Editor’s Note: The article is part of the blog series Grow Your Business brought to you by the marketing team at UniTel Voice, the virtual phone system priced and designed for startups and small business owners.
Set up call forwarding To start forwarding your calls, click your profile picture at the top of Teams, then select Settings > Calls. Under Call answering rules, choose Forward my calls, and then select where you want your forwarded calls to go: voicemail, another person, or a call group.
.
Hi! I seem to be in the room, but I can’t quite locate my phone at the moment. If you leave a message and number, I’ll ring you up whenever I find it, or if you happen to know where I left it, let me know!
02Hello, you’ve reached [your name] of [your company/business]. I’m sorry that I’m not available to answer your call now. Please leave your details and a brief message at the tone and I’ll make sure your message reaches the right person. This is the perfect voicemail for a department’s secretary or operatory to let those calling know that their message will be delivered when you get back.
Don’t be fooled by other business’ mediocrity…Excellence matters. First impressions also matter. Let your clients and investors listen in on just how exciting and professional your business really is.
Practice your spiel so you can speak with authority. This lets the caller know how confident, qualified, and prepared you are. The goal is to sound like you’ve been doing this for years, not a few minutes.
When you speak into your phone, do not speak directly into the mouthpiece. If you do, you will likely create “popping” and “hissing” noises when you pronounce words that have the letters “p” or “s” in them. Be sure to speak across the mouthpiece and not directly into it.
If you’re going to be out of the office on holidays or vacations, make that known in your voicemail so customers don’t think they’re getting ignored. Nothing is more frustrating to a customer than when they can’t reach you and assume you’re ignoring them.
This is a test. This is a test of the Answering Machine Broadcast System. This is only a test.
Telling a quick joke or including a little more information can keep you safely within the 20-second timeframe while letting the caller understand a little more about you.
A lot of small businesses set up a 13, 1300 or 1800 number to appear more professional, but that’s only the first step. Using a business phone service gives you a range of advantages over your standard landline, including the ability to: Set your business hours and record different voice greetings to align with a particular time of day or year. Set up an automated response, add department extensions to route the calls, and more. Have multiple users on the phone number via call overflow regardless of their location. For ideas on what to include in your voicemail greeting, see our blog on examples of professional voicemail greetings.
So, I finally did it. Here’s my process for developing a professional voicemail message in 10 steps:
To clear any customers doubts or expectations, make sure to mention on your voicemail when you’ll be available. Don’t say that you will “try” to return their call. Instead, offer them a realistic timeframe in which they can expect their call to be returned, so they know what to expect - whether it will take you 24 hours or a week to get back to them. This will eliminate your customer’s worries about your timeliness and encourage them to wait for your reply instead of heading over to your competitors.
©2004 - 2020 Intrado. All Rights Reserved. Legal & Privacy | Diversity | Tariffs | Blog & Corporate News | Investor News | Contact All Career Advice Finding a job Working Interviewing Applying Resumes & Applications Seasonal Flexible Life Tips Fun Read
05You have reached the offices of [your company/business]. Unfortunately, we are currently closed. We are usually open between [hours] [days] and closed on [days]. Please leave us a message with your details and we will get back to you when the office opens. You may hang up after leaving your message or press the [key] for other options. Thank you for your call. This after-hours voicemail greeting lets callers know how to do business or communicate with you outside normal business hours. You may also like 6 How to Ask for a Raise Email Templates to Get Your Point Across
A phone call to your business is often the first encounter your customers and prospects have with your company. If no one is available to take the call, having the best professional voicemail greetings possible is important to leave a great first impression and to ensure that business opportunities don’t slip by.
In today’s digital-first world, it can be extremely easy to treat things like your business voicemail as an afterthought. Your voicemail has the potential to communicate so much more effectively than its digital counterpart.