After all, a professional voicemail recording boosts your credibility, makes you seem more competent, and encourages whoever's listening to it to continue the relationship.
Hello, you have reached X (the service provider), the one-stop destination for your pet care needs. Right now, all our staffs are busy attending client calls. You may choose to stay online until they get free or leave your number and details so that we can call you back. Alternatively, try our live chat for immediate needs.
.
Editor’s Note: The article is part of the blog series Grow Your Business brought to you by the marketing team at UniTel Voice, the virtual phone system priced and designed for startups and small business owners.
I am not a voice talent, and I hate the sound of my own voice. Every time I lose my cell phone (daily), I call it from another line to help myself find it. And every time I do this, I wish my voicemail message sounded…different. I’m always reminded that I should sit down and rerecord it, so it makes a more professional first impression.
Before you record a professional voicemail greeting, you may want to consider the type of people who might call your home or business. That way, you can think about the information these callers might need before you compose your greeting. Most callers are familiar with how to leave a voice message, so try to avoid giving them instructions. Some things you may want to include in your greeting might be your full name, title, name of your company, and an alternate method of reaching you. If you plan to be unavailable for some time, it can be a good idea to tell your callers when you will return and give them the name and phone number of another individual to call in the event they need immediate assistance. A private voicemail box enables a person to receive telephone messages when the phone cannot be answered.
Voicemail greetings are often an overlooked way to connect with coworkers and customers. Eighty percent of calls go to voicemail, but only 20% of callers sent to voicemail actually leave one, according to Forbes. Take some time to craft a voicemail greeting that's pertinent, informative, and welcoming—enough to draw people in. Not sure what to record? Check out some of our voicemail greeting scripts to craft the right message for your callers. Business Voicemail Greetings: 5 Sample Scripts Voicemail Greeting Scripts: Doctor's Office, Law Office, Dental Office Business Voicemail Greetings - 5 Examples for Any Job or Industry Voicemail Quick Reference Voicemail Management Setting Up Voicemail for Your Users Microsoft Support Support Home Microsoft 365 Office Windows Surface Xbox Deals Buy Microsoft 365 Search Search for help Cancel
The most professional voicemail message should include a formal tone and specific instructions. For example, you may say “Hello, you’ve reached [your name], [job title] at [business name]. I’m sorry to have missed your call. Please leave your name, contact information, and reason for calling so I can get back to you promptly.”
You may also email us at [email]. If you would like one of our team members to call you back, please leave your full name, contact info and number after the beep. Good to hear from you!”
Before any business can create clear, easy to hear (and understand) recorded audio messages, they need the right recording equipment. Many businesses try to get by with using audio recorded on a standard recording device.
6. Vacation Voicemail Greetings. Hey, this is [your name] at [X company]. I am actually on a break at the moment, on the other side of the world! Please direct all phone calls to [alternate contact name] at [phone number] and emails to [X email address].
Alerts you with a special tone when someone else is calling you while you are already on the phone.
The thing with voicemail is it can be really handy when it comes to catering to your prospects when you are not available after work hours.
The transcribed text is expected to be approximately 85% accurate, which means eight (8) words out of every ten (10) should be translated correctly. Since the voice mail transcription is done by an automated program, accuracy depends on several factors, including the caller’s accent and noise levels during the message recording. Names and nouns may not translate accurately. To ensure the receipt of a message, a copy of the .wav file “audio” is sent along with the text transcription. English and Spanish. Other languages will result in an error message, but voice mail will be attached in the email notification. In the email version, you will see ellipses (three periods) after the last successfully translated word if the next word or words cannot be translated successfully. You may also see question marks next to words that the transcription did not understand. To ensure receipt of a message, a copy of the .wav file “audio” will be sent along with the text transcription. How do I know who called if the system incorrectly transcribes the caller’s name? You can still listen to the audio version attached to the email message, or just listen to voice mail over the phone. If I delete the email containing the audio file, will that delete the voice mail on my phone?
To improve a a business voicemail greeting, keep these eight rules at the forefront of the creative process: Avoid turning customers off with overused and impersonal phrases like “your call is very important to us..." Avoid leaving customers unsure by not immediately telling them the business, department, and/or person they’ve reached. Avoid leaving customers confused with too many details and complications; just keep it simple. Avoid messages longer than 25 seconds. Do apologize for being unavailable at the moment. Do invite the caller to leave a message. Do tell the caller when they can expect a return call and actually follow through within that timeframe. Do tell the caller about any applicable alternative options of contact and information- website, live chat, email, social media, or emergency numbers. Voicemail Greetings 101
Users often don’t invest enough time into their messages, resulting in incomplete, unprofessional, or otherwise under-whelming greetings. Sure, crafting a greeting doesn’t sound all that complicated; however, there are a number of pitfalls users can fall into—i.e. informality, terseness, sincerity, lack of direction, and more. While none of these sound too catastrophic, they are often interrelated. As such, they tend to worsen any problem. For example, humor can cause informality, worsen ambiguity, and weaken sincerity. That being said, users should strive to avoid ALL these pitfalls.
Turn on your Skype voicemail in Skype preferences and listen to your Skype voicemails. For more info, visit http://bit.ly/w2nxvC
When recording your business voicemail greeting, be sure to identify and introduce yourself and your business. This helps to confirm your caller that they have reached whom they intended.