Today, I was on the phone, pitching a new book to hard-to-reach editors.

An assistant came to the line at one place, and very pleasantly asked me if she could take a message.

Almost without exception, assistants such as this person, in the publishing world, are first-rate communicators, so you can rely on them to accurately capture your message and convey it.

But I don’t leave my messages with them, as a general rule—especially if I’m promoting a new title.

Here are five, rock-solid reasons for asking the assistant to put your call into the buyer’s voice mail:

(1) What you say is exactly what he or she hears. There is no “lost in translation” problem with a robot.

(2) Your buyer can hear your enthusiasm, first-hand. She won’t hear it from her assistant.

(3) You can get a second bite at the apple, if your first message missed the mark, in your estimation, either by erasing it, or adding to it with a second voice message.

(4) You can speak faster, and cram in a lengthier message than most humans could ever comfortably transcribe.

(5) You don’t have to “dumb down” or sanitize your message because a mediator is involved.

Don’t worry; asking for voice mail isn’t insulting. All you have to say, when asked, “May I take a message?” is this:

“Sure, does she have voice mail? Oh, great, my message is lengthy so may I please have that? Thanks!”

Then, you and your message are on the way, just as you want them, saying no more, and no less.

What could be better than that?

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of http://www.Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com