Shut the office door and turn down the music—it’s time to record! Pretend that your office is your music recording studio as you prepare to vocalize your message. Remember that obscene background noise can be a major turn off to potential customers and prospects.
Your greeting is very important as it can be the first contact people have with you or your company. Voice mail is only impersonal if you make it that way. One way to help increase the effectiveness of voice mail is to change your greeting at least weekly if not daily.
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5. Holiday Voicemail Greetings. Happy [X holiday]! You've reached [your name] at [X company]. I am currently out of the office, but please leave me your name, phone number, and the reason you are calling, and I’ll return your call after the holidays.
The size of your business doesn’t matter as much as its reputation. One small way you can build trust between you and your customers is with a toll-free number. It shows that you’re reliable, and it helps people remember your number more easily. Support your marketing and strengthen your brand with a toll-free vanity number.
“Hello, you’ve reached the Marketing Department at [XYZ Company]. All of our team members are currently working with other clients to [insert goal] and are unable to take your call.
Lili is a telecom voice branding solution for your business. She offers quality telephone voicemail recording services to industry leaders. Companies who work with Lili know they deserve the very best.
Don’t include the date unless it’s completely necessary. 16 of the messages I heard last month had the wrong date—one of the messages had a date over 2 months old!
A professional voicemail greeting is a recorded message that welcomes callers to your business when no one is available to pick up the call. For a polished call experience, the greeting should reflect who the client is calling – whether a general business number, department, team, or individual – and when the customer can expect the call to be returned.
Nobody wants to listen to a long-winded voicemail. Keep your greeting short, simple, and concise. A voicemail message should pique a client’s interest and leave them looking forward to your call. Stick to the basics, explaining your company name, hours of operation, and when to expect a callback.
“Hello, you have reached Mark Hannel, content writer at Uloop News. My apologies for missing your call. I will be happy to get back to you as soon as I am able. Please leave me your name, number, and a brief message, and you’ll be hearing back from me shortly. Thanks and have a great day!”
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.
Learn how to set up a name recording, default voicemail greetings, and temporary greetings (for holidays and vacations) for your OnSIP voicemail box.
“Hello, you have reached Mark Hannel, content writer at Uloop News. My apologies for missing your call. I will be happy to get back to you as soon as I am able. Please leave me your name, number, and a brief message, and you’ll be hearing back from me shortly. Thanks and have a great day!”
For many small businesses, it may not be possible to pick up the phone immediately. Other times, you may receive a call after hours or during a busy time when no staff is available to assist a caller.
In 2011, I became a full-time sales coach and consultant. I push, challenge, and inspire top producing sales professionals to increase their income, manage their time, and love their career. I routinely help my clients achieve more than they thought was possible.
Take the time to make your voice mail greeting sound perfect. Give callers a positive impression. Then be as responsive as you can be to messages that are left for you. This entry was posted in Business, Sales and Marketing, Technology, Voicemail and tagged business tips, office management by Brian Gabriel. Bookmark the permalink.
If they are calling without an expectation that you always pick up (such as if you are a business coach or a one-man shop) then thanking them for calling might make the most sense.