“Hello! You've reached the voicemail of [your name], [your job title]. I'm currently either away from my desk or on the other line. Please leave your name, telephone number, and a short message after the beep, and I'll be sure to get back to you as soon as I'm available.”
2. Press the Star or Pound Key. Depending on your carrier, you will likely push one of these two keys next. It's more common to push the star key. When you hear your voicemail start, that's when you should press either the star (*) or the pound (#) key. For AT&T, Sprint, U.S. Cellular, and T-Mobile, press the star (*) key. Verizon, Bell Mobility and Virgin Mobile users should press the pound (#) key. If you are using a different carrier, you can check its website or call customer service to be sure.
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Important: In some countries or regions, deleted messages may be permanently erased by your carrier. Your voice messages may also be deleted if you change your SIM card.
After each one, evaluate your performance. Most systems provide the option of listening to the message you just left. Doing this as much as possible will improve your performance more than anything else. Would you save that voicemail? Would you return that call? Would you return that call right away? Are you missing the basics (alternative phone number, optimal ways to get in touch, a fall-back person to call)? Did you craft it or wing it?
For example, if you are planning to go on vacation for two weeks, make sure you update your voicemail greeting stating how long you’ll be out of the office when you’ll be back — and who can be contacted in your absence.
Voicemail connect rates usually go up as the day advances, so you should schedule your phone activity toward the end of the day.
4. Funny Voicemail Greetings. Hi, you’ve reached [your name] at [X company]. We are busy trying to save the world by [what your company does best]. If you want to learn more about how we do it, please leave us your name and phone number, and we will get back to you as soon as our mission is complete— which should be fairly soon.
Use your regular, normal voice – not too excited, not too subdued. Talk how you’d talk on the phone with someone you like but who doesn’t make you nervous. Communicate ease without flippancy and importance without exuberance.
“Hey, there! This is [your name]. Please leave me a message with your name, number, and the reason you’re calling. If you also tell me [insert random fact] I’ll be sure to move you to the top of my call list. Have a great day!”
There you have it – voicemail messages for three of the situations you’ll find yourself in most of the time.
In this post, I’ll share what makes a good voicemail greeting — and the best voicemail greeting scripts you can use.
Try to avoid casual salutations like, “Hi” or “Hey” if this is your first time calling someone. Your introduction should be one or two sentences tops. From there you can move on to the body.
For example, perhaps you noticed that a prospect downloaded an eBook from your company's website. You could mention this in your voicemail. Something along the lines of, "Hi John, this is Mike from Company XYZ. I noticed you downloaded our guide to working with influencers…"
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7.) End on a high note! You don’t necessarily need to say “Goodbye” at the end of a voicemail, because you didn’t really talk to anyone. Instead, try something like, “Look forward to chatting with you!” Use the word “with” instead of “to.” It sounds less like the person is going to receive a parental or boss “talking to” and more like two people who are eager to connect with one another on the phone. It’s a subtle difference, yet it’s a gracious one!
Yes, you can make an email personalized, too. But voicemail is already much more personal than an email, and your level of customization should rise to meet that. Plus, if you’ve spoken with the contact in the past, there’s an even bigger opportunity to build on what you already know and cater the message to them.
People pay attention when their name is mentioned. After all, they’ve been conditioned to pay attention to their name their whole life.