If You Know Your Party's Extension ...Blah, Blah, Blah

By Nancy Friedman

Ever heard the term BVM? That stands for BEFORE VOICE MAIL. Can you remember those days? Believe it or not, there was a time when there was no voice mail: before automated attendants; before, "I’m not at my desk right now." Just good, old-fashioned human beings talking to each other.

People often tell me, "I HATE VOICE MAIL!" As we talk further, I find that it’s not really voice mail they hate, it’s the AUTOMATED ATTENDANT. That dull, monotone, recording chip that is suppose to "welcome callers."

Does anyone reading this disagree that the first voice one hears when you call a company sets the tone – starts the process and is the voice that should "welcome" the caller into the company? Why on earth do companies put a dull, monotone, robotic message on their voice mail to represent their goods and services?

In our recent survey of “What bugs you on the telephone?” the automated attendant is now the second most frustrating “‘bug’” to the American public; coming in right after "being put on hold," which remains the number one frustration!

Let’s get your system up and running to satisfy, not aggravate your callers.

There are three parts to what is referred to as "voice mail."

Part One: The Automated Attendant

Affectionately labeled “the groaner” because that’s what most people do when they hear the lethargic: "Thank you for calling XYZ. If you know your party’s extension, please press it now. Blah, blah, blah."

If you’re the caller, it’s important to realize the moment you hear the "Th...." in "Thank you for calling," you can normally press zero and bypass the dull, robotic, monotone introduction to the company. In most cases, you’ll reach a person. Although, as the caller, if you make repetitive calls to one person or company, learning the “extension number” will expedite your call.

If you’re using the automated attendant at your company, please remember that you’re not married to the “voice” that came with the machine. It can be recorded to reflect the mood and style of your company, which by all standards should be upbeat, bright, and friendly. (Most robotic, monotone, digital chips are not any of these.)

One of the first things you need to consider if you’re using the automated attendant is to re-record the initial greeting that came with the machine. Have one of your bright, happy, friendly sounding employees be your “voice of choice.” Make it an American Idol contest.

The recording should be as conversational and friendly sounding as possible. And yes, recorded with a BIG SMILE. Also, consider hiring a professional voice-over expert to record your opening message to your callers. It’s worth it.

A friend of mine recently wrote her own automated attendant message and recorded the opening message to her callers herself. She made it sound as though you were on a theme park ride. Very clever. Part of the problem with the Automated Attendant is the dull, somber sounding voice. Call your own system and then ask yourself if that’s the voice that you want welcoming your callers. If not, re-record!

Part Two: The Greeting

Feel as though you’re missing a few messages on your voice mail? It could be the way you greet your callers. Your greeting to the caller needs to give USEFUL information. If you’re using the standard: "Hi, this is Bob and I’m not here right now," well DUH, that’s a hot lot of news. Re-think the process and your greeting.

When your personal voice mail message greets the caller, you’re obviously away from your desk or on the phone. Use those very precious moments to be creative and give the caller pertinent information. No one wants to hear where you’re NOT. They need to know where you ARE.

Here’s a sample: "Hi, this is Nancy Friedman, in the sales department. I’m in a staff meeting till 3 p.m. Go ahead and leave a message. I do check messages often and calls will be returned. If you need me sooner, please call my assistant, Valerie, at extension 41 and she’ll find me for you. Thanks and have a super day!"

Most important on a greeting is to let the callers know: WHEN YOU WILL RETURN. It’s nice to know where you are, but callers NEED to know when you’ll return. And it’s a good idea to always leave an escape valve. Otherwise, your callers get what is affectionately labeled “voice mail jail.”

(NOTE: This particular tip does mean you’ll need to re-record your greeting daily – about an eight-second job that can be done from anywhere in the world.)

If you’d prefer NOT to do a daily recording of where you are that’s okay, too. Use a generic message. Start your message off with the positive: "Hi, This is Nancy in Sales and I am in the office all week and will return all messages."

