About Kansas City's Claycomo

Called another agent this week to tell her I was writing an offer on her listing...while leaving a message on her voice mail I thought, "What a great message she has!". It was warm, enthusiastic, concise and friendly. So I thought, when was the last time I listened to my voice mail message? Probably several months ago when I purchased my phone!

Email and texting may come before voice messaging now, but there are times when voice to voice is best. I've heard those messages from agents that change their voice mail every day, stating the date, what hours they will return calls, a 'deal of the day', etc. In our time-pressed world, I think most people just want to get on with it and leave the essentials for a return call. They don't want to listen to sixty seconds of chatter.

I feel an upbeat message that 'smiles' through the phone can give an indication of the attitude and professionalism of the person on the other end. Personally, I dislike it when the agent has someone else leave the recorded message--like a secretary or assistant. You are so busy you can't record your own message?? I also have a pet peeve about agents who return a call but don't listen to the message I left--so I have to reiterate what it was about. I try to leave short, informative messages that are to the point without a lot of rambling. My final irritation with voice mail is people who rush through their phone number--even after listening five times, I can't get every digit you said...please slow down just a half second!

So I changed my voice mail today, inspired by my fellow agent. I think it's much better than the old one. And I hope it comes across the way I intended: brief, friendly and leaves the caller with a favorable impression!