When you’re closed for the holiday, it’s good to forgo your usual out-of-office greeting for a custom holiday message. Keep it cheery and brief, and be sure to let callers know when you’ll resume normal business operations.
Rather than waiting for a callback, open up additional channels of communication with your callers by inviting them to email. The most professional voicemail greetings often include an alternative method of communication.
.
For the safety of our team and our customers during the pandemic, [LinkedPhone] is currently closed until further notice. We are grateful for your ongoing support and patience during this time and we look forward to reconnecting with you as soon as possible. Please visit our website or social media channels for updates. Stay safe and healthy.
Calls to your phone line can simultaneously ring up to three additional phone numbers. The incoming call will be connected to whichever phone answers first.
16. Hi, you’ve reached [X Business Name]. Our regular business hours are [State opening hours]. If you need to reach someone immediately, please call [contact’s name] at [cell phone number]. If not, leave your name and contact information and a representative will get back to you when we re-open.
You can also upload an unavailable greeting using the OnSIP app. After logging in, click on the Voicemail Settings gear icon at the far right. Make sure that the Custom Greeting is toggled to "on." You will then see an option to upload a .wav file of your choice. This recording will serve as your unavailable message.
“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!”
35. Hi, you’ve reached the voicemail of [your name] at [your company]. I’m away from my desk, in a meeting or on the other line. Please leave your name, number and a brief message after the tone and I will get back to you as soon as I can.
27. Hi, It’s [your name] of [your company]. I’m in a meeting at the moment. Please leave your message and contact information, and I will get back to you within [realistic timeframe]. Thank you for calling.
Your message should be 20 seconds at most. Remember, your clients or co-workers may listen to this dozens of times.
Ideally, a business should have a complete set of messages for every phase of their call flow from beginning to end. While voicemail greetings are an important part of the phone system, there need to be recordings for everything leading up to the voicemail as well (assuming there are other steps in the call flow).
Need script options? Take a look at these templates (and modify them as you please):
Do you have a crowning achievement or hold a competitive advantage? Showcase that within your voicemail so you’ll be memorable and emphasize why working with you is an advantage. Here’s an example of a professional voicemail someone in real estate could use:
Instead of having the typical “You’ve reached ABA Corporation. Please leave your message after the beep”, make it unique and interesting.
Instead of you making your clients and customers sit through an Interactive Voice Response (IVR menu) so they may be directed to the person they would like to talk to, try to make fewer hurdles and steps for your customers.
d. Utilizing Ambiguity Over Clarity: When setting up your voicemail greeting be direct and to the point. Tell callers your information, a brief greeting, and direction—i.e. “Hi, this is Jim Shamalam (from Iron Industries). Sorry I can’t take your call right now. Please leave your name number, and a brief message and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you.” This is ideal, as you inform callers and let them know what they should do to ensure a return call. A lack of direction can lead to callers leaving incomplete messages (lacking contact or other information) or even callers hanging up without leaving a message altogether.
You know that your callers are making inferences about your business and brand. If you want your voicemail recording to leave a positive impression, smile when you record it! Research shows that smiling affects how we speak, and listeners are not only able to identify that people are smiling, but also what the intent is of the smile based on voice intonation alone.