The phrase "I’ll return your call AS SOON AS POSSIBLE" is not necessary. It’s obvious. And there are many folks who just don’t return calls. Then you’re fibbing! So, if your Voice Mail greeting says: "I’ll return your call" – then do it. Or don’t include it in the greeting.

Surveys indicate most people will leave a message if they hear you check your machine. Our surveys also show callers respond to a friendly, happy greeting much better than a blah, blah, dull one. So be sure you’re SMILING when you record your greeting.

If you’re going to be out of the office for longer than a day, we suggest you let your callers know that. We’ve seen salespeople lose important clients because calls weren’t returned in a timely manner. They had left a generic "I’ll return your call as soon as possible" and didn’t.

And when you call someone and hear the "I’ll return your call as soon as possible," you might consider zeroing out and finding out if the person is actually in the office. We’ve done that several times and found that the person left a “generic” message but was in Hawaii for a two-week vacation and didn’t bother to fix his greeting or check his messages.

Part 3: The Message

This is your opportunity to be GREAT. Leaving a message on voice mail for someone is your electronic business card. You’d probably be pretty embarrassed to hand someone your business card with the wrong phone number, or one that was all messed up, wouldn’t you? Then why leave anything but a GREAT voice mail message?

Remember, when someone goes out to lunch, to a long meeting, or is gone for a few days and comes back to her office, she hears something like this: "Hello, you have fifty-two NEW messages." And yours is somewhere in there. It needs to stand out. You have a lot of competition.

There are three kinds of messages to leave. A POOR, an AVERAGE and a GREAT. Let me explain all three.

Have you ever had this one?

POOR: "Hi, this is Bob, give me a call." You probably have. It’s maddening, too. Bob who? I know three Bobs. And from where I’m calling, I’m unable to bring up his phone number. The poorest of the poor.

AVERAGE: "Hi, this is Bob, call me at 291-1012. I need to ask you something." So ask it...on the message you leave. Voice mail is asynchronous communication. Since so much information flow these days is one way, use your message to get the ball rolling. Leave enough information to move a process forward. Chances are when the call is returned the answer will be included.

GREAT: "Hi, Nancy. This is Bob Smith, Acme Distributors. I’d like to get together with you to discuss the proposal I sent over the other day. There are some new ideas to talk about. I’m in and out of the office myself, but please call my voice mail and leave me a time we can meet, or call my secretary Debbie at extension 22, and let her know the time. Either way is fine. Look forward to seeing you. Again, it’s Bob with Acme at 291-10-12. That’s 291-10-12."

The GREAT message has all the meat necessary to do business. And the phone number is repeated at the end, twice and slowly. Notice, too, it’s clustered. We didn’t say 1-0-1-2. We used 10-12. It’s an important technique that makes it easier for the other person to remember your number.

Remember, the person you’re calling gets a lot of voice mail messages, so in order for yours to be “heard,” be GREAT – not average. Also, upbeat, friendly messages are far more apt to be returned first. So again, remember to smile when you leave a message.

Exercise your options. Various voice mail systems will allow you to play back what you recorded and offer an opportunity to re-record. Take that option. Don’t hesitate to use these options because it can save you a lot of aggravation.

Also remember, sometimes people go on vacation and forget to say so in their greeting. Or their mailbox may be full. Check in with the operator and ask if the person is in the office, or ask the operator if your contact has an assistant you can talk with. Whenever possible, do leave a voice mail message, too. Since voice mail is obviously here to stay, we might as well make it work for us, not against us.

TIPS

• Expect to encounter voice mail. Be prepared. (Only thirty percent of all calls are connected to those you need to talk with on the first try.)
• Don’t "wing" a message you’re going to leave. Be prepared. Have an objective. Know what you’re going to say. Messages without thought will sound amateurish.
• Return all calls...or have them returned on your behalf. There’s little value to having voice mail unless a message is returned. If your greeting says you will return all calls...then by gosh, do it! Or remove the part that says you will.
• Avoid leaving bad news messages on voice mail. Example: "Hi Nancy. This is the veterinarian’s office calling. Remember you dropped off Trixie this morning? Well..." (You get the picture.)
• Ask for a call back time when leaving messages. A simple "I need to hear from you by “such and such” can help. Not fool proof, but does help. It gives direction to the listener.
• Smile, smile, smile. And then smile some more.

