People have short attention spans these days, and you should always craft your communications for the lowest common denominator with something as universal as your voicemail.
Home | Directory | News | Newsgroups | Tools | Resources | Glossary | Site Map Featuring Voice Mail Information, News, and Resources Voice Mail Services | Voice Mail Systems | Voice Mail Related | Free Voicemail Sample Greetings Sample Voice Mail Greetings A Word About Recording Your Greetings Your voicemail greeting is very important as it can be the first contact people have with you or your company. Your greeting should let the caller know who they have reached, what your status is (out of the office, in the office but in meetings, etc), when the caller can expect to receive a call back, and instructions on what to do if the call is urgent. If you have set up a personal operator, you can direct your callers who need to speak to someone immediately, to "Press 0" to be connected to one of your assistants or colleagues. Another way to make sure that your callers are informed while you are out of the office is to use a Temporary Absence Greeting. For example, if you are going to be out of town on vacation for a week, you can record a Temporary Absence Greeting informing callers that you will be unable to return their call until you return from vacation. Write down your greetings before you start. It is easier to read from the page than to try and ad lib. Here are a few sample voice mail greetings to get you started: Normal Greeting (Without pager notification) "This is (name) of (company). I'm currently unable to take your call. Please leave your name, phone number, and a brief message, and I will contact you as soon as possible. Thanks." "Hi, this is (name). I�m sorry I cannot take your call right now. Please leave a detailed message at the tone along with your name and telephone number. I �ll return your call as soon as I return. Thank you." "This is (name) of (company). I'm currently unable to take your call. Please leave your name, phone number, and your message, and I will contact you as soon as possible. If this message is urgent, press 3 to have me paged. Thanks." Normal Greeting (With Live Connect) "This is (name) of (company). I'm currently unable to take your call. Please leave your name, phone number, and your message, and I will contact you as soon as possible. If this is urgent and you need to speak with me immediately, please press 1 to have the voice mail locate me. Thanks." "This is (name) of (company). I'm currently on my line and unable to take your call. Please leave your name, phone number, and your message, and I will contact you as soon as possible. Thanks." "Hello, you have reached the office of (name) . I�m presently on another call and am unable to speak with you personally. If you will leave your name and telephone number, I will return your call. Thank you. "This is (name) of (company). I'm currently away from my desk and unable to take your call. Please leave your name, phone number, and your message, and I will contact you as soon as I return. Thanks." "Hello, you have reached the office of (name) . I�m presently out of the office or away from my desk. If you will leave your name and telephone number I will return your call as soon as I return. Thank you. "Thanks for calling, this is (name). Today is Friday and I am working from our corporate office. Should you need to reach me immediately, please call (123) 456-7899. Otherwise, please leave me a message and I�ll return your call as soon as possible." "Hello, this is (name). I�m unable to answer your telephone call. I am out of the office from (day) to (day) and will not be checking my voice mail. If you require assistance in my absence please contact (name2) at extension (ext. #). Thank you. "This is (name) from (company). I have left the office for the day. Please leave me a message and I will return your call as soon as possible." Sample �Business Hours� Greeting Script: Thank you for calling XYZ Company. If you know the extension number of the person you are trying to reach, you may dial it now. Press 1 for sales. Press 2 for customer service. Press 3 for the billing department. Press 8 to access our fax on-demand system. Press 9 for a company directory, or press 0 for the operator. Sample �After Hours� Greeting Script: Thank you for calling XYZ Company. We are currently unavailable to take your call. Our business hours are nine to five, Monday through Friday. If you know the extension number of the person you are trying to leave a message for, you may dial it now. Press 1 for sales. Press 2 for customer service. Press 3 for the billing department. Press 9 for a company directory, or hold to leave a message for the operator. If this is an emergency, please enter 911 now to be connected with the after-hours support personnel. More info Copyright © 2012 Everyvoicemail.com ~ 5089 Bristol Industrial Way, Ste C ~ Buford, GA 30518 ~ 678.318.1300

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.
Your voicemail greeting on your business telephone system is the very first thing your business associates and clients will hear when calling your company. For the first time callers, probably your potential customers, you only got a chance to provide a great first impression that will be provided by your voicemail greeting message. For the ones who frequently call your company, you would want to make your voicemail greeting prompts as efficient as possible in order for you not to waste your client’s precious time in listening to your whole voicemail greetings every time they make a call.