Thanks for calling Dial-A-Shrink. I can’t come to the phone right now, so after the tone, please leave your name and number, then talk briefly about your childhood and tell me what comes to mind when you hear the following words: orange… mother… unicorn… penis. I’ll get back to you with my diagnosis as soon as possible.
Hey guess who this is? You guessed it. Guess what you have to do now? You guessed it.
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The Serial Position Effect states that the human brain is most adept at recalling the first and last items in a series. For sales reps, this psychological phenomenon means that your voicemails are much more likely to be remembered if they're listened to at the beginning or the end of the day.
2. Hello, you have reached the office of [your name]; I will be out of my office starting on [date] and will be returning on [date]. You can call me when I return or leave a brief message. If this is an emergency I can be reached on my cell, which is [your number].
Professional development educator Dr. Ray Lauk sent us this great piece of advice, which he credits to veteran sales trainer Stan Piskorski:
For many years, businesses in Fort Worth have relied on voicemail greetings to deliver a professional impression to callers. More recently, the voicemail greeting format has been adapted by businesses to communicate in-person visit information, special offers, and customer feedback.
A bubble in the space-time continuum has connected your line to a channeler in the 23rd Century. Any message you leave will be broadcast into the future….
The easiest way to record and program professional voicemail greetings for your phone system is to write down a script. Choose someone to record your script - the one who can speak without hesitating or stuttering, has a friendly voice and can annunciate and pronounce each name and word clearly.
In closing, this guide should highlight that the options for professional, friendly, interesting, impressive, and concise voicemail greetings are as broad as the imagination. Remember, the best business voicemail greetings are those that are equal parts useful to both the caller wanting a service and the recipient wanting to offer a service.
6. Don’t Overthink, Just Keep it Short and Relevant. The main point that we want to drive home with this article is that you shouldn’t overthink your business voicemail greeting.
If a call happens outside normal business hours, you can create a specific auto-attendant that’ll handle those calls with an alternative greeting message and menu options. An auto-attendant is an excellent option for businesses with regular working hours, but you might need a more robust solution if you plan to offer 24-hour service.
"Hello, you've reached [name] at [company]. I'm unable to come to the phone right now. Leave your name and number, and I'll return your call as soon as I'm free. Thank you."
Oh lord…is it you…again? Well, if you must, leave a name and number after the beep. I’ll try to return the call, if I can stand it, that is.
For customers in the Asia-Pacific region, the Caller ID Name field is auto-populated with the User Name. You cannot modify the Caller ID Name field. 1
Responding to voicemails is time-consuming. Fortunately, with the right greeting, you might be able to save yourself some hassle. If you don’t have an auto attendant, you can give callers the information they are looking for with your voicemail greeting. Of course, this means that your greeting may be a little lengthy, but that can work in your favor as callers will only stay on the line to leave a message if they still need assistance.
10. "Hello, you've reached [X company]. We can't take your call right now, but please leave your name, contact information, and reason for reaching out, and one of our team members will be in touch within 24 hours.
6. Keep Your Recording Up to Date. If your business is closing on one of its normal operating days for a holiday, or is dealing with an emergency or unforseen situation, you should update your after hours announcement to avoid confusion.