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Nancy Friedman, president of Telephone Doctor Customer Service Training, is a popular keynote speaker at conferences and corporate meetings. She can be reached at (314) 291-1012 or check out the Telephone Doctor Web site at www.telephonedoctor.com.

Published in Networking Today, November 2004.

When Will My Ads Start Working?

By Roy H. Williams

The length of the "ramping up period" an ad campaign will require before you begin to see results is determined by the following factors, listed in descending order of their importance:

1. Product Purchase Cycle
   
2. Share of Voice Impact
3. Quotient of message
   
4. Media delivery vehicle
   

Product Purchase Cycle:

How often is the customer in the market for this product? Because we eat more often than we redecorate, ads for restaurants will yield results much faster than ads for carpet or furnishings. Nearly every person reached by advertising will eat at least one meal in a restaurant this week, but only one in four hundred fifty-two will be involved in any particular seven to ten year product purchase cycle. The longer your product purchase cycle, the longer you'll have to invest in advertising before you feel like it's working. The ramping up period usually takes twenty percent of the product purchase cycle to no more than forty percent. In other words, the advertiser selling a product a customer purchases once every five years will likely be one to two years into his advertising plan before he feels like it's really beginning to pay off.

Share of Voice: What percentage of all the advertising done in your product or service category is yours? To be perfectly accurate, a Share of Voice calculation must include such things as the intrusive visibility offered by an excellent location, previous years of consistent advertising, word-of-mouth recommendation by customers, etc, but generally speaking, your Share of Voice is loosely determined by the size of your ad budget compared to the collective ad budgets of your competitors.

Impact Quotient: How convincing is your message? Keep in mind that your customer won't be hearing your message alone. He or she will be comparing your message to the messages of your competitors. How strong is your competition? Urgent messages making "a limited time offer" will definitely elevate the Impact Quotient, but only for those customers who are currently, consciously in the market for the product. But the same "limited time offer" is likely to lower the long-term Impact Quotient for customers who are not yet ready to buy. The only thing the not-yet-ready customer is likely to remember from such ads is never to buy from your company "unless they're having a sale." Long-term, the most valuable ad is the one that delivers a message powerful enough to be remembered even by people who are not currently in the market for your product.

Media Delivery Vehicle: One commonly held myth is that we remember "more of what we see than what we hear." In truth, the opposite is true. A picture of your product (an iconic recall cue) delivered through a visual media will be noticed by readers and viewers who are currently, consciously, in the market for the product. Consequently, the response to silent, visual ads is usually immediate. But then it's over. Auditory ads, however, are retained in memory even when customers are unaware they've heard them. This is why you can sing along with nearly 2,000 songs you never intended to learn.

One could easily generalize that products with shorter purchase cycles should use visual media and products with longer purchase cycles should use auditory media, but like most generalizations, this one would be flawed because there are two other factors – Share of Voice and Impact Quotient – that make a lot more difference than your choice of delivery vehicle. Far more important than your choice of media is your choice of message.

As you can see, there is no perfect answer. The option that delivers the best result today will yield the worst result long-term. And the most tedious thing in the short run is the most powerful thing in the long run.

But isn't that how most things work?

Nicknamed "the Wizard of Ads" by an early client, Roy H. Williams and his staff have often been the unseen, pivotal force in amazing come-from-behind victories in the worlds of business, politics, and finance. With more than twenty branch offices in the US, Canada, the UK, and Australia, Wizard of Ads, Inc., is now serving the advertising and marketing needs of business owners around the globe. For more information, visit their Web site at www.WizardAcademy.com.

Published in Networking Today, November, 2004.

Is There a Psychopath in Your Office?

