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.
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.
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Cell phone voicemail greetings are generally more personal and casual than office phones. Consider a greeting like “Hello, you’ve reached [your name]’s cell phone. I can’t take your call at the moment, but if you leave a brief message, I’ll get back to you as quickly as possible.”
Thank you for calling [LinkedPhone – Where Freedom Rings!]. You’ve reached us outside of business hours. Please select from one of the following options: [for business hours press 1; to leave a message press 2; if this is an emergency, press 0 to be directed to our 24-hour customer success team.] We are grateful for your call and we look forward to speaking with you soon!
The main point that we want to drive home with this article is that you shouldn’t overthink your business voicemail greeting. Just keep it short, and state the relevant information.
For a medical office, call types may include billing, emergencies, appointments, cancellations, etc. 2. Determine How To Best Route Calls The best method of routing your medical office calls will depend on your office size and budget. If you have a small staff, setting up a standard voicemail greeting system may be a more practical approach. For a larger health organization with multiple departments, it makes more sense to route calls to their intended destinations by using an auto attendant. For example, “If you have a question about billing, press 1. If you’d like to schedule an appointment, press 2. If this is a medical emergency, press 0 for an operator.” If you want every caller or patient to experience a professional and compassionate call, you may consider working with a medical office answering service. You can forward calls to an answering service after business hours, on holidays, during overflow, or any other time you may need help answering calls. 3. Draft A Script
It’s important that your voicemail makes a good impression and conveys professionalism to anyone who calls. Here at UniTel Voice, we specialize in helping business owners set up a virtual voicemail system that not only helps them sound professional but also keeps them connected with voicemail-to-email and voicemail transcription (voice-to-text) technology.
Of course, yours may need more details. But, even if you’re changing your outgoing message every day, it should only be a slight variation from a standard greeting.
Rehearse your greeting a few times before you press record. Plan your pauses and select natural places to take a breath. If you are recording directly into your phone don't hold it to your ear like you are talking on the phone. This can produce a muffled tone. Hold the phone out in front of you a few inches from your mouth for the clearest recording. This may require some trial and error. So playback your greeting and make necessary adjustments on your re-record.
• Hello. You have reached the voicemail box of XYZ. I am currently on the phone right now and I am unable to take your call. This is the beginning of the new year so call volume is very heavy. I appreciate your patience during this busy time. Please leave me a message and I will return your call as soon as possible.
6. Hello, this is [your name] at [your company]. I am unavailable at the moment, but please leave your name, number, and the reason you’re calling, and I’ll call you back as soon as possible.
As a mental health clinician you have probably wondered what should your voicemail message be?Here are some samples: Hello, you have reached the voicemail of [Dr. XXX], Licensed Psychologists. The office is closed at this time. We are currently unavailable to take your call. Our business hours are nine to five, Monday through Friday. If
Want to make a great first impression? Use these voicemail templates as a starting point for crafting your own professional voicemail!
Follow these steps to record your name and greeting, and to select which greeting you want callers to hear.
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Make sure that this voicemail greeting informs users about office hours, alternative ways to reach customer service, or store location. “Hi, you’ve reached [business name]. We are available by phone from [9 am] to [6 pm] [PST] Monday to Friday. You can also use the contact form on our website, [www.example.com] to leave us a message and we
Following up with an email? Let them know at the end of the voicemail that’s what you’ll be doing.