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In those cases, you might like to save that voicemail somewhere other than your phone for safekeeping or sharing.
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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.
“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.”
Have you noticed how I slowed down towards the end of the message? I spoke slower and clearer. This is because when the person on the other line hears your message, they will be writing down your details before calling you back. Let’s make it easy for them to call you back!
Take a deep breath before beginning and stay calm while speaking. Try practicing a few times beforehand if you need to. No rule says you have to build out what you want to say on the fly.
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?
On Air Recordings recommends you order professional voicemail greetings through their site, then describe the tone, approach, or voice direction you’re going for.
Instead of Luke Skywalker, use your own name, and ta-da you have your voicemail greeting.
If you are currently in the job market and you can’t remember what your voicemail greeting is, it might not be a bad idea to check in and see if it needs updating. Depending on what it is, when a hiring manager hears it, they may decide to not leave a voicemail after all. “You have reached the voicemail box of Jane Smith. I am sorry I missed your call. Please leave your name and number and I will return your call as soon as possible. Thank you.”
Grab your mobile phone and dial your voicemail box number, and key in your login credentials.
It seems like it’s something really simple, but it’s critical to your business to get the most out of your prospecting time…. So what’s the right way leave a voicemail???
And when you send your email (I always recommend sending an email right after you leave a voicemail message) you can simply say:
This call may be recorded or monitored for quality and training purposes. If you don’t wish this call to be monitored or recorded, then please let the answering machine know when you leave your message.
As you look to update your script, here are a few questions to ask: Will your voicemail greeting be funny, so your callers think your business is fun? Do you want the tone to be more professional, so it gives callers the impression you only work with Fortune 500 companies? Do you want to record a brief message, or will a more detailed message be helpful? Knowing these answers will help you craft a personal voicemail greeting unique to your company.
This point is more or less an extension of the point above. If you want to avoid sounding awkward and long-winded, you need to know what you're going to say — every good sales voicemail is conducted with confidence and definitive intention. The key to delivering on both is having well-prepared, personalized voicemail messaging at your disposal.
The Sell to Win Playbook collects 55 of the best expert sales tips we’ve ever published. Download it today!