By Barbara Bartlein

Masters of manipulation, it is estimated that approximately only one percent of the general population are psychopaths. Yet their numbers are overrepresented in business, politics, law enforcement agencies, law firms, and the media according to research done by Dr. Robert Hare at the University of British Columbia, and his colleague Dr. Paul Babiak.

“In the business world, if I was a good psychopath and I was well educated, bright, intelligent, grew up in the proper way, knew how to talk and dress and how to use a fork, I’m not going to go out and rob banks,” reports Dr. Hare. White collar crime offers more “acceptable” opportunities.

Recent events in the business world do raise questions of a darker side to leadership. There are thousands of people who were affected by Kenneth Lay’s decision to unload over a billion dollars of Enron stock between January 1999 and July 2001 while telling employees and investors to buy more. Executives at Global Crossing were receiving bonuses and stock options as the value of the company was shrinking.

The business world offers unique opportunity for a psychopath to ooze charm, manipulate people, and misrepresent their way to the top. But one of the problems in identifying the organizational psychopath is that they often display characteristics that are commonplace for high level executives. Many managers and executives display personalities that are grandiose and narcissistic. That doesn’t mean that they are psychopaths.

According to Hare and Babiak, there are five distinct phases for psychopathic behavior that puts him or her in a power position.

• The Entry Phase. The psychopath leaches charm during the interview and hiring process. He quickly determines the decision makers and then pulls out all stops to impress and influence. Some members of the interviewing team may report their reactions of uneasiness or discomfort, but they often ignore or discount such feelings because the candidate is “well liked.”
  
  
• Identification of Patrons, Pawns, and Police. The patrons are those in the organization who can protect and defend the psychopath. They tend to be trusting and dedicated employees, the perfect people to be used and manipulated. The pawns tend to be in more influential positions and are unwittingly put into service to assist the psychopath achieve his aims. The organizational police are those staff and positions that handle the control functions in the company. These positions include human resources, internal audit, security, and the comptroller. The psychopath figures out systems to bypass the people who might get in the way.
  
  
• The Manipulation. This is where the psychopath really gets to work. The patrons and pawns are exploited, usually on a one-to-one basis, so that the psychopath can pursue his self-interest and goals. Quickly moving up the organization, she is a master of building the network of influence through intense relationships.
  
  
• The Confrontation. At this stage, the psychopath confronts or ignores those individuals no longer viewed as useful to his career and advancement. Often the pawns and patrons are shocked to learn that the warmth they thought they experienced in the relationship was nothing more than a façade. The psychopath has moved on and only spends time with those that are influential supporters.
  
  
• The Ascension. This is the point where all the planning, manipulation, and working the networks pay off. The psychopath moves into a power position and may use the new found influence primarily for her own gain. There is a notable lack of empathy; for other employees, subordinates, and stockholders. In fact, a distinguishing characteristic of the psychopathic boss is a sense of entitlement where the personal gain can be justified.
  

This new research puts an interesting spin on the claims for some in the leadership field that a leader must have charm and charisma. Perhaps, it is time to rethink some of the essential personal characteristics necessary for great leadership.

Sign up for Barbara's FREE email newsletter at www.barbbartlein.com.

Barbara Bartlein is the PeoplePro™. She helps businesses sell more goods and services by developing people. She can be reached at 888-747-9953, by email at: barb@barbbartlein.com or visit her Web site at www.ThePeoplePro.com. Published in Networking Today, November 2004.

Three Major Time Wasters and How to Overcome Them

By Karen Susman

Don’t delay confronting the primary time waster – procrastination. Procrastination is caused by and leads to:

• Indecision: People procrastinate because they can’t decide what to do. Putting off a decision leads to living by default. You can’t decide whether to fly to New York on Tuesday or Wednesday. By the time you decide, all the Tuesday seats are filled, so you have no choice but to fly on Wednesday – no matter what the fare.
  
