You are living in 2020 and you do realize that your prospects can come to you anytime, which means you need to be catering to them whenever that happens, at 3 am in the morning or even at 11 pm in the night.
2. Hi, you’ve reached [your name]’s voicemail box. I can’t come to the phone right now, but if you leave your contact information I’ll get back to you within 24 hours.
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“Hi, this is _______from ________. When I was out running around the other day, I noticed that your house was for sale by owner. Before you delete this, I just wanted to let you know that I’ve sold homes, very similar to yours, in the same area, and above list price. You might have received a few “Just Sold in Your Neighborhood” postcards from me. Because I have met with many buyers looking for this type of home, I think I could help you meet your goal of selling your home. I’m available to answer any questions about finding the right buyer, and I provide a free consultation. Please give me a call on my cell phone at _____________. Again, my number is ________. Take care and enjoy the rest of the day.”
I don’t know about you, but I’m shocked every time I listen to a voicemail message left for me by sales reps, prospects and even clients. They are filled with ‘um’s’ and ‘ah’s’, they ramble on and on, they leave no compelling reason for me to call back, and they almost always leave their number so fast that I have to listen to it two, three, sometimes four times to make it out!
Show that you’re human! Not everything in business needs to bland and boring. Add some personality to your voicemail while still maintaining professionalism. Do you have a fun fact about yourself or something unique to you? Share that in your voicemail and then ask for the customer to leave you with a fun fact so that you can call them back.
For example, a message like, “Hi, this is Jim. You know what to do.” Well, not everyone is going to know what to do—i.e. they won’t leave you inclusive information. Additionally, they may not leave you a message at all. Aside from this, humor can again be detrimental to your message, this time lending itself to ambiguity and costing you clarity. For example, if a message read, “Hi this is Jim, sorry I can’t answer your call right now. Please leave your name and number and I’ll call you as soon as I can, but you already knew that right? Do I need to tell you what to do?” This is worse than the previous example as this is confusing and can also come across as rude and unprofessional. Complicating a greeting with phrasing like this is sure to cause some harm. e. Ignoring Personality & Identity: Don’t use computer generated greetings. Some users leave default messages (‘you’ve reached the voicemail box of 777-777-777, please leave a message). Believe it or not, even this can cause problems. Callers may be unsure if the voicemail box belongs to you; therefore, they don’t leave a message. Also, some may even be uncomfortable leaving information through a message in a nameless voice message box. As such, impersonalization can cause ambiguity, which again can hurt the effectiveness of your voice message system. This doesn’t mean you have to make an elaborate greeting if you don’t want to, just insert your voice and name so at least callers know they’re calling the right person.
Hello, this is Laura Brown. I’m sorry I can’t take your call right now but please leave me a brief message after the tone and I’ll be sure to return your call as soon as I can. Thank you and have a great day.
15. “Hi, Thanks for giving us a call! Sorry, but we are closed right now. Please leave us your name, number and the best time to reach you and we’ll get back to you within the day. Thank you.”
Now that the importance of having current and applicable voicemail greetings has been established, the big question of how remains, right? How does one create this stellar voicemail selection and improve their business voicemail greeting?
Back then, we would stagger lunch breaks and vacations to ensure someone was in the office during working hours to answer the telephone.
Mine says "Please don't leave a voicemail because I probably won't be able to understand it. Email or text me instead." It seems to mostly work, in concert with telling people that my handset can't do voice calls (which is true).
With the high volume of calls many customer service centers receive daily, it is virtually a necessity to have voice mail these days. Many people will tell you they …
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I am currently operating remotely and am not checking this voicemail. Please email me at [insert your email address].
If you have an assistant, include their name and contact information in your greeting. If you have a hard time delegating tasks, this is an excellent way to start building it into your processes.
23. "Happy holidays! [I'm, the team at X company is] away until [date]. We'll make sure to call you back straight away when we return. If your request is urgent, email [emergency contact] at [email address]. Thanks, and have a wonderful day."
Want to make a great first impression? Use these voicemail templates as a starting point for crafting your own professional voicemail!
Hello, this is (name). I am sorry I can’t come to the phone right now. Leave your name, number, and a short message after the beep. Oh and please do wait by the phone till I call you back. Bye.