7. A Classic Hepburn Answering Greeting for Voicemails. Katharine Hepburn’s iconic and feisty voice goes down in history and can add a bit of moxie to your voicemail greeting.
“Keep your voicemail messages short, sweet, and snappy," advises Will Craig, Managing Director of LeaseFetcher. "Don’t try and go into the nitty gritty details of the discussion you’d like to have with them—save that for your actual chat. Alternatively, don’t leave them in the dark about what you want to talk about either. A simple 20-second voicemail letting them know the nature of your query will suffice."
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Those who know me know I can hold a conversation. I love people, and my desire to share with them carries over to leaving cell phone messages. Sadly, I know better than to leave long messages, and I have no excuse, but I tend to chatter on, and on, and on, enjoying a conversation with, essentially, myself.
Unfortunately, not all phone numbers can be dialed: Slydial doesn't work with landline phones, third-party voicemail services, VoIP numbers, or prepaid mobile phones. If you subscribe to one of the premium plans, you can eliminate the ads on the service and send messages to multiple contacts at once.
To end the voicemail, state (or restate) your main question, then say your phone number. You can also say you’ll follow-up with an email. Now, this isn’t the same as saying, “If I don’t hear from you, you’ll hear from me!” Instead, it’s giving them another way to contact you, one they may be more comfortable with. They should still feel a responsibility to respond to your question, but now they have two options for how to get back in touch. (Then send that email, of course.)
If you sound too relaxed or overly familiar, you're going to undermine both your and your company's credibility. People want to buy from an expert — not someone trying too hard to sound cool. So avoid coming off as too laid back and using too much slang, "um's," and "yeah's."
2. "Hi, you've reached [name] at [company]. If you need a quick response, please shoot me an email at [insert email address] and I'll be in touch by EOD tomorrow.
Do me a favor when you get this message and please give me call a back at (your number). That number again is area code (your number). I look forward speaking with you.”
Hi, you have reached …. Please leave your name, phone number and a message and if we like it we will return your call.
4. The software will then display what data is recoverable. Look for the voicemails you wish to recover, then follow the instructions to get them back onto your phone.
4. If you have a passcode to access your voicemail, you’ll be prompted to enter it into the dial pad now.
4. "Hello, you've reached [your name and title]. I'm currently out on parental leave until [date]. In the meantime, please direct all phone calls to [alternate contact name] at [phone number] and emails to [email address]. Thanks, and I'll see you in [month you'll be back in the office]."
Perhaps the biggest mistake in a sales voicemail is pitching too aggressively. If you sound like a smarmy used car salesperson, your prospects are going to delete your voicemails faster than you can say "lowest price guaranteed!"
While many businesses can use this standard voicemail greeting, not everyone’s business wants to be the same as the others. If you’re looking for a more unique approach, here are four sample voicemail scripts to try:
Don’t confuse voice mail with automatic attendant systems. Automatic attendant, where the computer actually answers the phone, is the single worst business invention ever. Human answers. Human determines if the person you’re calling is in by ringing their phone and monitoring the response. If not in, human returns and says, “Mr. Jones is not in. Would you like me to help you personally, take your message personally or would you like to leave a detailed message on his or her voice mail?” You faint from the shock.
3. Enter your voicemail password, if you have one. If you don’t know what it is, try entering your phone number or contacting your carrier for assistance.
The length of your voicemail plays a big role in its efficacy. Try to keep the length of your voicemail between 15- 30 seconds. Anything more and you will be rambling, anything less, and you’re probably not checking one of the three boxes above as effectively as you need to.