  
• Perfectionism: Fear of not doing something 100% leads to not doing something at all. Since you have no experience surviving a 50% job, or a 99% job, you don’t realize that you will survive imperfection. You don’t know when good enough is good enough. Thus, you don’t even take calculated risks. You don’t do things just for the fun of it. No Karaoke for you, my friend.
  
  
• Clutter: When you put off putting things away where they belong, you end up with clutter. The sight of clutter build-up is enough to overwhelm you and keep you from attacking your messes.
  
  
• Self-criticism: Procrastinators are great self-loathers. The mental tape that says, “You never get anything done. You are always putting things off. You’re always late, etc.” is on a continuous loop. There is a payoff in this self-criticism. It gives you permission to procrastinate. After all, that’s just the way you are.
  
  
• “I just had that…in my hand a second ago.” Hours, days, and weeks are lost searching for the cheque you put down on the ironing board when you heard the dryer go off on your way to the bank. Since you haven’t ironed in months, the cheque is buried under a tower of towels. You get a great adrenaline rush as you tear the house apart searching. During your search you uncover the overdue library books and your unpaid phone bill. On your way to the library, you remind yourself to stop for gas after you pay your phone bill with the cheque you left somewhere. And, the beat goes on.
  
  
• CHAOS (Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome): Your home, your office, and your car reflect who you are. When you put off taking care of these areas, you can’t allow anyone to see who you really are. You become isolated. When you’re isolated, who cares about the underwear hanging from the swag lamp? Who cares about the twisted, dead fichus next to your filing cabinet? Who cares that your new car smell has been replaced by Eau de French Fry?
  

Secondly, if you don’t feel the tension or sense of immediacy to take action, you may not. Each person has his own immediacy level that triggers high gear. If you must wait until the last minute to get motivated, you are tempting life to throw you emergencies that eat up your margin. Instead, set a false, earlier deadline for yourself. Trick yourself into completing tasks early.

Third, the infrequent use of the word, “No” wastes time. You don’t have to make excuses for saying “no.” If you want to soften the blow you imagine you’re giving the requester, thank him for asking, suggest another person for the job, or suggest a smaller commitment for yourself. For instance, the chair of the events’ committee asks you to head the four-day employee carnival and trade show. Offer to work the 2-4 PM shift at the dunking booth on Friday. You’ve just saved yourself months of time and a carload of antacids. Plus, you’re still a good guy.

You can turn time wasters into blips instead of blockades. Do it now.

Karen Susman is a Speaker, Trainer, Coach, and Author of 102 Top Dog Networking Secrets. Karen works with organizations that want to maximize performance. Programs include Humour at Work; Balance In Life; Networking Skills; Presentation Skills; and Building Community Involvement. Order new guidebooks on humour, networking, time management, and community involvement by calling 1-888-678-8818 or e-mail Karen@KarenSusman.com.. www.KarenSusman.com. Published in Networking Today, November, 2004

Three Ways to Inspire Commitment

By Cynthia Oelkers

"The difference between 'involvement' and 'commitment' is like an eggs-and-ham breakfast: the chicken was 'involved' – the pig was 'committed.’"

Anonymous

How do you inspire people to commit?

Whether you run a volunteer organization, a for-profit business, or a social group one question is critical to your success: "How can I inspire people to commit to our organization?"

Organizational Commitment:

Next to job satisfaction, organizational commitment is one of the most-studied phenomena in business today. Want to get more out of your workers or volunteers than the job requires? A team of committed, inspired people make the difference between an organization that struggles, and one that is potent and effective!

There are three types of commitment…

Affective: "It feels good." We commit to an organization because we agree with the goals, values, or cause of the group. Passion plays a key role here. If we believe in the cause of the group, we'll withstand just about any hardship to see it succeed. It's emotionally rewarding! Also, the more we perceive that the organization is supportive of us and our individual goals, the more we reciprocate by giving more of ourselves.

Continuance: "I'm invested." Sometimes we stay involved with an organization because we have already invested a great deal of time, energy, money, or talent. Leaving now would mean losing all of that investment. Research shows that the most-invested people (money, time, or effort) are the most committed to the organization's success.

