Before you record your professional voicemail message, take a quick peek through these examples for some inspiration:
Happy [Monday!] You’ve reached [Jessica on the Business Development Team at LinkedPhone]. I’m presently out of the office [for a meeting until late this afternoon]. Please include your name, number and the reason for your call and I’ll get back to you ASAP. Thank you and have a fantastic day!
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You don’t need to have your whole life story in your voicemail greeting, you just basically need them to know that they reached the right person and that you will be getting back to them as soon as you can. This is the part where people like to get funny, maybe by saying, “hey, I’m out and definitely avoiding you,” which is funny if your friends are calling, but not if someone you want to work for is trying to reach you.
1. "Hi, you've reached [your name] at [your company]. I'm unavailable right now — probably helping [type of company] get [X results, e.g. ‘ double their leads in 60 days,' ‘hire the best and brightest engineers,' ‘convert 40% more customers.']
It’s a good practice for each of your team members to have their own personal business phone numbers. There are many reasons why they shouldn’t use their personal cell phone number for business, so you’ll want to give them their own phone number through your VoIP provider or phone system.
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’ve reached [LinkedPhone – Where Freedom Rings]. We are currently off-duty. Our business hours are [Monday through Saturday, 9am to 7pm Eastern Standard Time]. Please leave your name, number, and the reason for your call and we’ll get back to you on the next business day. Thank you.
Changing Voicemail Settings or Greetings from Your Phone or Mobile App
5. Be Brief. The best after hours greetings are brief, direct, and punctual. Do not waste the customer's time and give them a reason to hang up by adding in unnecessary details.
6. "Hi, this is [your name]. I'm either on a call or away from my desk. Please leave your name, number, and a brief message and I'll get back to you. Thank you.
Turn on your Skype voicemail in Skype preferences and listen to your Skype voicemails. For more info, visit http://bit.ly/w2nxvC
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Solution: Voicemail should be a part of your company’s overall phone system, Baldwin says, so you can maximize functionality and integrate it with other tools and business applications. “If your voicemail is separate because it’s stored solely on your mobile phone, you need to get it off that and put it on the messaging app that comes with your business voice phone service,” he says.
You can change your PIN and change your greeting or mailbox name any time. Just access your mailbox and follow the prompts.
The basic rule of thumb is that callers should hear one of two things when they first connect with your voicemail — either an apology for not being able to answer the call or a “thank you” for having called. You can do both if you prefer, but keep it short and to the point.
11. “Hello! You’ve reached [company name] support line. We’ll be happy to help with your inquiry. In the meantime, have you checked out our [website, help forum, etc.]? It may have the answer you’re looking for. If not, leave your name, number and reason for your call. We’ll reach out to you within the day. Thanks for calling [company name].” Sometimes, a caller likes to find the answer to their own questions. Let them discover by directing them to your website or help forum if you have one.
Making an outline of the call flow and writing out scripts for each phase and menu in it can help ensure that there are no gaps in the process from start to finish. This way, callers can reach the voicemail recording in the first place.