December 12, 2006
Voice Messages Can Win the Law Firm Business or Lose it, What Makes the Difference?
In a recent post, I wrote about improving social skills when it comes to composing e-mail. Too often, the cold “only the facts” quality of an e-mail conveys an unintended attitude to the reader. To the reader, your well-intended email can come off as arrogant, insincere, or cavalier. But by adding a greeting and closing, you control the feeling of the message. Starting your e-mail with a simple “good morning” or "good afternoon" and closing with a “thank you” transforms an otherwise no-nonsense message into an empathic and helpful response that reinforces and builds your relationship with the reader.
Now that we have dealt with the social aspects of e-mail, let’s consider the challenges presented by another aspect of our modern world—leaving a voice phone message. Use the wrong tone or emotion, and the listener will be quick to press the delete key.
Listen to the recorded answering message of the person you are calling and match the style and tone of your message to that recording. If the recorded message is happy and upbeat, your message can be equally enthusiastic. If the message is informal, you can be informal. If it is deliberate, so should your message be. If it is formal, your recording should be strictly business. If the caller talks fast, so can you. If they speak slowly or softly and you come on too strong and fast, the caller quickly determines you are not the kind of person they are going to be comfortable with.
The advice for leaving a recording message applies equally to face-to-face meetings. Listen to and observe the other person. Match their temperament and style. If you try to be informal and familiar with a client or prospect with a formal persona, don’t expect to win their confidence or business. Likewise, take the strictly business approach coupled with a dark blue suit and striped tie, and you will likely turn off the founders of the next Google. They will keep looking. People want to do business and build relationships with people like themselves.
When it comes to relating to others, remember the advice, “It isn’t all about you!” It is just good old fashioned manners to make the other person feel comfortable. You can make your prospect or client comfortable or uncomfortable by how you come across to them. The secret is to match your e-mail, voice message, and face-to-face temperament to that exhibited by your prospect or client.
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