The thing with voicemail is it can be really handy when it comes to catering to your prospects when you are not available after work hours.
For information about how to update your outgoing message, forward your desk phone to a cell phone, and check voicemails remotely, reference this Knowledge Base article from the EOU IT Department: https://kb.eou.edu/topic/phone
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Different businesses may require different types of greetings. This is the ultimate list that can work for a wide array of company messages.
If they don’t leave a message, you’ll never know who called. Some people may assume they should just call back later. But if you prefer to get back to them at your leisure, encourage them to leave a message.
17. “Happy Holidays from [company name]. Our hours are a little bit different this holiday season. [List hours]. We hope it’s not an emergency, but if so, we’ve got you covered. Contact us at [company email/other support lines] and we’ll get back to you ASAP. For all other inquiries, we’ll contact you when we are back from the holiday – we might be a few pounds heavier but eager to speak with you! Happy Holidays.” Things happen during the holidays, we know. Let your callers know you are still there just in case!
-Now I lay me down to sleep; Leave a message at the beep. If I should die before I wake, remember to erase the tape.
A good voicemail greeting is short and professional, lets people know that you’ll get back to them, and invites callers to continue engaging with a call-to-action. You should also show your personality if you’re in an industry or role that allows that. If your industry is more conservative, however, you’ll want to keep humor and personal touches to a minimum. A greeting Your name Your company A simple explanation for missing the call (e.g. you’re away from the phone or are on holiday) A rough estimate of when you’ll get back to the person An alternative person to reach out to (if you’re out of office) An alternative mode of communication (if you prefer email or text) A call-to-action such as “Leave a message” or “Send me an email at [email protected]”
Do you speak a second language and serve customers in an area that primarily uses a language other than English? Make it known that you speak both languages. Start the voicemail with the most dominant language spoken in your market followed by the same message spoken in the secondary language:
Voicemail Normal. Saw Leave A Voicemai. Japan Girl Voicemail. Greetings. Mig phone greeting. Funny Vmail Greet. Elmer Fudd Greeting. Silence Of The Lambs. Leave Your Message.
You have reached the mailbox of the Claims Department. We are sorry that we are unable to take your call at this time, but please leave a detailed message and we will get back to you as soon as possible. We look forward to serving you. Thank you.
Keep it short and sweet so that the caller can quickly leave their message and move on with their day.
There you have it, a basic introduction into how to write the best voicemail greetings. As you have seen, they’re not as easy as you’d think, but once you get comfortable with the type of information required by each, writing and recording your own should be a piece of cake. If you’ve tried to write one yourself and still don’t ‘feel you’ve captured the right essence, then please look at one of our voicemails greeting templates. When it comes to recording it, remember to rehearse your script and speak clearly. If you don’t care for your own voice, then have someone else record it, or hire a professional voice actor. Remember, there are also free audio editing software programs like Audacity, where you can manipulate your recording until you get exactly what you want.
10. Hello, you’ve reached [your company]. We’re sorry to have missed your call. Please leave a brief message including your name, number, and reason for calling and a member of our team will get back to you within one business day.
11. Hello, you’ve reached [your name]’s cell phone. I can’t take your call at the moment, but if you leave a brief message, I’ll get back to you as quickly as possible.
Part of my issue is that I really probably do need the NHS and local gov't to be able to leave me voicemail (not least because the NHS isn't set up to deal with e-mailing patients, at least not where I am at the moment), but for pretty much everyone else EVER I will call them back much sooner if I don't have the mental hurdle of voicemail first (where the fundamental difference is that by and large the NHS & gov't don't give a shit if I call them back...). So uh. Yeah. :-/
Clients will be a lot less likely to leave a message if they wonder who will get it. Use a warm friendly voice to say something like, “You have reached xxxx, licensed mental health counselor.”
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