Nobody wants to listen to a long-winded voicemail. Keep your greeting short, simple, and concise. A voicemail message should pique a client’s interest and leave them looking forward to your call. Stick to the basics, explaining your company name, hours of operation, and when to expect a callback.
Users often don’t invest enough time into their messages, resulting in incomplete, unprofessional, or otherwise under-whelming greetings. Sure, crafting a greeting doesn’t sound all that complicated; however, there are a number of pitfalls users can fall into—i.e. informality, terseness, sincerity, lack of direction, and more. While none of these sound too catastrophic, they are often interrelated. As such, they tend to worsen any problem. For example, humor can cause informality, worsen ambiguity, and weaken sincerity. That being said, users should strive to avoid ALL these pitfalls.
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10. “Hey, this is [your name]. Thanks for reaching out. I’m busy at the moment, but if you leave your name, number, and message, I’ll return your call.
Your voicemail greeting can make a positive or negative impression on people. By considering your target audience and tone, you should be able to keep it positive. Length: Don’t make people wait minutes to leave a message. Apologies: If people expect your to be available, apologize for missing their call. Set expectations: Let people know when they may receive a callback, but be realistic. Accuracy: If you change your voicemail for things like holidays, be sure to update it when needed. How do You Set Up a Business Voicemail?
2. "Hi, you've reached [name] at [company]. If you need a quick response, please shoot me an email at [insert email address] and I'll be in touch by EOD tomorrow.
34. Hello, this is [your name]. I’m currently out of the office celebrating [X holiday]. I’ll be back on [X date], so leave a quick message and I’ll be sure to return your call when I get back. Have a happy [holiday]!
Let’s be honest, you (hopefully) set up your voicemail when you first got your phone, and it probably hasn’t changed since then. If you’re about to start job-hunting, now is the perfect time to refresh your professional voicemail greeting.
If your business is off for a holiday, it's a common courtesy to update your voicemail to acknowledge the closure. Mention the closure in the beginning of the message, convey when your business is reopening, and don't forget to wish the callers a happy holiday if the occasion calls for it. If you're away from your office, check your voicemail remotely to keep up with incoming messages if necessary. Or get voicemail to email capabilities set up on your phone system. Thank you for calling Merlow Plumbing. We are closed for Christmas from December 24th, 2015, until January 2nd, 2016. Our normal business hours are Monday through Thursday, 8 am - 6 pm. Please leave your message after the tone. Have a happy holiday, and we look forward to seeing you in the New Year. 5. Emergency Situation Voicemail Greeting
Letting callers know to leave their name and number so you can call them back is an excellent way to get the right information that you may need from someone that you missed a call from. Otherwise, you might be left with a number with no name to ask for or vice versa. If you run a business and want to include something that usually comes up in professional phone calls, include that as well. For example, if people often ask you to check on business orders, ask them to leave the shipping number so you can get back to them with a ready response. Most Professional Voicemail Greeting
Put some thought into your message before you hit “record.” It takes very little time to write a script for yourself to read as you record your greeting. Reading off a script eliminates unnecessary pauses, “ums” and “ahs.”
Leave out excuses like “I’m probably with a client right now” or “I’m unable to answer the phone right now” – it’s obvious you can’t answer your phone if a caller is listening to your voicemail greeting!
As the old saying goes, practice makes perfect. Read your voicemail script aloud several times in order to get the flow and annunciation correct. Soon, you’ll be a voicemail pro!
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In fact, scripted voicemails receive an increased conversion rate of anywhere from 3% to 22% over unscripted voicemails.
Typically, most of these services are uniform—i.e. include the same tools and features (send a script, they record it in a tone you approve, they send it as a file, you supply any feedback, etc.); however, there are some services that go above and beyond. For example, VoiceOverPro, is a single voice professional who records 30 second voicemail messages based on users’ scripts. This is standard; however, users also have options like adding music, recording up to 60 seconds (or 150 words), rush, 2-day turnaround, and even same day delivery.
A good voicemail greeting is short and professional, lets people know that you’ll get back to them, and invites callers to continue engaging with a call-to-action. You should also show your personality if you’re in an industry or role that allows that. If your industry is more conservative, however, you’ll want to keep humor and personal touches to a minimum. A greeting Your name Your company A simple explanation for missing the call (e.g. you’re away from the phone or are on holiday) A rough estimate of when you’ll get back to the person An alternative person to reach out to (if you’re out of office) An alternative mode of communication (if you prefer email or text) A call-to-action such as “Leave a message” or “Send me an email at [email protected]”
If anything big changes- address, phone, etc.- make sure you correct your voicemail early on. Keep It Short; We know, we know. We just gave you all this information and we’re now telling you to ‘keep it short‘. But, a professional voicemail greeting (or any for that matter) shouldn’t go beyond 20-25 seconds.