6) If you do reach someone's answering machine or voice mail, leave a complete message that gives your telephone number twice and states the reason you're calling. For example, "This is Susan Ward at (telephone number). I'm calling to discuss the estimate for your project. You can reach me at (telephone number) this afternoon." Stating your telephone number twice gives the recipient of the message a much better chance of getting it right and getting it written down without replaying the message.
7) Don't give in to telephone compulsion. When you're trying to reach someone and you haven't, it's tempting to call back - perhaps every half hour! But if you've let a proper message, there's no need to waste your time leaving repeated messages (and filling up the person's answering machine). Give the person you're calling a reasonable amount of time to call back, such as until the next business day.
8) Schedule your telephone calls and make them all together in a single block of time, if possible. Most of us aren't that good at multi-tasking and lose a great deal of productivity when we're flipping back and forth from one task to another. So if you have a dozen calls to make in a particular day, it's more efficient to make them all in one hour than to make one or two, and then make another three calls an hour later, and another two 45 minutes after that.
9) Book your outgoing telephone calls, if possible. If it's not going to be a quick call, when you first call someone, introduce yourself, tell her why you're calling, and then ask her if it's a convenient time to talk or if she would prefer to book a time to discuss it. Then arrange that you will call her at that time. This can not only save you time on the spot but save time when you call the person back, because you'll both be prepared to discuss the issue.
10) If at all possible, make your outgoing telephone calls in "prime time". Research has shown that more people are in their offices early in the morning and can be reached between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m..
Want more time management telephone tips? Then you'll want to read the companion piece to this article, Time Management Telephone Tips For Inbound Phone Calls.
