38. Thanks for calling [company name]. We’re unable to take your call right now, but leave your details and we’ll call you right back.
Hello, and welcome to Answering Machines of the Rich and Famous! (your name here) can’t come to the phone right now, because he’s spending the week in his beautiful summer home on the French Riviera…
.
Home > Phone Systems > Corporate Voicemail Greetings - Bloopers and Best Practices Corporate Voicemail Greetings - Bloopers and Best Practices Want to make the most of your business phone system? Make sure that your greeting to callers is effective. The way any phone system greets callers is critical to the image and presentation of your business. From the initial phone greeting to all callers, through whatever phone menu your system uses - or if you have a live receptionist - through to the voicemail greeting on personal phones, every step sends a message about your company and about you. It is pretty easy to get it wrong - and not an awful lot harder to get it right. "You have reached the Sales Department. Leave a message." This might not seem so bad but think about it in terms of missed opportunities. The chances are that they know they reached the sales department. And they expect to reach a sales person. If your sales team is really so busy thay can't get to calls then at least make it personal. Have messages go to a department assistan who is named. That way a person is involved and the caller has some expectation of personal contact. Tell them good times to call and what information YOU need from them - at very least a reminder to leave their own number! Not too surprisingly, there aren't a lot of real examples floating around on the internet of bad phone systems - but here are a few real and not so real.... Any good voicemail message needs to do a few things: Say who you are very briefly to confirm that the caller reached the right number. Say that you aren't available as briefly as possible. Remind the caller to leave a contact number and identifying information. Ask them to state the issue they are calling about as simply and clearly as possible. Saying who you are is obvious - whether it is the company or a personal message on your extension. While it isn't totally obvious that you should say you aren't available, it is polite and you can include additional information without going too far. If you are going to be gone at another office for a month then you can say that and leave a forwarding number if needed using whatever vacation message function your system may have. But if you are literally just out for a moment then a standard, "I am not available," is all that is needed. Obviously you need to tailor the greeting for the situation. If you are recording a greeting for a common line that is shared then don't leave personal information as the identifier. And don't if you have legitimate concerns about identity. But in reality, most of the time it is better to include who you are. Other optional information that is nice to include is information about when they can expect a call back, email contact info as an alternative and even an answer to an overwhelmingly common query. But those are optional. It is more important to be clear and brief so that the most important information gets across. Once you have a message you like, double check by calling the number to see what the experience is like. It is easy to forget that many voicemail systems include automated instructions that can take up a lot of time BEFORE the caller even gets your greeting. if the automated information is too long, work with your phone system tech to get it changed to somethign useful and appropriate. Adjust your message if needed so you don't repeat anything they already heard. "Hi. This is Joe Smith at Acme Co. I can't take your call right now, so please leave me a detailed message after the tone. Please include your number and your name. Thank you." Brief, to the point and doesn't waste anyone's time. "Hello, this is the Acme Company. We can't take your call in person at the moment. Please leave us a detailed message including your name, phone number and the reason you are calling. We will call you back as soon as possible." "Hi, this is Joe Smith at the Acme Co. I am working in the New York office during July and August. You can reach me there on 212-555-1111 or leave a message here stating your name, number and the reason you called. I will return the call as soon as possible." Hopefully these warning examples and tips on how to do it right will help you improve the way you present yourself and your company to the world.
Katy Gassaway and Jentry Petzold, owners of The Black Cat Salon & Spa in Kailua, Hawaii, says one of the most unique things about their salon is their hellos and goodbyes: ""Whenever anyone walks into or out of our salon, everyone, including everyone at the front desk and all the stylists, even those with clients, takes a moment to greet them or thank them. Our friendliness has actually startled some people!"
Click here to watch the Youtube video of Adele singing an acapella version of “Hello.”
No matter the time, no matter your location, our team backs your business communications around the clock with free phone, email, and chat support.
Generally, people that call and leave messages are more likely to be ideal customers of your business. Your voicemail message is often not much more than a formality to the person calling. Your message is a period of time that they are forced to wait through in order to do what they called to do in the first place — relay information to you.
39. Thank you for calling. I apologize for missing your call. I’m busy right now, but if you leave your name, number and message, I will return your call as soon as possible.
If you’re interested in seeing how recording unique call greetings would work for your company, request a demo from Call iQ today!
Have you ever called a company’s support line just to be confronted with an unsympathetic and confusing attendant menu? Or tried to reach a representative, but pressing the “0” key does nothing?
Route callers quickly and efficiently with professional voice prompts in a consistent, clear and concise voice. close
If you find that your business voice message is running a bit long, break it down into sections and decide which parts you can cut out to reduce the message’s length.
Last, make sure you keep this voicemail account up to date, especially if you have some kind of "out of office" message, telling people where you are. Michael Hyatt updates his voicemail message every day-- it may seem excessive, but it lets his callers know that he regularly checks his voicemail, cares about messages he receives, and is likely to get back to them.
17. Hi, this is [your name] at [X Business Name]. Our office is currently closed, but I’ll be back in the office at 9 a.m. tomorrow. Feel free to leave a message or send me an email at [email address], and I’ll get back to you as quickly as possible.
4. Include Other Contact Methods. If there are other ways to get in touch with your business, or receive information about your products, you may want to include them in the after hours greeting.
Use external mailbox—Users have all their voice messages sent to a specified email. This will disable access to voicemail messages from users' phone, desktop app or the Calling User Portal. 4
Hello, it’s obvious you have bad timing, because nobody is home. Please leave your name, telephone number, and a brief message in a voice similar to mine, and your call will be returned as soon as humanly possible.