You can’t always get to the phone when clients, partners, investors, or colleagues call you. When this happens, a professional voicemail greeting helps you make a positive impression and tells them what to do next. There are a variety of ways to convey your message. If you’re not sure what type of message to record for your own voicemail box, here’s a definitive guide to get you started.
During the holiday season, make your customers feel more welcome and give them the customer experience they hope through your voicemail by informing them that you will contact them after the holiday season.
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For many businesses and professionals, your voicemail greeting is going to be the first point-of-contact for your customers. This is especially true for service businesses, who often rely on their voicemail to collect information from interested parties.
13. "Hello, you've reached [company]. If you're looking for information on [X], please check out our [Facebook page, company website, etc.] If you want to know more about [Y], take a look at [Z page on our site, our YouTube channel, etc.] Still have more questions, or just want to chat with our team? Leave your name and number, and we'll return your call straight away."
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.
You may think this is boring, but it’s what works. Leave the sales talk and the promotion for when you call them back. Leaving a greeting is all well and good, but if it has no context you’re going to struggle to stop the person from giving up on you. Make sure people know that they’ve reached the right place. Hello, this is the office of X, the Y department. Please leave your name, reason for calling, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. By mentioning the specific department or office they’ve reached, you’re reminding them that they’ve reached the right place, and this is not some generic support department they’ve been redirected to. We talk to lots of different people every day. Make sure you remind people of who you are, and why you’re the best person to handle their call (and more importantly their valuable time). Hello, my name is X, the Senior Manager of Y, I’m sorry I’m unavailable right now, but if you leave your number I’ll return your call as soon as I can. Not only have you revealed who you are, but you’ve also given them the reassurance that their call is important to you. It leaves the right impression. The order of your words can seriously impact how your greeting is received. Research shows that we remember the first and last items on a list best, so the statements that matter most are those at the beginning and those at the end. Hello, you have reached X. I’m out of the office at the moment. Provide me with your contact details and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. Do you see how important the order of the words is? The name comes first and the call to action is last. Most people will put all this important information in the middle of their greeting. It may not seem like a big difference, but it really matters. It can be tempting to try to fit as much information into a voicemail greeting as possible. Don’t do that. Sometimes less is more. Try to incorporate some strategic pauses into your greeting, so you can let everything sink in. Hello, this is X from Y. [Pause] I am not available to take your call right now. [Pause] If you are calling about Z, then please leave your name and number and I will get back to you as soon as you can.
You should script out your greetings, rehearse, and find a tone of voice that is reflective of your professionalism and your company’s personality. If applicable, your tone and your message should take into account that certain industries and companies are more conservative than others.
Cox Business offers a pager notification option when you receive voice mail. All pager notifications are routed to a pager email address, not a telephone number. Once you have identified the email address for sending messages to your pager, typically in [email protected] format, contact a Cox Representative to add pager notification preferences to your voice mailbox. Subject: New Voice Msg | 01/27/2013 | 08:46PM (EST) | Caller: (732)111-0000 | 2 new | 0 Subject: New Fax Msg | 01/27/2013 | 09:22PM (EST) | Caller: (732)555-2468 | 3 new | 0 Cox Business requires initial setup of each voice mailbox from a desk phone as it is set up in our network. Can I record and upload a professionally-recorded greeting for our voice mailbox? Contact your Cox Business representative for information about uploading pre-recorded files for your voice mailbox. How much storage space is provided with Cox Business Voice Mail? What happens when the storage space is consumed?
No one wants to sit and listen to someone talking drone and monotone on a voicemail greeting. Remember to keep it upbeat and avoid sounding like a robot!
Business Voice helps show your customers what you’re really about ‒ human-to-human connection. With unlimited calling to the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands you can connect with customers far and wide for one simple flat rate.
Cox Business only masks caller id upon your request, and there is no upfront or recurring charge for this service. If you are unsure about whether or not your caller id is masked, contact a Cox representative. If your caller id is masked on your phone lines, you will need to follow this process to initialize and check your voice mailboxes:
2. Hi, you’ve reached [your name]’s voicemail box. I can’t come to the phone right now, but if you leave your contact information I’ll get back to you within 24 hours.
1. Choose a Phone Number. Pick a new phone number or transfer an existing business number to Talkroute. 2. Download Our Apps. Our desktop & mobile apps are available for MacOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, & Android. 3. Configure Your Settings. Customize your greetings, menus, extensions, voicemail, hours of operation, & more.
Instead of having the typical “You’ve reached ABA Corporation. Please leave your message after the beep”, make it unique and interesting.
Forward calls to a pre-determined number during a power outage or when the connection to the cable modem is lost so you will never miss a call.
Say that your prospects want to speak to the sales department and so when they realize that they have reached the right department and hear the voicemail messages, they will be compelled to leave their contact details so that the sales team can reach out to them later. They will be relieved.
Remember that Brittney Spears song where you hear her voicemail greeting at the end and she does that fake-out “beeeeep” and says “do yo thang?”