Give the man a hug!

Last week I was at the inspirational Enterprising Women conference. As well as meeting a number of wonderful business women I was able to catch up with old acquaintances. One of the key discussions was "Our Men" - or more accurately complaining about "Our Men".

One lady was horrified when her husband brought home a labrador puppy for the children - without consulting her. Another could only communicate with her husband by TEXT message - even when he was at home.

Today I heard that my son's friend's Dad died suddenly in the afternoon. His lovely wife Annabel won't be able to grumble about him. His children won't be able to play football with him, or have a piggy back. They won't have their Dad being Father Christmas or driving them to parties when they are in their teens. He won't watch them receiving their degrees.

I'm so lucky; I can hug my husband tonight, and even if he annoys me sometimes (occasionally), he's still here in our lives. So - hug a man or woman tonight - and count yourself lucky!

My very best wishes and thoughts go to Annabel, Javier and Pia.

The curse of the answerphone message!

Recently, I have been contacting a variety of organisations and companies. On a number of occasions I have been confronted by the dreaded answerphone! Now I understand that individual people aren't at their desks 100% of the time, but an answerphone can be the first contact a potential customer has with a company or service.

Answerphone messages varied from totally inaudible speaking, to messages that were so fast, one wondered whether the person was running out of the room as they recorded it! Other telephone numbers were largely inaudible and I did not receive much confidence in the companies' services.

There was even an accountancy company: with 20+ employees, that had an answerphone system that invited you to select 'speaking to an operator' as an option - only to be put through to - ANOTHER ANSWER PHONE!! In this case, the argument for a diversion service to a key person in the organisation, whilst the operator was busy, was quite a strong one. I certainly wouldn't bother about rephoning and I wouldn't bother to buy into their services.

There are a number of issues surrounding answerphone messages. Yes, companies need to have a number that people can contact them outside office hours. Individuals are not going to be at their desk for 100% of the time. However, any message a customer receives when they contact an individual or company should reflect positively on that company - otherwise the customer will be lost.

Key ways of ensuring your answerphone message is effective:

1. Speak clearly and slowly, pronouncing key words carefully.

2. Any other contact telephone numbers should re recited clearly and repeated to give the caller time to take the number down.

3. Take your time to compose yourself before leaving the message on the answerphone: a stressful person records a stressful message!

4. If you are leaving a message from your mobile phone, make sure you speak very clearly; if reception is not very good, this will be reflected in the recording.

5. Consider redirecting your personal number to a VA or a colleague to ensure the client receives a human/personal contact.

I think there is more blogging potential from this topic - including getting organisations and departments to take responsibility for answering calls effectively and also leaving answerphone messages more clearly! There will be more soon!

BBC Three Counties Radio Broadcast

I was invited into the BBC Three Counties Radio studio again today. This was to discuss current affairs with the wonderful Ernie Almond. I was accompanied by 2 of my musicians from NSN Productions Limited: one of whom performed at the end of the 2 hour broadcast.The session - which was long, was not scripted, but we were prompted by a few newspaper articles to discuss these topics. There was also an opportunity to discuss our music business.

Being the BBC, we were not allowed to advertise either our services or our website. However, if you are canny, you can quote your website quickly, before they can stop you! Obviously there is nothing worse than repeating the website or your telephone number, but the first rule of the media is that they are not going to prompt you for this information - so you need to be proactive!

If you would like to have coaching on appearing on TV or the radio - do give me a call. 0844 576 3015.

BBC Three Counties Radio Interview

I now have a recording of the interview I had with the wonderful Lorna Milton on Three Counties Radio. I have posted it onto the home page of the website: www.executivevoice.co.uk I have been invited back to follow the progress of Kelly Betts; I am currently coaching her and over a period of time we will be able to measure her progress. Kelly is a great client; she works hard and is picking up new skills all the time. She is an absolute pleasure to train!
I will keep you posted as to when I appear again.