So I’m on a tight deadline and I get this guy’s voicemail and he says, “Hi. I’m either on the phone or away from my desk. Leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.” I’m thinking, “Well that’s just brilliant Einstein. Now tell me something I don’t know, such as WHEN YOU’LL CALL ME BACK!”

First of all this dunderhead apparently doesn’t know if he’s on the phone or away from his desk. Worse, I have absolutely no idea of when I might expect a call back from him. He might as well leave a message that says, “Leave a message and have fun twisting in the wind until I call you back.” Even worse is, “I’m either out of the office or away from my desk.” Yep. That’s helpful. Reaaaaal helpful.

Today, the technology exists so that we do not have to leave people twisting in the wind. Giving customers and clients some idea of when they’ll hear from you, shows them that you are mindful of their need or want to get a hold of you. Here’s how I handle it.

About 9 years ago I discovered a little thing called busy call forwarding. If I’m talking on the phone the call is forwarded to a message that says, “Thank you for calling. I’m in the office but I’m on the phone. Please leave a message and in most cases I’ll call you back in 20 minutes.” I get lots of compliments on my “20 minute message”. And, it impresses people when I do, in fact, call them back in 20 minutes.

If I’m out of the office (or in the bathroom) the call goes to my regular answering machine that says, “Thank you for calling Crooks Advertising Alliance. We’re out of the office, but please leave a message. We’ll call you back as soon as possible … most likely, today. If you need to reach me sooner, call my cell phone at xxx-xxx-xxxx”

Either way, the caller has SOME idea of when I’ll call them back. They can also call my cell phone. If I’m not in a meeting, I answer it. I usually check my office messages about every hour when I’m away.

Now some people, mostly real estate types, are really on top of things with voice mail messages that say something such as, “Today is Friday (insert date) I’ll be out this morning but back in this afternoon after 2pm. Please leave a message … etc”.

Life is unpredictable enough. Any time you can add predictability to someone’s life — you’re telling them that you’re in control. You’re also telling them you care.

What is your voice mail message telling your callers?

Stumble it!