e. Never Assume Anything: Phrases like “You Know What To Do,” “Sing Your Song at the Beep,” and others mentioned above are awful to leave in your greeting. For the sake of universality and comprehensiveness, NEVER assume the caller knows what to do. Lay it out clearly. f. Leave a Message: This phrase, by itself, will not do. It’s imperative for users to identify themselves in their greetings. Callers need to know they’ve reached the right person. g. Disregard Lethargy: If you’re not excited about your greeting, why would anyone else be? Never display a lack of enthusiasm in your greeting as it could turn callers off to both you and your business. h. Speak Clearly and Never Slur: Callers need to understand your every word; therefore, mumbling, slurring, and all other detractions of speech should never be recorded. d. Be Creative Without Sacrificing Quality: Callers know how voicemails work–i.e. leave a number, message, etc. While you want to be clear, it’s important not to be contrive or redundant with your message. Creativity can help users to differentiate themselves, as well as intrigue callers. While users should avoid the tropes of creativity listed above, it’s definitely good to think outside the box. That being said, scripting and practice can help users to experiment more with their greeting–ultimately allowing for more unique and creative approach. e. Speak With Diction: It’s important to present one’s self as an authority without alienating callers. As such, it’s crucial to articulate and speak with clear diction. “ if your voice recording has you stumbling over words and speaking haltingly, it does not convey confidence and competence,” states Ron Sellers of Grey Matter Research & Consulting. Remember, this greeting represents you; therefore, you want to appear collected and professional, as well as welcoming. To do this, one must carry themselves well through their recorded message. f. Account for Timeliness: Your message should be concise. No caller wants to be sitting through a rant/diatribe of redundant statements. Your greeting should flow without dragging. Inversely, one doesn’t want to be terse, either. Engage callers with a simplified approach laden with creativity. h. Account for Quality: Aside from speaking clearly, users want to eliminate any noise in the surrounding environment. The quality of the greeting is just as important as what’s being said in the greeting itself. As such, one doesn’t want to undermine a great message with poor quality. i. Courtesy, Tastefulness, & Tact: This is pretty self-explanatory and straight forward–NEVER be rude. Being light-hearted and humorous is very different from being obnoxious and/or abrasive. Again, these tools can be helpful if utilized properly, but not everyone perceives humor the same way. So play it safe. The last thing your voicemail greeting should do is offend a caller. k. Provide Options: if you’re part of a bigger company, it might be good to offer caller options. For example, allow a menu to defer callers to a colleague or co-worker in your absence. This can help show callers you care about their well being. Another option might be offering different modes of communication–i.e. email, fax, etc. In offering users diversity, contact may be much easier to maintain.
These work voicemail greetings are for the work phone that you and only you use. They’re highly effective because they help you establish a relationship straight from the voicemail. Or they help you share an important update in a simple, straightforward way.
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13. "Hello, you've reached [company]. If you're looking for information on [X], please check out our [Facebook page, company website, etc.] If you want to know more about [Y], take a look at [Z page on our site, our YouTube channel, etc.] Still have more questions, or just want to chat with our team? Leave your name and number, and we'll return your call straight away."
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You don’t want to answer calls 24/7 (unless you’re serving clients globally and there’s an expectation of 24/7 support). If you’re unavailable during specific hours of the day, use the voicemail examples below for after-hours business calls.
A professional voicemail greeting should be no longer than 60 seconds. List the important information we've discussed above, provide alternative methods of communication and close with a thank you.
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If you are going to use your own phone to record your greeting, be sure to use a land line. Cell phones can’t always be trusted to produce a high quality sound and often the callers will hear distortion, static, or flight information in the background because you decided to record a new message while waiting for your plane at the airport. Always use a land line in a quiet setting to make your recording.
16. Hi, you’ve reached [X Business Name]. Our regular business hours are [State opening hours]. If you need to reach someone immediately, please call [contact’s name] at [cell phone number]. If not, leave your name and contact information and a representative will get back to you when we re-open.
Recording the message yourself doesn’t mean it can’t be done professionally. You can still get studio time with an experienced audio engineer. Studio time can cost $60-$100 per hour, which may or may not come with an engineer. If you need to hire one, their rates are usually $100-$300 an hour. Mind you, their feedback, professional experience, and editing capabilities are typically well worth the extra expense.
31. Hello, you’ve reached [your name]. I’ll be out of the office from [start date] to [end date]. Please leave a message and I’ll return your call upon my return. Alternatively, you can email me at [email address] or call [name] at [phone number] for immediate assistance. Thanks for calling!
Creative Voicemail Message Examples: Here are a few voicemail message examples you can record if you have the opportunity to leave a professional sounding message, while still having a bit of fun. Before choosing one of these options, be sure your company allows for a little creativity. If you work in a strict professional position, theses
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.
Now that the importance of having current and applicable voicemail greetings has been established, the big question of how remains, right? How does one create this stellar voicemail selection and improve their business voicemail greeting?
21. Hello, this is [your name]. I’m not much of a phone person, so don’t bother leaving a message. Send me an email at [email address] and I’ll get back to you within 24 hours.
This article is about the second main type of greeting – the voicemail greeting. All businesses should have professional voicemail greetings at the company level (i.e. your general business number), department level (e.g. customer service), and employee level, where applicable. It’s important that each of these voicemail greetings align with the brand and personality of your company to ensure that every caller has a consistent experience. Let’s dive in!
Shut the office door and turn down the music—it’s time to record! Pretend that your office is your music recording studio as you prepare to vocalize your message. Remember that obscene background noise can be a major turn off to potential customers and prospects.