The biggest barrier is actually getting them to leave the voicemail in the first place. Don’t get in your own way by recording a long, drawn-out voicemail greeting that might do more to convince them to hang up than actually leave a message.
Website: https://www.americanvoicemail.com/articles/10-must-haves-of-professional-voicemail-for-real-estate/
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Knowing what you’re going to say and how you’re going to say it before hopping on the phone is key to getting calls back.
Be sure to let them know how you got their information when you leave a voicemail.
When applying for jobs and internship opportunities, it is not only important to have a professional resume, cover letter and email address, but also an excellent telephone manner.
You know that your callers are making inferences about your business and brand. If you want your voicemail recording to leave a positive impression, smile when you record it! Research shows that smiling affects how we speak, and listeners are not only able to identify that people are smiling, but also what the intent is of the smile based on voice intonation alone.
Below are examples of excellent professional voicemail greetings for various situations to help you get started in creating your own perfect greeting! For each, we’ve included helpful tips, a sample voicemail greeting script, and an audio recording. The greetings are grouped by company greetings, department / team greetings, and personal business greetings. These greetings are likely longer than what you would want to use in real life – but our goal is to help you generate ideas to help you create your own!
A special high five to Margot Howard for her outstanding research and contributions to this article. We love working with and supporting like-minded entrepreneurs who are passionate about business success strategies. Thank you Margot! ❤️
As a business, you always want to present yourself as professional. Be sure your voicemail sounds friendly and personal. For a more polished sound, you can hire a voice artist to record voicemail greetings from as little as $39. Business 1300 can help you write your script and source a well spoken, clear voice from our team of voice artists to do a recording for you.
Rather than the over-used “I’ll check in again on Monday,” leave the conversation off with a reminder of the benefit of chatting or a specific question that gets their gears turning.
check words for the English /oʊ/ vowel. Many non-native speakers make this more like a single vowel and it’s a double vowel so it should have /o/ and /ʊ/ smoothly joined together. Check it in the word ‘phone’ . Another double vowel to look out for in your Voicemail Greeting example is the diphthong vowel /eɪ/. This vowel is in words like ‘wait’ and ‘able’. Many people use the word ‘can’t’ in their Voicemail greeting example. This can be a trap for non-native English speakers. That’s why we chose ‘unable’ instead! Watch out for the word ‘can’t’! In American English and British English the vowel in ‘can’t’ is pronounced with the vowel /æ/ like in ‘pat’ – /kænt/.
7. A Classic Hepburn Answering Greeting for Voicemails. Katharine Hepburn’s iconic and feisty voice goes down in history and can add a bit of moxie to your voicemail greeting.
When leaving your voicemail and phone number, do not say, "Please call me back at ..." Nothing sounds more like a salesperson making a cold call then saying, "please call me back at...".
7. A Classic Hepburn Answering Greeting for Voicemails. Katharine Hepburn’s iconic and feisty voice goes down in history and can add a bit of moxie to your voicemail greeting.
As I mentioned above, some words like ‘can’t’ are often mispronounced by non-native speakers and it can sound like a swear word!
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.
Before any business can create clear, easy to hear (and understand) recorded audio messages, they need the right recording equipment. Many businesses try to get by with using audio recorded on a standard recording device.