77% of people believe that a phone call is the most efficient way to get business done. But have you got the right call handling protocols in place?
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.
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12. Hi, this is [your name]. I’m away from my phone at the moment, but leave a message after the tone so I can get back in touch later today.
Are you on the hunt for more great business tips? Why not take a look at some of our other blog posts, like how to waste less time and boost efficiency? And remember, you can always get in touch with all your queries.
So, I finally did it. Here’s my process for developing a professional voicemail message in 10 steps:
“Hi, you’ve reached three-time fantasy football champion (insert your name) at (insert your company name). Please leave your name, number, and a fun fact about yourself, and I’ll return your call as soon as possible.”
If you’re rarely in the office and don’t use a mobile cell phone app to receive calls, be sure to provide alternatives so that customers can still receive the support they need.
Humor also leaves a lot of room for misinterpretation—which subsequently weakens sincerity and authority. A caller can be very turned off by merely misinterpreting your joke. Why take this risk? Additionally, this could even cause callers to question your character. Say, for example, the president of a company’s mobile phone voicemail greeting was funny. What’s to happen if the caller didn’t like or get the joke? What if they found it offensive? Another scenario is that a caller is reaching out to you for the first time—i.e. they have no idea regarding your personality. What next? The point is, with this type of greeting, humor is bound to be more divisive so just avoid it altogether. c. Poorly Pacing Your Message and Bad Time Management: Don’t speed through your message. Speak clearly so callers know what to include in their message and when to leave the message. At the same time, don’t drag your message out. No one wants to sit through a diatribe. Just get to the point clearly.
An integral part of Job Search Central is the effective use of voicemail to take your calls when you are not available. Imagine your future boss being greeted by your voicemail greeting and then answer this question: will it enhance or detract from what they think of you? If it is the latter, change it. Otherwise, your future boss may end up being someone else's future boss.
Being that I have been at Holdcom for a few months now, I decided it was time to change my cell phone voicemail greeting to something a bit more polished. Keep in mind, I have had the same voicemail message for probably 6 years, just transferring the same greeting every time I would get a new phone. Since I never hear my own voicemail, I never thought about changing it. Little did I know, my voicemail message could easily be working against me, and it took me this long to notice?!
Hello! This is [Nick on the West Coast Sales Team at LinkedPhone]. I am currently on vacation until [Friday, April 22nd] with limited access to email. If you require urgent assistance, please contact my lieutenant [Harold Kisp at 415-555-1212 or [email protected]]. Otherwise, please leave a message and I will return your call when I’m back in the office. Thank you and I look forward to chatting!
You don’t need to say why you can’t answer or where you might be, you simply need to say your full name, that you are sorry you can’t come to the phone, and that you will get back to them as soon as you can.
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?
31. Hi, this is [your name] at [your company]. If you are calling for [include reason] please visit our [website, social media handle, etc.], contact [name and title of colleague and phone number] or send me an email at [insert email address]. For other inquiries, leave a brief message and your name and number and I will call you back by [timeframe].
You can change your voicemail settings from the Skype for Business Settings page. You can get to the page by using one of the following methods:
This free business voicemail script includes everything you need to create a business voicemail that drives actual results for your business. Customer Experience Automation Email Marketing Automation Marketing Automation CRM & Sales Automation Service & Support Pricing Omni-Channel Marketing Landing Pages SMS Conversations Social Media Web Personalization Apps & Integrations Become a Partner Developer Center Free Tools featured apps: About ActiveCampaign Contact Us FAQ Why ActiveCampaign Customer Stories Careers We're hiring! Legal Center Free Trial English Español Français Italiano Deutsch Português Search ActiveCampaign on Twitter ActiveCampaign on Facebook ActiveCampaign on LinkedIn ActiveCampaign on Instagram Apple store link Google Play link
Humor also leaves a lot of room for misinterpretation—which subsequently weakens sincerity and authority. A caller can be very turned off by merely misinterpreting your joke. Why take this risk? Additionally, this could even cause callers to question your character. Say, for example, the president of a company’s mobile phone voicemail greeting was funny. What’s to happen if the caller didn’t like or get the joke? What if they found it offensive? Another scenario is that a caller is reaching out to you for the first time—i.e. they have no idea regarding your personality. What next? The point is, with this type of greeting, humor is bound to be more divisive so just avoid it altogether. c. Poorly Pacing Your Message and Bad Time Management: Don’t speed through your message. Speak clearly so callers know what to include in their message and when to leave the message. At the same time, don’t drag your message out. No one wants to sit through a diatribe. Just get to the point clearly.