In order to effectively market yourself and your business, there are a few basic tools that you will need to have perfected. You may not be thinking that your telephone skills are of much importance, but a good or bad voicemail message could make or break a professional opportunity. If you find that your personal voicemail is pretty blase or not even set up yet, you might need to check out these tips and tricks to make a great personal voicemail message.
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:
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11. “Hello! You’ve reached [company name] support line. We’ll be happy to help with your inquiry. In the meantime, have you checked out our [website, help forum, etc.]? It may have the answer you’re looking for. If not, leave your name, number and reason for your call. We’ll reach out to you within the day. Thanks for calling [company name].” Sometimes, a caller likes to find the answer to their own questions. Let them discover by directing them to your website or help forum if you have one.
Follow these tips to build a solid foundation for customer experiences that your startup can thrive on. Editor’s Note: This post was submitted by guest blogger, Roxy James. Enjoy! When you talk about customer experience, it should include the quality …
e. Never Assume Anything: Phrases like “You Know What To Do,” “Sing Your Song at the Beep,” and others mentioned above are awful to leave in your greeting. For the sake of universality and comprehensiveness, NEVER assume the caller knows what to do. Lay it out clearly. f. Leave a Message: This phrase, by itself, will not do. It’s imperative for users to identify themselves in their greetings. Callers need to know they’ve reached the right person. g. Disregard Lethargy: If you’re not excited about your greeting, why would anyone else be? Never display a lack of enthusiasm in your greeting as it could turn callers off to both you and your business. h. Speak Clearly and Never Slur: Callers need to understand your every word; therefore, mumbling, slurring, and all other detractions of speech should never be recorded. d. Be Creative Without Sacrificing Quality: Callers know how voicemails work–i.e. leave a number, message, etc. While you want to be clear, it’s important not to be contrive or redundant with your message. Creativity can help users to differentiate themselves, as well as intrigue callers. While users should avoid the tropes of creativity listed above, it’s definitely good to think outside the box. That being said, scripting and practice can help users to experiment more with their greeting–ultimately allowing for more unique and creative approach. e. Speak With Diction: It’s important to present one’s self as an authority without alienating callers. As such, it’s crucial to articulate and speak with clear diction. “ if your voice recording has you stumbling over words and speaking haltingly, it does not convey confidence and competence,” states Ron Sellers of Grey Matter Research & Consulting. Remember, this greeting represents you; therefore, you want to appear collected and professional, as well as welcoming. To do this, one must carry themselves well through their recorded message. f. Account for Timeliness: Your message should be concise. No caller wants to be sitting through a rant/diatribe of redundant statements. Your greeting should flow without dragging. Inversely, one doesn’t want to be terse, either. Engage callers with a simplified approach laden with creativity. h. Account for Quality: Aside from speaking clearly, users want to eliminate any noise in the surrounding environment. The quality of the greeting is just as important as what’s being said in the greeting itself. As such, one doesn’t want to undermine a great message with poor quality. i. Courtesy, Tastefulness, & Tact: This is pretty self-explanatory and straight forward–NEVER be rude. Being light-hearted and humorous is very different from being obnoxious and/or abrasive. Again, these tools can be helpful if utilized properly, but not everyone perceives humor the same way. So play it safe. The last thing your voicemail greeting should do is offend a caller. k. Provide Options: if you’re part of a bigger company, it might be good to offer caller options. For example, allow a menu to defer callers to a colleague or co-worker in your absence. This can help show callers you care about their well being. Another option might be offering different modes of communication–i.e. email, fax, etc. In offering users diversity, contact may be much easier to maintain.
Keep it simple, concise and to the point. Callers won’t need your life story, and won’t want to wait around for a 2-minute greeting to end just so they can leave a message. Don’t hide the details, tell them where you will be, when you will be there, or when you won’t be there, and how to get in touch.
Before you record a professional voicemail greeting, you may want to consider the type of people who might call your home or business. That way, you can think about the information these callers might need before you compose your greeting. Most callers are familiar with how to leave a voice message, so try to avoid giving them instructions. Some things you may want to include in your greeting might be your full name, title, name of your company, and an alternate method of reaching you. If you plan to be unavailable for some time, it can be a good idea to tell your callers when you will return and give them the name and phone number of another individual to call in the event they need immediate assistance. A private voicemail box enables a person to receive telephone messages when the phone cannot be answered.
He says checking voice mail, with all the announcements, codes and prompts, took 10 to 15 minutes out of a day, not including the time required to call each person back.
You have reached (Your Name) at (Your Business). We help (What Your Business Does). I wasn’t able to take your call right now, but leave your name and number and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.
3.) Herzlich willkommen bei Mustermann - Welcome to Mustermann. Für Deutsch drücken Sie bitte die 1 - for English please press 2.
But even that has its limits. "Voicemail transcription still requires customers to leave a message, and they're just not doing that," Boalt says.
Set the number of rings you'd like callers to hear before they hear your voicemail greeting.
That’s why a script is so helpful. Wondering why prospects aren’t leaving messages if you don’t answer right away, or what all of those missed calls are?
Todd Smith is a successful entrepreneur of 34 years and founder of Little Things Matter. To receive Todd’s lessons, subscribe here. All Todd’s lessons are also available on iTunes as downloadable podcasts. Load Disqus Comments Most Recent Posts What Is CBD and How Can It Positively Influence Your Overall Wellbeing? Just Do It Entitlement is the Road to Disappointment 15 Ways to Love More Effectively 33 Small Ways to Expand Your Comfort Zone
If you are unsure of what voicemail system you are on, please contact our customer service team at 1.800.888.1300. How to access your voicemail To access your voicemail from your business phone: Dial 611 and follow the prompts. Your 10-digit mailbox number is your area code + phone number. If auto login is on, skip to steps 2 and 3. Press #. If requested, enter your password, then #. Your default password is 0000. To access your voicemail when you’re away from your business: Dial 1.877.700.2224, and then follow the prompts. Your 10-digit mailbox number is your area code + phone number. If requested, enter your password, then #. Your default password is 0000. How to manage your voicemail Press 1 to play message. Press 2 to save message and go to next one. Press 3 to delete message and go to next one. Press 4 to save message as new. Press 7 to back up three seconds. Press 8 to pause/continue message. Press 9 to go forward three seconds. Press * to return to the main menu. How to set up or change your voicemail greeting
Simply exercising good manners when it comes to the receipt of voicemail can go a long way for the success of a business. If a company’s voicemail message is “Your call is important to us,” they should live up to those words by treating each voicemail as a high priority.
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.” This is our OpenPhone after-hours greeting. Simple, concise, and friendly.