For those with voicemail greetings that get changed about as often as a new president is elected, know that this is doing a serious disservice to the caller-recipient relationship. It signals to callers that the business is anything but an authority, most likely not very detail oriented, and has questionable overall credibility and competency.
“Good morning. You’ve reached the voicemail of [your name]. Today is [date]. Please leave me a message with your name and contact information. Oh, and here’s my motivational quote of the day: [read quote].”
.
1. Short Business Voicemail Greetings. Hi there, you’ve reached [your name] at [X company]. Thanks for calling. I'm unable to answer the phone but if you leave your name, phone number, and message.
For companies that are looking to replace their traditional Private Branch Exchange (PBX) system with a more cost-efficient and feature-rich phone system, one of the critical decisions they need to... Home Press | About | Contact | Advertise | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy Site Map
As a bonus, here is an example of our own holiday voicemail greeting here at OpenPhone:
Whether you’re out for the day or are off for the week, the first rule of an out of office voicemail greeting is: let callers know when you’ll be back! You’ll save them the frustration of continuing to call and yourself the hassle of listening to redundant voicemails. It’s also a good idea to set the expectation of whether you are answering messages while you’re away, and who they can reach for assistance in your absence.
Another great information you can put in your voicemail messages is to inform your prospects when you can reach out to them say the next morning or mid-afternoon and more so that they can be aware of when they can expect a call from you.
Company-level calls are usually directed to your general business number. There are occasions when everyone in the office is tied up and unable to pick up calls. It’s important to gather information about the reason for the call so that the right person or team can call them back. These greetings ensure that customers do not feel neglected while also providing assurance that their call will be attended to as soon as possible.
Last, make sure you keep this voicemail account up to date, especially if you have some kind of "out of office" message, telling people where you are. Michael Hyatt updates his voicemail message every day-- it may seem excessive, but it lets his callers know that he regularly checks his voicemail, cares about messages he receives, and is likely to get back to them.
The other problem with creating humorous messages is that occasionally someone with actual information will call. Potential employers, current bosses and clergy may not appreciate sitting through a PG-13 outgoing announcement before leaving an important message. Length is another consideration. Many people prefer an answering machine's outgoing message to be as brief and as professional as possible. Unless you own a business where listing hours of operation or contact numbers is important, try not to go past 15 seconds on an outgoing message. Post your comments Please enter the following code: Login: Forgot password? Register:
12. “Hi, you’ve reached [company]. Unfortunately, we’re currently unavailable. But we want to talk to you — so please leave your name and number, as well as your reason for calling, and someone will call back ASAP.”
Hi, this is [your name] of [your business]. I'm currently unable to take your call. Please leave your name, phone number, and a brief message, and I will contact you as soon as possible. Thanks.
Voice mail allows business professionals access to messages -- even when they're away from the office. A call to any business or home used to mean one of three things -- an answer, a busy signal or endless, unanswered ringing. Increasingly, it now means an encounter with voice mail.
The above eight rules of engagement for voicemail greetings may sound easy enough, but they’ll require some practice to get just right. Let’s look at some examples to provide some context in how to apply the rules to various types of greetings and situations.
After helping tens of thousands of companies set up voicemail systems, we’ve learned that there is no set of rules defining what makes a great business voicemail, but there are definitely some key points that you should aim to hit. Before you hit the record button for your voicemail message, take some of these tips into account:
My wife and I can't come to the phone right now, but if you'll leave your name and number, we'll get back to you as soon as we're finished.
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.