The best small business phone systems will vary depending on a business's needs. No single business phone system will work for every type of business. If you want a great all-around solution, we recommend going with Talkroute. They offer the most features and ones that seem to fit most small businesses.
Generally, people that call and leave messages are more likely to be ideal customers of your business. Your voicemail message is often not much more than a formality to the person calling. 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.
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No one wants to sit and listen to someone talking drone and monotone on a voicemail greeting. Remember to keep it upbeat and avoid sounding like a robot!
First of all, it looks more professional to potential clients. Secondly, it will give you the chance to connect with prospects from any device that’s convenient for you at the moment. If you’re in the office, you can pick up the call on your desk phone. If you are in your car on your way to a meeting, you can answer via mobile. You even have the option to pick up from your desktop computer, and to the caller, it won’t make any difference. The person calling your virtual phone number will dial your business phone number and you’ll answer it professionally regardless of your location.
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1. Hello, you’ve reached [your name]. I’m currently unavailable, but leave your name and number and I’ll return your call as soon as I can.
Whether it’s an out-of-stock product, a canceled event, or social media snafu, there are times when your business may see an influx of frustrated callers. While it is important to address their concerns head-on, you may not be able to answer each call as it’s received. Make sure you use best practices for dealing with angry customers, and that your voicemail greeting sets the appropriate tone. Avoid defensive language, validate their concerns, and keep them informed as to how you are handling the situation.
For those with voicemail greetings that get changed about as often as a new president is elected, know that this is doing a serious disservice to the caller-recipient relationship. It signals to callers that the business is anything but an authority, most likely not very detail oriented, and has questionable overall credibility and competency.
Before you record your professional voicemail message, take a quick peek through these examples for some inspiration:
You can’t call someone back if you don’t have their number. It seems basic, but it’s easy to forget. So a quick reminder can go a long way.
In order to determine the number of users you need for your ClarityTel phone system, count the total number of devices you need, including desk phones, softphones, conference phones, and fax machines.
The number you have xxx-xxxx (your number) has been changed, the new number is xxx-xxxx (again, your number). CULATA!
13. "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 chat with our team? Leave your name and number, and we'll return your call straight away."
24.Hello, you’ve called [X company]. We are currently unable to take your call. Please visit our company website at [company website URL] to speak to chat with a representative, or email us at [X email address]. If you’d like us to call you back, please leave your name and phone number, and our team will get in touch with you within 24 hours.
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6. Vacation Voicemail Greetings. Hey, this is [your name] at [X company]. I am actually on a break at the moment, on the other side of the world! Please direct all phone calls to [alternate contact name] at [phone number] and emails to [X email address].
Remember to watch out for ambient noise on your end of the call as well. Train signals, traffic, or even outside conversations can be very distracting to your callers and project an unprofessional image. Don’t forget the beep. Every millisecond – yes, millisecond – between the end of your greeting and the beep is time callers could potentially drop the call. That’s why the anticipated beep should sound the moment your greeting is finished. Leaving lengthy, silent gaps may cause your customers to wonder if they’ve been disconnected. Don’t give them the opportunity to hang up waiting to hear that affirmative tone. Check and then recheck your greeting. After you complete your outgoing voicemail message, play it back to verify you’ve said everything you intended to say. Then take it a step further and dial in to experience the greeting for yourself, and be mindful to contemplate the greeting from the customer’s perspective.