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“Leave your name, number, and a brief message.” Here’s a better way to connect when you can’t pick up the phone.
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A big shout out here to Shannon Mehls who leads a team of advisors at Ohrenda. We connected last week because I’m going to be speaking at their annual event pretty soon, and we were discussing some of the little nuances that advisors can inject into their daily habits and routines that just strengthen them as advisors in their clients’ or prospects’ eyes.

One of the things she mentioned that she said to her advisors is to have them encourage people who are going to leave a message to leave a long message. So, her voicemail message says, “Leave your name, number, and a message as long as you want to clarify what you need to tell us, and we’ll return your call as soon as possible.” I think that’s a great idea. We rely on voicemail, so we want to use it most effectively. Let the person calling know that they deserve more than only being able to leave you a brief message.

The other positive about doing this is that when the caller leaves you a detailed message, you know exactly what they want. The chances are that you can get the ball rolling without having to first take time to connect back with them to find out what they’re calling about. You can get going on what’s needed and then get back to them to let them know the task has been taken care of, or we need a few more details and then we’ll get the ball rolling, or we need to learn more about the message that you left us and the reasons why. With that simple change in a voicemail message, you actually are going to cut down on the amount of time you’re spending on the phone and be far more effective for the person leaving you a message.

So to do this,

1. Change your voicemail message to let the person calling know that you want to hear exactly what’s on their mind and what they need to talk with you about.


2. Do it now. Don’t wait to do it. Just make the decision and do it now. And if you’re leading a team, share this idea with your team members and have them change their messages as well.


3. Tell your clients. When you’re onboarding a new client, let them know, “There are going be times when you can’t reach me, and that’s okay. You’ll get my voicemail, and it will encourage you to leave a message as long as you need to. There’s no leaving a brief message. We want to hear what you need us to be dealing with. So just be aware, that’s what you’ll hear when you get my voicemail. That way we can take care of it most effectively, and then we’ll come right back to you with the result or with the next steps necessary.”

Do this. Make yourself a more effective advisor. Lead your team more effectively, and most importantly, appeal to your existing clients and potential new clients, letting them see they are top of mind for you.

I look forward to bringing you another Distraction-Proof Advisor Idea next week.