When Greeted by a Home Business Answering Machine, First Impressions Count 

Many of us who operate our own businesses need to contact other home business owners across the United States.  Because of the different time zones, it is not uncommon to be greeted by a home business answering machine.

The answering machine message invariably gives the caller a first impression about the business.  Generally, if an answering service is used instead of a machine, first impressions are likely to be more favorable. If a machine is used, the type of message also lends to how others perceive the home business.

If Possible, Add Some Personality to Your Answering Machine Greeting

Some home business answering machines have a standard computer voice announcing that no one is available to take the call so please leave a message.  Other businesses use standard verbiage that is suggested in the answering machine system handbook, but at least these businesses recorded the message with a personal voice.  Of these two neutral types of greetings, most people would prefer the one with a bit of personality instead of a computer voice.

The Home Business Message Should be Polite

The other answering machine messages definitely have personality, ranging from funny to rude. In the middle of these different answering machine "personalities" are the ones with extremely detailed instructions that drone on and on forever with instructions about what kind of message you are supposed to leave on the answering machine.

It's not surprising that the messages that require that you leave the most amount of details have the shortest amounts of time available to leave a message. Most of us end up getting cut off and have to recall and listen to all the instructions over again in order to leave the rest of the message.

Although not appropriate for home businesses (unless they are entertainment related), some answering machines feature cartoon or movie clips for the greeting.  Other home businesses' answering machines greet you with a few seconds of blaring music followed by a recorded message.  These types of answering machine greetings are fine for personal use, but are not appropriate for a home business where potential clients will be calling.

Rude messages include recorded quips to the effect of "if you think you are important enough for me to get back to you, leave a message."  Sarcastic jokes or just plain rude messages on the answering machine are not going to create much of a first impression for home businesses owners.

Others are "cute" messages with greetings from the kids and toddlers.  Again, these are great answering machine greetings for personal use, but do not inspire a great deal of confidence in the abilities and professionalism of a home business.

Conclusion:  First Impressions Count

If you are running a home business and want to leave a good impression on your potential clients and customers, call your answering machine and find out what it sounds like!   Many potential customers have a notepad in front of them before they call you, and they may be writing down derogatory notes about your business because of the type of message they hear on the answering system.