The easiest way to record and program professional voicemail greetings for your phone system is to write down a script. Choose someone to record your script - the one who can speak without hesitating or stuttering, has a friendly voice and can annunciate and pronounce each name and word clearly.
8. Hello, you’ve reached [your name], [your job title] at [your company]. I’m sorry for missing your call, but if you leave a message that includes your name and contact information, I’ll get in touch as soon as I can.
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42. Hi, you’ve reached [X company]. Our team is currently out of the office or assisting other customers. Leave your name, number, and a brief message so we can direct your call to the proper team member when we return.
Practice your spiel so you can speak with authority. This lets the caller know how confident, qualified, and prepared you are. The goal is to sound like you’ve been doing this for years, not a few minutes.
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Ideally, a business should have a complete set of messages for every phase of their call flow from beginning to end. While voicemail greetings are an important part of the phone system, there need to be recordings for everything leading up to the voicemail as well (assuming there are other steps in the call flow).
1. Funny Answering Greeting from Seinfeld. Back in 1997, Seinfeld’s character, George Costanza, attempts to avoid a breakup call from his girlfriend and we hear his comical outgoing machine recording.
If you have a main business phone number that’s shared with the customers or publicly listed, you’ll want to make sure it has a professional voicemail message to greet callers. Here are sample greetings you can use to help you craft your own.
A word of warning: These greetings will not do you any favors if you’re in the midst of a job hunt or work in a conservative industry. Always remember your target personas. If there’s a chance they won’t appreciate your sense of humor, opt for a straightforward greeting instead. “This is Bond. James Bond. Okay, it’s really [your last name]. [Your first name] [your last name]. I’ll get back to you as soon as I’m done helping M16 save the world — which will probably be tomorrow at the latest. Have a good day.” “Hmm. Gryffindor … No, Ravenclaw. Yes, you definitely belong in Ravenclaw. *Pause.* Okay, you haven’t reached the Sorting Hat — it’s the voicemail of [your name]. Please leave your name and number (and just for fun, the Harry Potter house you think you belong in) and I’ll return your call as soon as possible.” “Hello! You’ve gotten the voicemail of [your name]. Leave your name, contact info, and the answer to the eternal question ‘Which came first, the chicken or the egg?’ Anyone who gets it right will receive a call back.”
You don’t need to say why you can’t answer or where you might be, you simply need to say your full name, that you are sorry you can’t come to the phone, and that you will get back to them as soon as you can.
While covering all of the relevant information, aim to keep your voicemail to about 20 seconds. You definitely should not ever record a business voicemail longer than 30 seconds, and anything less than 10 seconds will typically mean that you are either speaking too quickly or aren’t providing all of the required information.
I appreciate your efforts at customer service. My clients receive the same impression and think better of my company.
A monotone voice can be a turn off for a caller. You want your caller to feel like they missed out on speaking with you — not like they dodged a bullet.
2. Hi, you’ve reached [your name]’s voicemail box. I can’t come to the phone right now, but if you leave your contact information I’ll get back to you within 24 hours.
23. "Happy holidays! [I'm, the team at X company is] away until [date]. We'll make sure to call you back straight away when we return. If your request is urgent, email [emergency contact] at [email address]. Thanks, and have a wonderful day."
It's easy to get carried away in a voicemail and include more detail than is necessary. We've all been in that situation where the automated or pre-recorded voice on the end of the line goes on and on with more information than you can take in.
Your message should sound inviting and happy, so the person leaving the message doesn’t get scared off. Don’t be unnaturally over the top happy that they are leaving you a message, but definitely try and get a happy tone into your message, and show them that you value their time and the fact that they are leaving you a message.