voice greeting is a way to market myself and my business too.

Why stop there? Being exposed to professional voice talent and listening to the improvement in quality over my voice, I have stepped up my voicemail greeting even further and now have a professional voicemail greeting using a Holdcom voice talent.

You only get one chance at a first impression. Make yours the best it can be.