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Luckily, there are some simple tips to improve your voicemail messages and boost the odds that your prospect will return your call or pick up the next time you contact them. The first rule of phone prospecting is simple: don’t hang up without leaving a voicemail. If you show up as a missed call and you haven’t left a message, you’ve
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For a downloadable Quick Reference Guide to the voicemail phone menu, click here.
To create a professional business voicemail greeting, businesses need to do several things:
Sorry I wasn’t able to take your call, but please leave your name and a detailed message and I’ll get back to you.
Sometimes, it’s best to pick up the phone instead or have a face-to-face meeting if the tone or topic of the email is emotional, terse, or needs a lengthy discussion. Responding to workplace texts: You don’t have to have the last word. But if you need to say thanks or okay, say ‘thank you’ or ‘okay’ rather than ‘thankU’ or ‘k.’
This article is about the second main type of greeting – the voicemail greeting. All businesses should have professional voicemail greetings at the company level (i.e. your general business number), department level (e.g. customer service), and employee level, where applicable. It’s important that each of these voicemail greetings align with the brand and personality of your company to ensure that every caller has a consistent experience. Let’s dive in!
Make sure you keep your promises too. If you want to specify a time (which you should) ensure you get back to the customer within the timeframe.
“Hey Henry, I’m reaching out because I recently helped someone in a similar position to you save X amount of dollars…”
27. Hey, this is [your name], but you should know that already since you called me. I’m obviously not here right now, so I won’t patronize you by telling you what to do after the tone.
Voicemails need to maintain a professional consistency that’s aligned with the entity it’s representing. That said, the structure can vary depending on the situation. There’s no template set in stone. In fact, trite and generic should be off the table. The goal should be a balance of uniqueness and practicality.
When clients or customers want to learn more about your business, oftentimes after checking out your website and social media, if they have further questions regarding your products or services, they’ll pick up the phone and call.
We look forward to hearing from you and helping you improve your English pronunciation and spoken English.
Professional voicemail greetings can be used for cross-selling your products and services and also divert your customers to your app and website. Here are some of the benefits of creating a business voicemail greeting: 1. Leave a great impression on your customers. 2. Tell them the reason for your unavailability.
e. Never Assume Anything: Phrases like “You Know What To Do,” “Sing Your Song at the Beep,” and others mentioned above are awful to leave in your greeting. For the sake of universality and comprehensiveness, NEVER assume the caller knows what to do. Lay it out clearly. f. Leave a Message: This phrase, by itself, will not do. It’s imperative for users to identify themselves in their greetings. Callers need to know they’ve reached the right person. g. Disregard Lethargy: If you’re not excited about your greeting, why would anyone else be? Never display a lack of enthusiasm in your greeting as it could turn callers off to both you and your business. h. Speak Clearly and Never Slur: Callers need to understand your every word; therefore, mumbling, slurring, and all other detractions of speech should never be recorded. d. Be Creative Without Sacrificing Quality: Callers know how voicemails work–i.e. leave a number, message, etc. While you want to be clear, it’s important not to be contrive or redundant with your message. Creativity can help users to differentiate themselves, as well as intrigue callers. While users should avoid the tropes of creativity listed above, it’s definitely good to think outside the box. That being said, scripting and practice can help users to experiment more with their greeting–ultimately allowing for more unique and creative approach. e. Speak With Diction: It’s important to present one’s self as an authority without alienating callers. As such, it’s crucial to articulate and speak with clear diction. “ if your voice recording has you stumbling over words and speaking haltingly, it does not convey confidence and competence,” states Ron Sellers of Grey Matter Research & Consulting. Remember, this greeting represents you; therefore, you want to appear collected and professional, as well as welcoming. To do this, one must carry themselves well through their recorded message. f. Account for Timeliness: Your message should be concise. No caller wants to be sitting through a rant/diatribe of redundant statements. Your greeting should flow without dragging. Inversely, one doesn’t want to be terse, either. Engage callers with a simplified approach laden with creativity. h. Account for Quality: Aside from speaking clearly, users want to eliminate any noise in the surrounding environment. The quality of the greeting is just as important as what’s being said in the greeting itself. As such, one doesn’t want to undermine a great message with poor quality. i. Courtesy, Tastefulness, & Tact: This is pretty self-explanatory and straight forward–NEVER be rude. Being light-hearted and humorous is very different from being obnoxious and/or abrasive. Again, these tools can be helpful if utilized properly, but not everyone perceives humor the same way. So play it safe. The last thing your voicemail greeting should do is offend a caller. k. Provide Options: if you’re part of a bigger company, it might be good to offer caller options. For example, allow a menu to defer callers to a colleague or co-worker in your absence. This can help show callers you care about their well being. Another option might be offering different modes of communication–i.e. email, fax, etc. In offering users diversity, contact may be much easier to maintain.
*Note: Some of your users don’t celebrate all the same holidays you do. Remember to keep these voicemail greetings neutral 🌟
The number you have xxx-xxxx (your number) has been changed, the new number is xxx-xxxx (again, your number). CULATA!