Editor’s Note: The article is part of the blog series Grow Your Business brought to you by the marketing team at UniTel Voice, the virtual phone system priced and designed for startups and small business owners.
I have a confession to make: I haven't recorded a new voicemail greeting in nearly a decade. Since then, I've (hopefully) become more articulate, poised, and self-assured. But hear my voicemail recording, and you'd think I was still new to the work world, a little unsure of myself — and probably not an authority.
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• Hi, this is XYZ, I’m either away from my desk or on another call. Please leave your name and number. I will call you soon.
When recording, be sure to say your message with a smile on your face. It’s obvious when people aren’t happy in their message. Since your work revolves around keeping happy customers, do your part by keeping a happy-sounding voicemail message. Don’t rush. It’s important to speak slowly and clearly when leaving your next voicemail greeting.
Here’s our ultimate guide, including video and audio samples, on every thing you need to know about professional voicemail greetings:
Record your greeting. Under Voice mail, select Greetings. Select the type of greeting you want to record. Select Call me to play or record the selected greeting. Enter your phone number and select Dial. Follow the instructions in the recorded message to record your greeting. When finished recording, click Save.
15 Professional Voicemail Greeting Samples 1. Company Voicemail Greeting Samples “Hello. Thank you for calling [Company Name]. All of our representatives are currently assisting other callers. Please remain on the line for the next available representative, or press [number] if you would like to leave your phone number for a call-back. Thank
For example, are you great at telling jokes? Then throw a little humor into your call to lighten the mood and show off your unique personality.
Consider adding 'You can also email your query to us at [insert email address here]. These queries will be answered within [insert time frame].' Again, if you intend to make a promise to your customer in a voicemail, ensure you keep it.
12. "Hi, you've reached [company]. We're available by phone from [hour] to [hour] [time zone] Monday through Friday [optional: and from hour to hour on the weekends]. You can also contact us by going to our website, [URL], and live-chatting or emailing us. If you'd like us to call you back, please leave your name and number after the tone."
19. Hi, you’ve reached [employee name]’s voicemail box. [Employee first name] no longer works for [company name]. Please call our main line at [phone number] and we’ll be happy to connect you with a current team member who can help.
22. Hello, this is [your name]. I’m currently away from my phone. I return calls on Tuesday and Friday at 10 a.m. Please leave a detailed message including your name and a callback number and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.
Show that you’re human! Not everything in business needs to bland and boring. Add some personality to your voicemail while still maintaining professionalism. Do you have a fun fact about yourself or something unique to you? Share that in your voicemail and then ask for the customer to leave you with a fun fact so that you can call them back.
What do you think of your voicemail greeting? Does it sound professional, or is it outdated? Even worse, is it a computerized voice with a default message? (Ew.)
For example, a message like, “Hi, this is Jim. You know what to do.” Well, not everyone is going to know what to do—i.e. they won’t leave you inclusive information. Additionally, they may not leave you a message at all. Aside from this, humor can again be detrimental to your message, this time lending itself to ambiguity and costing you clarity. For example, if a message read, “Hi this is Jim, sorry I can’t answer your call right now. Please leave your name and number and I’ll call you as soon as I can, but you already knew that right? Do I need to tell you what to do?” This is worse than the previous example as this is confusing and can also come across as rude and unprofessional. Complicating a greeting with phrasing like this is sure to cause some harm. e. Ignoring Personality & Identity: Don’t use computer generated greetings. Some users leave default messages (‘you’ve reached the voicemail box of 777-777-777, please leave a message). Believe it or not, even this can cause problems. Callers may be unsure if the voicemail box belongs to you; therefore, they don’t leave a message. Also, some may even be uncomfortable leaving information through a message in a nameless voice message box. As such, impersonalization can cause ambiguity, which again can hurt the effectiveness of your voice message system. This doesn’t mean you have to make an elaborate greeting if you don’t want to, just insert your voice and name so at least callers know they’re calling the right person.
If you’re rarely in the office and don’t use a mobile cell phone app to receive calls, be sure to provide alternatives so that customers can still receive the support they need.
“Thank you for calling [company/person’s name]. We are currently unavailable, but if you leave your name, phone number, and message, we will get back to you as soon as possible.”