In today’s digital-first world, it can be extremely easy to treat things like your business voicemail as an afterthought. Your voicemail has the potential to communicate so much more effectively than its digital counterpart.
4. Give them a realistic expectation: “Congratulations! You’ve reached the right person! It’s [your name]. Unfortunately, you’ve called at the wrong time. Please leave a message with all your contact information, and I’ll call you back within 24 hours.”
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Job candidates who forget to create a simple, professional voice mail message very well may not be getting a call back from a recruiter or potential employer. And more than likely, no message to call back either. A weak or non-existent voice mail message leaves a first impression that you’re too lazy to attend to details.
Sorry, Chris and Susan aren’t here right now. Please leave your name and number after the tone. If you are calling regarding an outstanding debt, please leave your message before the tone.
Keep it short and sweet so that the caller can quickly leave their message and move on with their day.
Professional voicemails are important, because they’re an extension of your personal brand, reflecting what level of professionalism you offer. Use these voicemail greetings for work or personal cell phone messages for your specific needs. You can choose a voice that will best suit your business and will deliver a warm and professional voice message. Your callers don’t want to hear a cold and indifferent machine voice. The information you want to put in your voicemail should be succinct enough for your callers to get every bit of information they need. Leave the relevant information in a clear and precise manner. Professional voicemail greetings for work should be informative. The first message the customer hears should have the company’s name so they can be sure they’ve reached the right number. Be courteous and informative. This could be their first point of contact, and you want it to be enjoyable. You may also like 30 Best Wishes and Congratulations for New Business Adventures If you’re going to make your voicemail message humorous in some way, it should be tasteful and aligned to your brand. It shouldn’t get in the way of giving customers enough information when they call. Your voicemail greetings for work should be welcoming and friendly but not too informal. Customers want to feel confident that they’ve contacted a professional, that the company values their call, and they have made the right choice. So be friendly but not too nonchalant. Your voicemail greeting should be clear, concise and to-the-point. You don’t have to put your clients through a sales pitch when they are trying to just get some information.
If they are calling without an expectation that you always pick up (such as if you are a business coach or a one-man shop) then thanking them for calling might make the most sense.
If you are a burglar, then we’re probably at home cleaning our weapons right now and can’t come to the phone. Otherwise, we probably aren’t home and it’s safe to leave us a message.
When your small business is closed, ensure that your callers know that! If appropriate, you might want to reiterate your business hours to manage callback expectations.
So, I finally did it. Here’s my process for developing a professional voicemail message in 10 steps:
Business voicemail greetings are likely to vary by company. Consider these specifics to create a professional voicemail greeting that works for your needs.
Hello. You’ve reached the offices of [Business Name]. At present, our office is closed for repairs. However, you may reach us at our temporary location, at 555-555-3432. There, we will be able to pick up your call, 9 to 5, Monday through Friday. Thank you.
Your message is a period of time that they are forced to wait through in order to do what they called to do in the first place — relay information to you.
Another common tactic is to leave voicemails at the end of the day so prospects will listen to them first thing in the morning.
Many businesses try to save money by selecting an amateur voice actor from inside the company to provide a recording. The trouble with this is that: The “actor” is typically an amateur with no voiceover experience. The company doesn’t have personnel with directing voiceover. The “actor’s” goal is to finish quickly and get back to work, not make the best-quality recording.
A lot of care and consideration should be given to who will be providing the voiceover for a business’ audio recordings before the selection is made.
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.