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.
True emergencies - such as extraordinary weather - should be addressed in your voicemail if it impacts your business. Thank you for calling the Carona Surf Shop. We are currently closed due to the inclement weather. Our normal business hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 am to 9 pm. Please visit www.caronasurfshop.com to order merchandise and to check our schedule during the hurricane.
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If someone takes the time to call and leave you a voice message, they usually have a reason that they are calling. It does convey a certain level of interest when someone is willing to hop on the phone with you. If they were less interested, they would probably send you an email or fill out a form on your website.
Pro Tip: Smile while you’re recording your greeting and your voice will sound pleasant.
To address customer needs, you must incorporate the following into the buyer’s journey. (See below) Strong communication connections Rapid responses to voicemail messages Quick retrieval of customer information A willingness to help and support Provide convenience, features, and options Ability to chat with a human online or onsite Multiple customer service channels
RingCentral is the real deal, offering the most features of any business phone service, like web conferencing and file sharing. 6 Best Small Business Phone Services: Breakdown 1. RingCentral: $19.99 to $49.99 per month
Vonage Business plans go down in the price per line the more phone lines you have. For example, for 1-4 lines, plans start at $19.99 monthly per line. For 5-19 lines, plans start at $17.99 monthly per line. For 20-99 lines, plans start at $14.99 monthly per line. Learn more about Vonage’s Business Cloud plans and pricing here, and the state of Vonage Business here.
Check your voicemail on iPhone. In the Phone app , Visual Voicemail (available from select carriers) shows a list of your messages. You can choose which ones to play and delete without listening to all of them. A badge on the Voicemail icon indicates the number of unheard messages.
Nextiva provides much more than just a virtual business phone number. The Business Communications Suite brings a powerful combination of features for consolidating team communication, providing efficient customer care, and tracking productivity. The company offers this service for a fraction of the price it would cost you to get virtual numbers for your team, a CRM, and an analytics tool. Nextiva’s VoIP boasts 99.9% of uptime so it’s perfect for small business owners looking for a reliable provider.
9. “Hey, it’s [your name] at [your company] – thanks for giving me a call! I can’t wait to chat. Just leave your name, number and I’ll call you back as soon as I have the chance. Better yet, send me a text with the best time to reach you and the reason for your call. Looking forward to hearing from you.” Text communication is becoming much more relevant now. Direct your caller to text you in case they have a question you can answer easier via text. Who knows, they might prefer text messages to phone calls too.
You may think this is boring, but it’s what works. Leave the sales talk and the promotion for when you call them back. Leaving a greeting is all well and good, but if it has no context you’re going to struggle to stop the person from giving up on you. Make sure people know that they’ve reached the right place. Hello, this is the office of X, the Y department. Please leave your name, reason for calling, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. By mentioning the specific department or office they’ve reached, you’re reminding them that they’ve reached the right place, and this is not some generic support department they’ve been redirected to. We talk to lots of different people every day. Make sure you remind people of who you are, and why you’re the best person to handle their call (and more importantly their valuable time). Hello, my name is X, the Senior Manager of Y, I’m sorry I’m unavailable right now, but if you leave your number I’ll return your call as soon as I can. Not only have you revealed who you are, but you’ve also given them the reassurance that their call is important to you. It leaves the right impression. The order of your words can seriously impact how your greeting is received. Research shows that we remember the first and last items on a list best, so the statements that matter most are those at the beginning and those at the end. Hello, you have reached X. I’m out of the office at the moment. Provide me with your contact details and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. Do you see how important the order of the words is? The name comes first and the call to action is last. Most people will put all this important information in the middle of their greeting. It may not seem like a big difference, but it really matters. It can be tempting to try to fit as much information into a voicemail greeting as possible. Don’t do that. Sometimes less is more. Try to incorporate some strategic pauses into your greeting, so you can let everything sink in. Hello, this is X from Y. [Pause] I am not available to take your call right now. [Pause] If you are calling about Z, then please leave your name and number and I will get back to you as soon as you can.
Are you on the hunt for more great business tips? Why not take a look at some of our other blog posts, like how to waste less time and boost efficiency? And remember, you can always get in touch with all your queries.
Lecia has provided thousands of voicemail greetings, auto attendant messages, On-HOLD Messages, and IVR Voice Prompts recordings for small business owners and large corporations worldwide. Your voicemail greetings and messages can be recorded in most any format that is compatible with your phone system, such as .wav or mp3 files.
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I love my job because [XYZ company] is the best place to work at. Please leave your full name, contact info, number and other details and I’ll call back within 24 hours! Thanks a bunch.”
Sound upbeat in your message. When recording, be sure to say your message with a smile on your face. It’s obvious when people aren’t happy in their message. Since your work revolves around keeping happy customers, do your part by keeping a happy-sounding voicemail message.
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