Many phone systems now allow you to customize your “on hold” messages. You can program your message so that callers hear about your various practice areas, office hours, directions, or any other information. It’s a simple way to promote your services or offer.

You could

• Describe your different practice areas or feature a new one
• Promote a free consultation or special offer
• Offer a free report, video, or ebook
• Promote your web site content
• Promote your upcoming seminar
• Invite people to connect with you on social media
• Ask for referrals
• Promote your charity event (i.e., golf tournament)
• Announce a new hire or new feature (i.e., “We now offer free consultations by phone”)

You could also do this in your voice mail message or in your email “away” (“out of office”) autoresponse.

For example, your voice mail message might be

This is Joe Lawyer. Please leave your name, number and reason for the call and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible. By the way, on September 21 I’m doing a free phone seminar and you’re invited. It’s called, “12 simple steps to protecting your money.” You can get the details on my web page at JoeLawyer.com or mention the seminar when you leave your message and I’ll have someone call you back with the details. Thank you very much.

When you tell people you’re on vacation, away from the office, or just not available to take their call, use that email or voice mail to promote something or offer something of value.

Yep, marketing is simple.