How to leave a great voicemail

I'm not sure if you can still do this with answerphones…

…but about 5 years ago, you would get the option to re-record the voicemail you just left, at the end of the call.

For example, if you called an Orange mobile number and left a voicemail, after a few seconds of silence, the recorded message would say,

“To listen to your message, press 1. To re-record your message press 2.”

I used to be so awkward on the phone that I would often make a complete mess of my message, and end up re-recording it many times over.

This one time, I was calling the MD of a big potential client to ask for a meeting.

I was so flustered, and so nervous, I could barely string a sentence together.

Despite practicing for 5 minutes beforehand, I ended up getting it wrong and, mid-sentence, I just trailed off into obscenities.

“Hi this is Al, I'm just calling to… erm… I mean I'm wondering if you, I mean we could… Sorry. What I meant to say was… ahhhhhhh balls. I've totally messed this up. What a dick…”

So I just waited, in silence, until the recorded message kicked in and I could press a key to re-record.

When it finally did, I heard 3 words that immediately made me sick to my stomach.

“Thank you. Goodbye.”

FUCK! There's no option to re-record.

FUCKSHIT! I've just actually left that message on Keith's answerphone.

I'd love to say that Keith saw the funny side and is now a great client who I work with regularly…

…but he didn't.

And I don't.

If you want to avoid being a dick like me, use the template outlined by the Neo-Sage forum. Here's the video:

How to Leave a Great Voicemail

Here is a great template for leaving a powerful voicemail message whenever you need someone to return your call. It's short, clear, memorable and increases the odds that the person will either call you back or respond to your follow up email and/or second call. If you find value, please Like, Comment AND Share. Enjoy! For more, join the Forum at: http://www.neo-sage-forum.com/

Posted by The Neo-Sage Group on Saturday, 15 April 2017

Let me know if you've ever done anything equally embarrassing.