Your voicemail greeting may be the first impression that callers (including customers) have of you and your business.
Don’t miss your opportunity to make a lasting positive impression by recording a predictable voicemail greeting that lacks personality and may make callers feel rushed and unwelcome.
What you said: “This is (name) of (company). I’m presently out of the office or away from my desk…”
What they heard: “Blah, blah, blah…”
This is the standard greeting that has been adopted by many corporations as policy. These greetings are as lifeless and monotonous as the pages on which they are scripted in the company SOP manual.
Better: “Greetings! You’ve reached the voicemail of (name). Today is the twentieth day of June and I will be in the office…”
Ten years ago, I worked with a colleague who updated his voicemail message daily with the above greeting. By adding this unconventional opening to his greeting, Mike left a lasting positive impression on me. He was exceptional. So was his voicemail greeting. Coincidence? I don’t think so.
What you said: “Please leave me a brief message.”
What they heard: “Don’t waste my time.”
Okay. I’m sure you’re busy. So are the rest of us. In fact, I bet many of your callers are even busier than you and yet have taken the time to call you and leave a message. You should be grateful to them.
Better: “Please leave me a message of any length.”
Invite callers to communicate the reason(s) for their call and any meaningful details in a way that’s not harried or rushed. People face enough deadlines in life. Invite them to breathe.
Voicemail software that has an inordinately short recording time may cut callers off prematurely. If this describes your voicemail software, look into it. Give callers more margin, not less. They will appreciate you for it.
What you said: “I’ll return your call at my earliest convenience.”
What they heard: “I’ll call you back when I feel like it.”
Even though we all know it’s the truth, you don’t need to broadcast to callers that you will return their calls when it’s convenient for you. Imagine a waiter saying to you, “I’ll return with your waters at my earliest convenience.”
How arrogant! I’m sure that most people who use this farewell don’t even think about it. They have heard it for so many years in others’ voicemail greetings that they simply accept it. To me, it sounds more like a dismissal than a farewell.
Better: “I will contact you as soon as I return” or “…within one business day” depending on your situation.
Let’s face it. The only reason any of us use these scripts in our voicemail greetings is that they are common practice. They have been institutionalized—we don’t question them. We simply record our voicemail greetings, check them off our lists, and then move on to something more important.
How about you? What message are you sending with your voicemail greeting?
