• Hi, this is XYZ. I’m sorry I cannot take your call right now. Please leave a detailed message at the tone along with your name and telephone number. I’ll return your call as soon as I can. Thank you.
16. “Hi, you’ve reached [company name]. Sorry, you just missed us! We’re open from ([hour] to [hour] [time zone]) Monday through Friday [optional: hour to hour on the weekends]. In the meantime, you can also visit our website [website URL] to reach out via live chat, text, or email [email address]. If you’d like to leave us a message, tell us your name, number, and reason for your call after the beep. We will give you a call back later on today.” Let your caller know your exact office hours so you skip the “phone tag”. They’ll appreciate knowing when to expect a return call. Just keep in mind that the timeframe should be realistic so you live up to customer expectations.Voicemail greetings for holidays
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There is one very important last step. Return all of your calls as soon as possible. Prompt, professional callbacks, even if you then must leave a message, get you off on the right step toward a job interview.
I began my career with over 15 years in sales and sales training. Among other roles, I was a national sales trainer and a branch manager for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.
You don’t need to have your whole life story in your voicemail greeting, you just basically need them to know that they reached the right person and that you will be getting back to them as soon as you can. This is the part where people like to get funny, maybe by saying, “hey, I’m out and definitely avoiding you,” which is funny if your friends are calling, but not if someone you want to work for is trying to reach you.
For small businesses, there are a variety of voicemail service providers you can use that offer different features. From transcription and voice to text to more convenient features of handling multiple phones through one number, availability varies by service. Shared voicemail and call routing is intended for multiple access and directing calls to one or multiple phones. Mobile apps are also available that allow you to check your messages from your phone. The below infographic outlines the current state and trends of voicemails.
If you drone on and on, there is a good chance that some of your callers are going to hang up before leaving their message.
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.
Hello! You’ve reached [Luke on the Customer Success Team at LinkedPhone]. Our office is currently closed but rest assured your call is very important to me. Please leave your name and number and let me know how I could be of service to you. I’ll return your call on the next business day. Thank you!
We’re keeping it simple with this one. Just a few basic elements to help you get started. As long as you know who your audience is, the message you wish to convey, and the information you need from the caller, the rest should fall into place quite nicely. Let’s face it, a voicemail greeting for a lumber company will probably be different than that of a psychologist’s office. One greeting is aimed at securing potential customers, and the other is geared towards appointments, more or less. Once you are certain who your caller is, the better your voicemail. Center on your audience, first and foremost. Knowing what to relate ensures that your caller will leave the right message. For instance, if you’re a retail store, you would include your hours of operations, and perhaps any specials that you’re running. If you are a therapist’s office, then you’d need to include an alternate number in case a patient is having an issue and requires immediate help. Again, this will vary depending on the business. Here, a therapist would definitely request the caller leave their contact information. However, a retail store chain might not request that. There are also complex voicemail systems such as those used by mobile phone services, which ask you to press a certain number on your phone, where you are asked to leave your account information. Again, as you can see, it all boils down to the demographics of your callers, and what you need from them to conduct the best business possible. Depending on the situation, your caller might be in a good mood or not. In either case, they’ll probably be eagerly awaiting your call. So, it stands to reason that you only promise them a call back if you can deliver. In other words, if you’re a small shop and you’ve decided to close due to a much-needed sabbatical, then don’t leave a voicemail greeting where you promise them to call right back. However, if you have an active customer service staff, then you can promise to return their call within the same day.
Hello, you have reached Dr. X. Right now, I am with a patient, so I’m unable to respond to your call immediately. If you need help with a prescription, call number Y. If you need to book/modify an appointment, call number z. Please, leave your name, and phone number and reasons for calling.
If they are calling without an expectation that you always pick up (such as if you are a business coach or a one-man shop) then thanking them for calling might make the most sense.
Hi there! You’ve reached the sewer on the next street. I can’t get to the phone right now, but if you take a wee walk, I’ll be at the sewer grate with the red balloon…floating. Please feel free to join me.
Professional Phone Greetings, Voicemail & On-Hold Voice Overs When a customer calls your place of business, they generally expect to be placed on hold at some point. Rather than play annoying music, why not use this captive audience to promote your business with a professional voice over.
You’ve reached [LinkedPhone – Where Freedom Rings]. We are currently off-duty. Our business hours are [Monday through Saturday, 9am to 7pm Eastern Standard Time]. Please leave your name, number, and the reason for your call and we’ll get back to you on the next business day. Thank you.
The number you have xxx-xxxx (your number) has been changed, the new number is xxx-xxxx (again, your number). CULATA!
Hi. This is [Name] from [Business Name]. We are currently involved in a relocation. Our new office will be open for business on March 21st, 8 am to 9 pm, Central Standard Time. You may contact us at that time at 555-555-2343. Thank you for your call.