Tell People What You Want Them To Do—Here’s my voicemail greeting: “Hi, you have reached the voicemail for Todd Smith. At the tone please leave your name, phone number, the purpose of your call and the best time to reach you and I will return your call as soon as possible. Thank you”
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.
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2.) Herzlich willkommen bei der Mustermann GmbH. Leider rufen Sie uns außerhalb unserer Geschäftszeiten an. Persönlich erreichen Sie uns Montags bis Freitags von 8:00 bis 18:00 Uhr, Samstag von 9:00 bis 16:00 Uhr. Gerne können Sie uns eine Nachricht hinterlassen, oder Sie schreiben uns eine Email an: [email protected]. Wir werden uns dann umgehend bei Ihnen melden - Vielen Dank.
9. “Hi, you’ve reached [your name]. I’m unable to come to the phone right now. But if you leave your name, number and a short message, I’ll be sure to call back.”
Remember to offer your apologies for not being available to answer their call and to sound genuine.
3. Hi, this is [your name] of [your business]. I’m currently unable to take your call. Please leave your name, phone number, and a brief message, and I will contact you as soon as possible. Thanks.
It’s important that your voicemail makes a good impression and conveys professionalism to anyone who calls. Here at UniTel Voice, we specialize in helping business owners set up a virtual voicemail system that not only helps them sound professional but also keeps them connected with voicemail-to-email and voicemail transcription (voice-to-text) technology.
5. "Hello, [Person's name] is chasing new adventures and is no longer with [Company name]. Please forward all future requests to [New or interim person's name] at [phone number]. Thank you!"
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. Here are sample greetings you can use to help you craft your own.
Standard:The standard greeting is the default greeting enabled on all UB voicemaill boxesRecord a greeting to customize the message callers hear when they reach your voicemailAlternate:The alternate greeting can be easily enabled or disabled from the Setup Options menu, or from the Personal Communications AssistantChoose a date and time to end this greeting, without replacing your standard greetingRecord and activate this greeting for callers to hear a temporary message, such as when you are out of the office or need to leave an important announcement
Your voice mailbox has six types of greetings. The two greetings most users set are: The Standard greeting that callers hear before they leave you a message. The Alternate greeting that tells callers that you will be away from work for an extended period of time, such as when you take a vacation. Press 4, Setup Options. Press 1, Change Your Greeting. Press 4 to play all your greetings.
Not everyone will observe the same holidays, and not every business or even member of your team will be around at the same time or even days. It is also completely possible that your business will stay open, but adjust operating hours. Either way, recording a personalized holiday greeting for your business can go a long way in improving your customer’s experience.
If you've come to the Ninja Number site before, you may have noticed some differences…
Calls overflow to the voicemail box if they can’t be answered during business hours. This may be during unusually busy periods or if there is no one to take the call.
e. Never Assume Anything: Phrases like “You Know What To Do,” “Sing Your Song at the Beep,” and others mentioned above are awful to leave in your greeting. For the sake of universality and comprehensiveness, NEVER assume the caller knows what to do. Lay it out clearly. f. Leave a Message: This phrase, by itself, will not do. It’s imperative for users to identify themselves in their greetings. Callers need to know they’ve reached the right person. g. Disregard Lethargy: If you’re not excited about your greeting, why would anyone else be? Never display a lack of enthusiasm in your greeting as it could turn callers off to both you and your business. h. Speak Clearly and Never Slur: Callers need to understand your every word; therefore, mumbling, slurring, and all other detractions of speech should never be recorded. d. Be Creative Without Sacrificing Quality: Callers know how voicemails work–i.e. leave a number, message, etc. While you want to be clear, it’s important not to be contrive or redundant with your message. Creativity can help users to differentiate themselves, as well as intrigue callers. While users should avoid the tropes of creativity listed above, it’s definitely good to think outside the box. That being said, scripting and practice can help users to experiment more with their greeting–ultimately allowing for more unique and creative approach. e. Speak With Diction: It’s important to present one’s self as an authority without alienating callers. As such, it’s crucial to articulate and speak with clear diction. “ if your voice recording has you stumbling over words and speaking haltingly, it does not convey confidence and competence,” states Ron Sellers of Grey Matter Research & Consulting. Remember, this greeting represents you; therefore, you want to appear collected and professional, as well as welcoming. To do this, one must carry themselves well through their recorded message. f. Account for Timeliness: Your message should be concise. No caller wants to be sitting through a rant/diatribe of redundant statements. Your greeting should flow without dragging. Inversely, one doesn’t want to be terse, either. Engage callers with a simplified approach laden with creativity. h. Account for Quality: Aside from speaking clearly, users want to eliminate any noise in the surrounding environment. The quality of the greeting is just as important as what’s being said in the greeting itself. As such, one doesn’t want to undermine a great message with poor quality. i. Courtesy, Tastefulness, & Tact: This is pretty self-explanatory and straight forward–NEVER be rude. Being light-hearted and humorous is very different from being obnoxious and/or abrasive. Again, these tools can be helpful if utilized properly, but not everyone perceives humor the same way. So play it safe. The last thing your voicemail greeting should do is offend a caller. k. Provide Options: if you’re part of a bigger company, it might be good to offer caller options. For example, allow a menu to defer callers to a colleague or co-worker in your absence. This can help show callers you care about their well being. Another option might be offering different modes of communication–i.e. email, fax, etc. In offering users diversity, contact may be much easier to maintain.
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].
"Even responses have gotten shorter," she adds. "I was noticing that with some emails from four years ago where I had these very long, 'Hello, I hope all is well,' sort of like longer emails to now I'm much more — blunt." voicemail voice mail JPMorgan Chase workplace productivity Read & Listen Home News Arts & Life Music Podcasts Programs Connect Newsletters Facebook Twitter Instagram Press Contact & Help About NPR Overview Diversity Ethics Finances Public Editor Corrections Get Involved Support Public Radio Sponsor NPR NPR Careers NPR Shop NPR Events NPR Extra Terms of Use Privacy Your Privacy Choices Text Only Home Subscribe CRM Magazine CRM eWeekly (e-Newsletter) News CRM Featured Articles CRM Across the Wire In Depth Features ViewPoints Case Studies Columns Insight Blog Customer Service Marketing Sales More Topics Analytics Big Data CRM Channel Management Cloud-based CRM Enterprise CRM Integration Mobile SMB/Mid-market CRM Social CRM Topics Industries White Papers Best Practices Series Reports & Research Resources CRM Buyer's Guide & Directory Current Issue Previous Issues Market Awards Service Awards Jobs Webinars Events CXConnect CRM Evolution Conference Smart Customer Service Conference SpeechTek Digital Experience Conference About What Is CRM? About Us Contact US How to Advertise Getting Covered Editorial Calendar Reprints November 1, 2014 By Leonard Klie, Editor, CRM magazine and SmartCustomerService.com Business Voicemail Goes Unanswered