Normative: "It's the right thing to do." Often we belong to a group because we believe it is the right thing to do. This type of commitment typically gets us into the door as a volunteer. Perhaps we believe that we should "give back to the community," "do our part," or honor our commitment to the team." Once we are in the door helping, we quickly realize there are affective and continuance reasons to stay.

The bottom line? Building an organization that inspires people to commit for all three reasons (emotions, investments, and obligation) will be the most successful.

Cynthia Oelkers is president of In the Moment Productions, Inc., a training and entertainment company. Cynthia is a leading expert on helping businesses reduce their communication problems and create sustainable long term growth. For more information go to www.inthemoment.com or call her at (512) 771-4320. Subscribe to the “Communication Moments” bi-monthly newsletter and learn valuable communication strategies on how to motivate, influence and persuade your co-workers, customers, and sales prospects. Published in Networking Today, November 2004.

Know What & Why …Don't Sweat How

By Janet Christensen

Have you ever had a goal – something that you want to achieve, create, or realize – and you think that before you can even begin to work toward this goal, you must have all the details of how you will make it happen figured out first? You come up with your master plan, only to find out that things happen along the way, which are not according to your plan. When this happens, you:

1. try to stick to your original plan (which will probably no longer be valid because things have changed and your plan has not)
   
   
2. adjust your plan to the new circumstances, again trying to work out all the precise details
   
   
3. give up and abandon the plan and your goal because obviously it was not realistic
   

There is a way to achieve, create, and realize your goals and dreams more effectively, with a greater opportunity for success and less stress. The key is to know what you want and why…and to let go of needing to know all of the how's.

The magic in all of this is that when you are clear about what it is you want and why you want it, the how's appear; you do not need to have it all figured out beforehand! Being clear about what you want your life to be like, who you want to be in the process, and what you want to create and manifest is your what. Your why is the emotional link to what it is you want, made by connecting at a deep level to the way you will feel when what you desire is realized.

For example, let's imagine that you have a goal to take a vacation to a tropical island. The first step is to get very specific about this island destination. Is it Hawaii, Aruba, Barbados, Tahiti or another island? Determine exactly where it is you want to go, when you want to go, and with whom. What kind of vacation will it be? Adventure seeking? Relaxing on a beach? What kind of accommodations will you want – a hotel, condominium, or beach house? Get as specific as you can so that you have a clear image of what it is you want.

When you are clear and specific about your what, the next step is to connect with why you want it. This requires going beyond saying “because it will feel good,” to being able to see what you want as already here and feeling the fire, the energy, the emotion, the passion of experiencing it first hand. See yourself actually there enjoying your vacation, walking along the beach with the palm trees and turquoise water, sipping tropical drinks, feeling the warmth of the sun. Know the way you will feel physically and emotionally when you are there. When you connect with these feelings, you connect your what with your why. You can enhance and support this connection by putting pictures of your dream destination somewhere where you will see them on a regular basis – perhaps on your fridge, on a mirror, by your desk, or in a journal. Write down your what and your why in great detail. Have fun with it.

When you clearly know your what, and you can see, taste, feel, and smell it – your why – it is not necessary to have in place all of the details of how you will make it happen. Trust that you will start a process of making it happen because you intend to make it happen. Your choices will reflect your connection to your goal. You put into motion the energies to attract to you the opportunities to realize your goal. Like a magnet, you draw them toward you. Because you are focused on your what and why, you will find yourself open to possibilities and the how's will appear along the way at the appropriate times. It is magical.

So, go ahead – dare to dream and dare to turn your dreams into reality. Know your what and why; no need to sweat how.

Janet Christensen passionately inspires potential as a professional speaker, Passion Map facilitator and writer. She can be reached through her company Unlimiting Potential at (519) 434-5397 or toll free 1-888-779-3061 fax (519) 434-8344 email info@janetchristensen.com Web site www.janetchristensen.com. Published in Networking Today, November 2004.