Karyn-Ruth Crawley, of Centreville, nominated the following message, which you'll hear on her home machine: "We're sorry, but all of our operators are unusually busy. But if you'll leave your name, number and a brief message, your call will be answered in the order it was received."
35. Hi, you’ve reached the voicemail of [your name] at [your company]. I’m away from my desk, in a meeting or on the other line. Please leave your name, number and a brief message after the tone and I will get back to you as soon as I can.
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If done tastefully, you can promote your products or services on your voicemail greeting without sounding pushy. In fact, it’s a great way to keep customers up-to-date on company events, sales, and other news. Be sure to keep it short and have fun with it.
Mom… Dad. I know you are mad that I’m never home to take your calls. So, as a solution to this, I think you guys should give me an early birthday present: a cell phone. beep.
Messages on Hold – continuous loop of music and messaging that plays as callers wait to speak to a business representative. Messages On Hold present a mix of marketing messages and customer service information that is mixed with music to play in a loop for callers waiting on hold.
People may not want to give information about who lives in their home to unknown callers for a variety of reasons. This information may be used by telemarketers who could then ask for you by name when they call again, scammers who might do the same, or people who are not interested in your welfare. Women living alone for instance may use the “we” instead of “I” to suggest more people living in a house, and can even opt for using the machine generated message or computer generated “male voice” instead of their own voice to increase their security at home. For personal security reasons, you might want to avoid indication of children in the home, too, and you certainly shouldn’t mention that you’re on vacation.
Website: http://www.skywriting.net/inspirational/humor/answering_machine_messages.html
21. “Happy holidays. Thanks for calling OpenPhone. Our hours are a little different during the holiday season. Please listen carefully to the following changes. Customer Support is available December 23, 27, and 30th as well as January 2nd, 3rd from 11 AM – 5 PM EST. On December 24th, 31st, and the holiday weekends from the 21st to the 5th we are open from 12 PM – 3 PM EST. We are closed on December 25th, 26th as well as January 1st. In the case of an emergency, please leave a message and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. You can also reach out via email to [email protected]. Thanks for using OpenPhone and enjoy your holiday season!” Since our holiday hours are shorter, it’s a little harder to get in contact with us immediately. That means we need to be as detailed as possible for our callers’ convenience. Yet, we still kept it brief and friendly.
Sound benign and businesslike? That's the whole idea. As Karyn-Ruth explains it, "Bill collectors, the IRS, sales personnel, obscene callers and other obnoxious people think they have reached a business, and therefore the wrong number, and hang up."
Not in a chatty mood? Here's how to go directly to voicemail or send a voice message.
Recognize Their Need. When someone calls your business, the voicemail should give them a sense of validation. This means that your voicemail should extend gratitude for their interest in your business, or an apology for not being there to answer your call. These two simple courtesies can go a long way in the creation or establishment of client/business trust. Make it Informative for the Caller. Your voicemail must include all the information the customer will need for your particular business. For instance, if you’re a brick and mortar establishment, it’s wise to include your store hours. It’s also a good idea to leave them an alternate way to contact you, especially if it’s after hours. After all, you don’t want to miss just one potential customer. Here are some suggestions for elements to include in your voicemail: Business name Hours (if brick and mortar) Alternate method of contact, such as email Your name
The best text-to-speech voices don't sound robotic at all. Do a "text to speech" search in Google to explore your options. Type in your script and presto! You'll get an instant greeting with a natural sounding voice. You can select from a broad spectrum of male & female voices with any local or foreign accent you choose. LinkedPhone offers text-to-speech built right into our software. It's super popular and our users love it!
4. Waiting Message. What callers hear when they enter the waiting queue. Sample Scripts: “All of our agents are currently busy. Please hold and we will answer your call as soon as possible.”
3.) Welcome to John Doe. Currently we can not answer your call personally, or you are calling us outside of business hours. Please leave us a message with your name and telephone number - we will call you back as soon as possible. Thank you and good bye.
4. Give them a realistic expectation: “Congratulations! You’ve reached the right person! It’s [your name]. Unfortunately, you’ve called at the wrong time. Please leave a message with all your contact information, and I’ll call you back within 24 hours.”
You have reached the voice mail box of (your name). If you’re a hot chick/guy, you may leave a message at the tone. If your one of (your name)’s friends, you may also leave a message at the tone. If you’re not hot and not one of (your name)’s friends, call back when you are. Hello. I’m sorry I didn’t answer your call.
Hello! You’ve reached [LinkedPhone’s Tech Support Team]. We are currently closed but we’re always eager to help. Our regular business hours are from [9am to 7pm Easter Standard Time, 7 days a week]. Please include your name, number, and a short description of the issue you’re experiencing. We promise to return your call by the end of the next business day. [If this is an urgent matter, press ‘0’ to be connected with our VIP support team]. Thank you.