“Hi, thanks for calling the office of (insert your name). I’m away from my desk or out of the office. Please leave your name and number, and I’ll return your call as soon as possible. If you need immediate assistance, please hang up and reach our customer support team at (insert phone number). Thanks, and have a great day!”
In this post, I’ll share what makes a good voicemail greeting — and the best voicemail greeting scripts you can use.
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On occasion the option to send a call straight to voicemail is not available. If it is determined that the recipient does have a voicemail box but the Voice Mail option does not appear as in the screenshot above, this is likely because the recipient is a Skype for Business on Mac user.
A huge portion of the population currently works from home, meetings are more often virtual than not, and programs of all descriptions have adapted online… as has interviewing! Why you should be writing a thank you email
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.
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
As the old saying goes, practice makes perfect. Read your voicemail script aloud several times in order to get the flow and annunciation correct. Soon, you’ll be a voicemail pro!
Thank you for the tips! I will definitely use these when I record my voicemail greetings and messages when my customers are on hold using MightyCall. It’s very important to have effective greetings in order to maintain customers before the human to human interaction.
Mortgage Real estate agent Mortgage Tips Tips for real estate agents All about mortgages Useful At the least, the recording should include your name, the name of your company and your office hours. You can also include the best way to reach you—such as an email—and provide that contact information. If they can leave a message, let them know in the message.
If someone is listening to your voicemail greeting it's only because they intend to leave you a message. Don't make them listen to 3 minutes of rambling in order to do so. Plus, you're more likely to deliver a clean, professional read if you stick to shorter greetings. If more specific information is needed, direct callers to where they can find it on your website.
A relatively unprofessional one — like mine, for instance — does the opposite: It encourages prospects, recruiters, and potential connections to run in the other direction.
1. Business voicemail greeting samples. If you have a main business phone number that’s shared with the customers or publicly listed, you’ll want to make sure it has a professional voicemail message to greet callers.
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.
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You have reached [your name] at [your company]. ...You've reached [your name] at [your company]. ...Thank you for calling. ...Thank you for calling. ...Hi, you've reached [your name] at [your company]. ...Hi, thank you for calling me. ...Hey, this is [your name]. ...Hi, you've reached the voicemail of [your name] at [your company]. ...Hello. ...
Here are several tips to consider when setting up a professional voicemail greeting:
Good voicemail greetings should include your name and/or company, your reason for missing the call or an apology, and instructions for leaving a message. How to Turn Your Customer Complaints into Business Benefits 50% of Business Owners Over 50 Back Trump's National Emergency Declaration How Zoho Bookings Helps Your Business Grow Square Seller Fees Stay Consistent as PayPal, Venmo Raise Rates Sponsored by Square Use Emojis in your Business Communications? Than Check Out These! How Can Your Alma Mater Help Your Small Business? Annie Pilon is a Senior Staff Writer for Small Business Trends, covering entrepreneur profiles, interviews, feature stories, community news and in-depth, expert-based guides. When she’s not writing she can be found on her personal blog Wattlebird, and exploring all that her home state of Michigan has to offer. Small Business Trends is an award-winning online publication for small business owners, entrepreneurs and the people who interact with them. Our mission is to bring you "Small business success, delivered daily."