As a real estate professional, you're always on the go. Whether showing homes and apartments to a prospective client or staging a home for sale, it's likely that you're out of the office quite often. Anyone in the industry knows that, out of the office is a good place to be. Unfortunately, it makes staying professional just a little bit harder. What happens when you're working with one client and another one calls? Most likely, you send that call to your voicemail box, but what does your voicemail greeting say? What should voicemail messages include? If you're voicemail isn't offering the right information, you might lose a sale.
Here, the ophthalmologist is not in a position to receive a call. However, he/she makes sure the patient’s need is addressed.
.
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.
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.
In previous blogs, I’ve mentioned the importance of making a good first impression on a potential client. Most of the time, the first contact will be over the telephone. Since we are often in session, it is very likely that the first time a client hears our voice is on our voicemail greeting. This is why a professional greeting is so important. Identify yourself because you need to reassure the client that they have called the correct number. Clients will be a lot less likely to leave a message if they wonder who will get it. Use a warm friendly voice to say something like, “You have reached xxxx, licensed mental health counselor.” Tell clients what to do if they are in crisis. Although it seems obvious to us, clients may not realize that it could be several hours until we can return their call. I suggest something like, “If you require immediate assistance, please dial 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.” Ask for what information you need. Yes, the obvious name and number, but if it would be helpful to get their insurance information, ask for that, too. Give clients an idea about when you’ll return their call. Common business practice is within 24 business hours. Any extra messages or information you’d like clients to know. For example, if you are no longer accepting a particular insurance plan, the end of your voicemail greeting is a great place to convey that information.
Have a positive attitude while recording your voicemail greeting — it will carry through in your voice. If you find it difficult to convey positivity over a phone system, try smiling while you’re recording. (We promise, you will hear a difference.)
Yes, you can be charged. This depends on the service. For example, Spectrum’s Voice Residential Services Price Guide charges $3.95 for voicemail.
One of the things to remember before recording your business voicemail greetings is to identify your pain points. This will help you to state more clearly for your clients in leaving enough context when leaving a voicemail.
Do you have a landline at work? Make sure that all your phones, personal and business, have good clear, professional English voicemail greetings.
Insurance agents have to deal with large numbers of clients almost all through the year. So, they are extremely busy and cannot take calls of clients. For them resorting to voicemail messages become inevitable. Here is one instance of VOIP phone service for businesses like this:
Want more info on how to make this kind of automation work for you? Check out this tool that seamlessly handles email outreach and prospect follow up for you.
Don’t rush. It’s important to speak slowly and clearly when leaving your next voicemail greeting. Have you ever called someone and the message sounds like one big word? Don’t be that guy. Pronounce your words and take pauses between your sentences
10. Introduce Yourself Like a Hollywood Blockbuster. If you want to make a custom, Hollywood’esque gesture in your next outgoing message, may we suggest having a booming voice introduce you.
The fastest and easiest way to program and record the automated attendant feature of your phone system is to write a script on a word processing program. Select a person to record the script who has a friendly voice, someone who can speak without stuttering or hesitating and can pronounce and annunciate each word and name clearly.
Creating a professional-sounding voice recording for your phone system can be a more difficult process than one initially might assume.
Hi, you have reached …. Please leave your name, phone number and a message and if we like it we will return your call.
The first thing you should consider in a voicemail is to indicate that the caller has reached the right person. Thus, those who cannot reach you may leave a voicemail by not giving up their intentions and not hanging up. Here are some of the best examples of voicemail you may use for your own business. There are also tips for leaving the best possible greeting. So, let’s start creating the best possible voicemail messages for your business.