While there are a number of resources to help coach users in making a proficient voicemail greeting, some users still feel they are not doing enough. As such, there are a number of tools currently available to help even further. a. Professional Voice Recording: Now that you’re versed in the process of recording your greeting, you may feel a burdening sense of responsibility. As such, you may find that weight to be too heavy to lift alone. Well, rest easy. There are a number of companies and services for recording quality professional greetings.
Once in this area, you can see all your various greeting options including which greetings that are already configured.
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Professional business voicemail greetings are significantly different from ones you record for individual use and complete your professional business image. They’re more generic in nature and designed to provide information to the caller while ensuring they leave a message. Where possible, explain when you expect to return calls. Typically, they’re recorded for the following:
Going away for vacation or leaving the office unattended shouldn't stress you out. That's why OnSIP designed voicemail greeting setup to take only a handful of steps.
Your tone will not sound welcoming or easy to listen to if the caller is side-tracked by listening to you sounding out of breath, which could be distracting, and at worst, slightly distressing.
If the mailbox is NOT setup, the fixed system message, "I'm sorry, the person you're trying to reach is unavailable at this time" plays instead of the personal greeting and the mailbox number plays instead of the mailbox name.
A VPN service provider offers the users the means to get anonymous online and protects their data. They offer various packages for their users. Since this is offered online, the customers can contact at any time, literally! Here is an example of a script for a VoIP phone service for practice.
People have short attention spans these days, and you should always craft your communications for the lowest common denominator with something as universal as your voicemail.
Optimum is the first landline telephone service provider in the U.S. to launch High Definition calling. HD calling is the next generation of voice technology that gives you less background noise, sharper sound quality and increased clarity in your phone conversations. To experience HD calling, customers and call recipients must subscribe to Optimum Voice and use HD-capable handsets.
VirtualPBX provides every extension owner in your company with custom routing. If the employee isn’t available, the call will go to the personalized business voicemail account for that employee as a result. In this way, each employee can have a business greeting for callers. Similarly, you can set up voicemail boxes for departments or your company as a whole. Even if the call goes to a phone that already has personal voicemail, we can make sure your business calls only go to your business voicemail system. People that call the employee’s number directly get personal greetings, those that go through VirtualPBX get a business greeting.
Avoid using ‘please’ more than once, it gets wordy and redundant. The goal is to keep the content as concise as possible, moving callers quickly and seamlessly through the options.
Letting callers know to leave their name and number so you can call them back is an excellent way to get the right information that you may need from someone that you missed a call from. Otherwise, you might be left with a number with no name to ask for or vice versa. If you run a business and want to include something that usually comes up in professional phone calls, include that as well. For example, if people often ask you to check on business orders, ask them to leave the shipping number so you can get back to them with a ready response.
Need your voicemail recording as soon as possible? Depending on the complexity of your job, you can receive your final audio files in as little as one day.
SFB Voice Access Guide - a list of voice and touchtone commands for accessing voice mail, email and calendar. Lift your phone's handset. Press and hold the 1 key. Follow the prompts to Personal Options. Select Change Your PIN.
I am leaving a message and hearing the response, “Your message is too short.” Is there a minimum length for a message left in a voice mailbox?
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.
30. Hello, you’ve reached [your name]. I’m currently out of the office and will return on [X date]. If your call requires urgent attention, please call [Name] at [phone number] and they’ll be happy to assist you. If not, leave a message and I’ll return your call when I get back.