Let’s face it, impressions matter. Whatever your industry, prospective customers are constantly sizing you up to get to the core of what you’re really about. And this isn’t exclusive to business interactions. People are constantly making assumptions about one another based on their other characteristics and behaviors. Psychologists call this Implicit Personality Theory, and simply put it means that we assume that people exhibit other traits that are commonly linked to the key characteristics we perceive. For example, if your server at a restaurant rushes you through your order without making an idle chit-chat, you might assume he’s unfriendly or doesn’t particularly enjoy his job. On the other hand, if someone displays a happy disposition you are more likely to assume that they are friendly and warm.
So what does all of this have to do with your voicemail greeting?
A business’ voicemail greeting is often the first point of contact with a business’ customers. Getting this greeting right can make a business sound professional and trustworthy. A badly-done greeting, on the other hand, can confuse and infuriate customers over the phone.
Adrian Miller, founder of Adrian Miller Sales Training, is today's featured guest blogger at Snap Recordings. She begins our new series about small business strategies with tips on how to leave a voicemail message that gets heard and also gets a response!