Here is a great short example: Hello this is [first name] with {business name} in {city name} . I apologize I cannot answer the call at the moment, please leave me your name, number, and I will return the call as soon as get back to the phone. Here you have let the caller know that they have reached your business, and that you are sorry you can’t answer right away. It assures them that you are interested in their call, and that you will get back with them as soon as you can.
Keep it brief and concise Remember that customers and clients are also busy so make sure that you get the message across in the shortest possible time.Give options to get more details Creating a voicemail menu can be a timesaver for both you and your callers. ...Ask for detailed messagesHow do I create a personal voicemail greeting? Open the Phone app on your iPhone. It's green with an image of a phone, and it's located in the dock at the bottom of your Home Screen by ... Click on the "Voicemail" icon in the bottom right-hand corner. Tap on "Voicemail" to open up the voicemail menu. ... Once there, click on "Greeting" in the top left corner. ... More items...
.
e. Never Assume Anything: Phrases like “You Know What To Do,” “Sing Your Song at the Beep,” and others mentioned above are awful to leave in your greeting. For the sake of universality and comprehensiveness, NEVER assume the caller knows what to do. Lay it out clearly. f. Leave a Message: This phrase, by itself, will not do. It’s imperative for users to identify themselves in their greetings. Callers need to know they’ve reached the right person. g. Disregard Lethargy: If you’re not excited about your greeting, why would anyone else be? Never display a lack of enthusiasm in your greeting as it could turn callers off to both you and your business. h. Speak Clearly and Never Slur: Callers need to understand your every word; therefore, mumbling, slurring, and all other detractions of speech should never be recorded. d. Be Creative Without Sacrificing Quality: Callers know how voicemails work–i.e. leave a number, message, etc. While you want to be clear, it’s important not to be contrive or redundant with your message. Creativity can help users to differentiate themselves, as well as intrigue callers. While users should avoid the tropes of creativity listed above, it’s definitely good to think outside the box. That being said, scripting and practice can help users to experiment more with their greeting–ultimately allowing for more unique and creative approach. e. Speak With Diction: It’s important to present one’s self as an authority without alienating callers. As such, it’s crucial to articulate and speak with clear diction. “ if your voice recording has you stumbling over words and speaking haltingly, it does not convey confidence and competence,” states Ron Sellers of Grey Matter Research & Consulting. Remember, this greeting represents you; therefore, you want to appear collected and professional, as well as welcoming. To do this, one must carry themselves well through their recorded message. f. Account for Timeliness: Your message should be concise. No caller wants to be sitting through a rant/diatribe of redundant statements. Your greeting should flow without dragging. Inversely, one doesn’t want to be terse, either. Engage callers with a simplified approach laden with creativity. h. Account for Quality: Aside from speaking clearly, users want to eliminate any noise in the surrounding environment. The quality of the greeting is just as important as what’s being said in the greeting itself. As such, one doesn’t want to undermine a great message with poor quality. i. Courtesy, Tastefulness, & Tact: This is pretty self-explanatory and straight forward–NEVER be rude. Being light-hearted and humorous is very different from being obnoxious and/or abrasive. Again, these tools can be helpful if utilized properly, but not everyone perceives humor the same way. So play it safe. The last thing your voicemail greeting should do is offend a caller. k. Provide Options: if you’re part of a bigger company, it might be good to offer caller options. For example, allow a menu to defer callers to a colleague or co-worker in your absence. This can help show callers you care about their well being. Another option might be offering different modes of communication–i.e. email, fax, etc. In offering users diversity, contact may be much easier to maintain.
15. “Hello, you’ve reached the Sales Department at [Company name]. All of our representatives are currently helping clients [insert goal such as, ‘achieve 40% growth through streamlining HR’] and are unable to take your call. Instead of putting you on hold and taking up your valuable time, please leave your name, company, and phone number and we’ll give you a call back ASAP. Thank you!”
4. Email is generally better than calling. E-mails will likely get quicker responses than voicemails. These are easier to answer on the fly and don’t require both parties to be available at the same time to discuss a particular issue.
9. Hi, this is [your name], [your job title] at [your company]. I’m currently away from my desk, but please leave a message with your name, number, and reason for calling so I can get back to you in a timely manner.
Checking voicemail can be done from the user's own account or sometimes, a user may need to check another voicemail such as a general voicemail. The following will explain how to use the voicemail feature codes to accomplish both. Checking Your Voicemail & Options Press the Message button or use Feature Code: *98 From your extension dial *98.
I’m out walking my donkey but as soon as I get my ass back in I’ll call you back. Leave me a message.
Hi Sam, this is Joan. I couldn’t make it to the meeting this morning and I was hoping you could *fill me in*. Feel free to give me a call when you have a free moment. Thanks.
If the mailbox is NOT setup, the fixed system message, "I'm sorry, the person you're trying to reach is unavailable at this time" plays instead of the personal greeting and the mailbox number plays instead of the mailbox name.
the fixed system message, "I'm sorry, the person you are calling is currently on the phone." followed by the fixed system prompt, "Begin speaking after the tone, then hang-up when you are finished or press any key for further options."
2. Leave Nicknames to Personal Communication. Some of us have multiple email accounts for multiple reasons, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Everyone has their own vices and virtues, but they are for our personal and social lives, rather than for business.
You are a fantastic answering service. My clients really appreciate your professionalism.
You might not be the kind of person who wants customers to go through long voicemails. If that sounds like you, here are a couple of short and sweet voicemail greetings that you can use to get your message across!
Please leave your contact info, full name, and other details and I’ll call you back once I’m back in the [city/country/area]. Ciao for now!”
Hi there! You’ve reached [LinkedPhone – Where Freedom Rings!] We’re away at the moment but please leave your name, number, and let us know how we can help you. We’ll make sure the right team gets back to you within [the next 24 hours]. We appreciate your call. Thank you.
We’re keeping it simple with this one. Just a few basic elements to help you get started. As long as you know who your audience is, the message you wish to convey, and the information you need from the caller, the rest should fall into place quite nicely. Let’s face it, a voicemail greeting for a lumber company will probably be different than that of a psychologist’s office. One greeting is aimed at securing potential customers, and the other is geared towards appointments, more or less. Once you are certain who your caller is, the better your voicemail. Center on your audience, first and foremost. Knowing what to relate ensures that your caller will leave the right message. For instance, if you’re a retail store, you would include your hours of operations, and perhaps any specials that you’re running. If you are a therapist’s office, then you’d need to include an alternate number in case a patient is having an issue and requires immediate help. Again, this will vary depending on the business. Here, a therapist would definitely request the caller leave their contact information. However, a retail store chain might not request that. There are also complex voicemail systems such as those used by mobile phone services, which ask you to press a certain number on your phone, where you are asked to leave your account information. Again, as you can see, it all boils down to the demographics of your callers, and what you need from them to conduct the best business possible. Depending on the situation, your caller might be in a good mood or not. In either case, they’ll probably be eagerly awaiting your call. So, it stands to reason that you only promise them a call back if you can deliver. In other words, if you’re a small shop and you’ve decided to close due to a much-needed sabbatical, then don’t leave a voicemail greeting where you promise them to call right back. However, if you have an active customer service staff, then you can promise to return their call within the same day.