19. “Thank you for calling [company]. We’re closed for [holiday] from [date] until [date]. Please leave your message and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Have a happy holiday!”
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!"
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Open your voicemail greeting with a 'Thank you for your call. We're not available right now by please leave your message and we'll get back to you within [specify time]'.
Nobody wants to play phone tag. Skip the back and forth by explicitly telling the caller to leave their name, number, and the best day(s) and time(s) to reach them. Your clients will appreciate you not wanting to waste their time.
Departments and teams are typically organized by function – customer service, tech support, sales, billing questions, etc. When a team is busy handling other calls, encourage your callers to leave a message and reassure them that you will get back to them within a reasonable time frame. It’s important that you actually follow through to avoid upsetting your callers.
1. Set up voicemail online. The online voicemail Setup Wizard walks you through every step of setting up your voicemail. For more info about voicemail, check out the AT&T Phone for Business Voicemail (PDF, 6.28MB).
4. Turn on Autoplay. You don't have to press 1 to listen to messages if the Autoplay feature is on. To turn AutoPlay on or off: From the Main Menu, press 4 for Mailbox Settings.
Some voicemail greetings are too loud and distracting and some are so quiet you can barely figure out who you’ve called. Whoever sets up the voicemail greeting for a business should be a confident speaker. Here’s a pro tip—write out a script of what the voicemail greeting should say and practice it a few times before you record it. It will be well worth it in the end!
Your message is a period of time that they are forced to wait through in order to do what they called to do in the first place — relay information to you.
A word of warning: These greetings will not do you any favors if you’re in the midst of a job hunt or work in a conservative industry. Always remember your target personas. If there’s a chance they won’t appreciate your sense of humor, opt for a straightforward greeting instead. “This is Bond. James Bond. Okay, it’s really [your last name]. [Your first name] [your last name]. I’ll get back to you as soon as I’m done helping M16 save the world — which will probably be tomorrow at the latest. Have a good day.” “Hmm. Gryffindor … No, Ravenclaw. Yes, you definitely belong in Ravenclaw. *Pause.* Okay, you haven’t reached the Sorting Hat — it’s the voicemail of [your name]. Please leave your name and number (and just for fun, the Harry Potter house you think you belong in) and I’ll return your call as soon as possible.” “Hello! You’ve gotten the voicemail of [your name]. Leave your name, contact info, and the answer to the eternal question ‘Which came first, the chicken or the egg?’ Anyone who gets it right will receive a call back.”
25. Hello, you’ve reached [your name], [job title] at [business name]. I’m sorry to have missed your call. Please leave your name, contact information, and reason for calling so I can get back to you promptly.
Do you honestly think anyone will sit through all that and still leave you a message, much less consider you a professional who cares about the quality of your work and offer you a job?
If you like to keep things simple, opt for a basic greeting. Most voicemail options allow you to record just your name, which lets callers know they’ve reached the right person.
37. Hi, this is [company name]. Sorry we missed your call. Leave a message and we’ll get back to you shortly.
A professional voicemail greeting is a recorded message that welcomes callers to your business when no one is available to pick up the call. For a polished call experience, the greeting should reflect who the client is calling – whether a general business number, department, team, or individual – and when the customer can expect the call to be returned.
Rehearse your greeting a few times before you press record. Plan your pauses and select natural places to take a breath. If you are recording directly into your phone don't hold it to your ear like you are talking on the phone. This can produce a muffled tone. Hold the phone out in front of you a few inches from your mouth for the clearest recording. This may require some trial and error. So playback your greeting and make necessary adjustments on your re-record.
Creating a professional voicemail greeting isn’t complicated, but you need to keep a few things in mind to ensure success. The following tips will help: Be friendly and welcoming - let your company's personality shine!; Have a clear voice, speak at a slow to moderate pace, minimize background noise; Ensure the greeting is human and approachable; Keep the greeting short and informative; Ensure the greeting doesn’t sound robotic or unnatural; Show your gratitude for the call by saying thank you; Manage expectations by clearly stating when the client can expect a callback.