Providers of virtual phone numbers allow business owners to choose a number for their business which can be used with the cell phone or landline already used for personal phone calls. The seven virtual phone number providers examined in the article below have proven to be the best options of the many providers operating in the industry. For consumer convenience, each of the seven companies has been carefully evaluated based on the price of their services, available features, and services offered to determine which of the companies are the best of the best.
Hi. I'm Kerry McCall. Many of my clients call me "The Phone Voice". Daily, I'm recording and producing the phone recordings, mesages and greetings used by businesses and networks nationwide. There's a good chance you've already heard my voice, and I'd like to have the opportunity to help you quickly get the greetings you need.
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“Hello, you’ve reached [X company]. We can’t take your call right now, but please leave your name, contact information, and reason for reaching out, and one of our team members will be in touch within 24 hours.” “Hi, you’ve reached [company]. Unfortunately, we’re currently unavailable. But we want to talk to you — so please leave your name and number, as well as your reason for calling, and someone will call back ASAP.” “Hi, you’ve reached [company]. We’re available by phone from [hour] to [hour] [time zone] Monday through Friday [optional: and from hour to hour on the weekends]. You can also contact us by going to our website, [URL], and live-chatting or emailing us. If you’d like us to call you back, please leave your name and number after the beep.” “Hello, you’ve reached [company]. If you’re looking for information on [X], please check out our [Facebook page, company website, etc.] If you want to know more about [Y], take a look at [Z page on our site, our YouTube channel, etc.] Still have more questions, or just want to hear our lovely voices? Leave your name and number, and we’ll return your call straight away.”
Here are some helpful links to help you record voicemail greeting that is clear and professional. Record your phrases for recording a great voicemail greeting here. Record yourself and compare it with a native speaker. Hear Georgie giving helpful feedback to other students on their voicemail greetings.
(I use Verizon. My Smartphone IS my business phone. I got rid of the land line a year ago.)
When calling any business number, you are often greeted with an automated voicemail greeting that helps guide you through the company directory, hours of operation, contact information and alternative steps for the call, such as leaving a message.
While there's a long list of reasons, there's an even longer list of systems and features addressing these common challenges. However, we find most small businesses require one or more of these core phone system capabilities:
The Estate plan is ideal for larger teams, bringing 3,000 free incoming minutes per month. It also comes with advanced call metrics, call barging, holiday routing, queue callback, and many other features. This plan will set you back $45 per month.
Voicemail service providers like Voicemail Office offer these life-simplifying features as part of their unified messaging packages, which allow users to obtain both voicemail and fax messages in their email inbox. Voicemail messages that are sent to email are also identified with the extension number in the body of the email, so that the purpose of the call can be foreknown. Surprisingly, rates for these services are very low, starting at just $9.95 per month.
Freedom 800 is a virtual phone system in the cloud. This small business phone service has a user-friendly website with instant number activation and a 30-day free trial. Then plans start at $9.95/month for limited minutes. This service is not as full-featured as some of the others. But if you are a startup looking for a bare bones virtual phone system at low prices, this might be a good place to start. Feature We Like: Availability Scheduling. You can specify the times when you want calls forwarded, or not.
Good day, you have reached the office of [Name]. I’m away for the weekend. If you require my immediate assistance, please call 555-555-2345. Otherwise, if this is a casual call, please leave your name, number and a brief message, and I’ll get back to you on Monday.
Hey guess who this is? You guessed it. Guess what you have to do now? You guessed it.
Writing a script doesn’t mean you have to write a speech. A simple greeting is fine, like this sample voicemail message:
It’s also imperative for you to relay that message. If a client comes unprepared, you know your time is going to be wasted trying to work around a missing document. To avoid this, make sure your voicemail greeting emphasizes the importance of coming to a meeting prepared with any information that will speed up the process and make your life easier. Highlight some of the most common documents and pieces of information a client will need to bring, so they start off on the right footing.
Company Description: Phone.com offers a feature-rich solution for small and mid-sized businesses. Their plans include more than 40 different standard features including custom phone numbers, video conferencing, user extensions, auto-receptionist, greetings, and call routing features. Each of their 40+ standard features are included in all of their plans, with their larger plans offering a few features that are typically geared toward larger enterprise businesses.
On the other hand, a stellar professional voicemail is more than just a way to ensure callers are heard. It’s actually a gateway to encourage recruiters, clients, connections, venders, and other callers to continue forward with the first step in developing a business relationship, which is them making contact. The power of the right voicemail greeting is the caller actually staying on the line to leave that contact information or gain access to an alternative contact point.
We've assessed the plethora of business phone systems available, taking into account pricing, contract terms verses month-by-month rates, mobility options, customer service, customer and expert ratings, ease of use, and the company's standing with accredited reviewing entities like the Better Business Bureau. We also kept the following musts in mind: