"The subscriber you're calling is unavailable, please try again later."
"This mailbox is full, sorry."
"Hey, I'm not here right now. Leave your name and number after the beep..."
If your voicemail greeting sounds like one of these, you're missing the opportunity to sound credible and professional to your current and future customers.
The good news is that recording a professional voicemail greeting for your business is now easier than ever with these tips we've prepared for you. Enjoy!
1. Write the script
First, determine what type of greeting you need. Is this your individual phone number or the phone number for your business that might be shared with your team?
Individual phone number
For your individual phone number, include your name and the name of your company. Keep it short and simple and have a clear ask for the callers.
Examples:
“Hello, this is [your name] at [company]. Thanks for your call. Please leave your name and the reason you’d like to chat, and I’ll get to back to you as soon as possible. Have a great day!”
“Hi, you've reached [your name] at [company]. I'm unavailable right now but if you leave your name and a brief message, I’ll get to back to you as soon as possible. Thank you!”
Phone number of your business
Include the name of your business and business hours so that you can manage your customer expectations.
Examples:
“Hello, thanks for calling [company]. Please leave a message and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”
“Hello, you’ve reached [company]. We can’t take your call right now, but please leave your name and reason for reaching out, and one of our team members will be in touch within 24 hours.”
Pro tip: If you're using OpenPhone, you can create a separate voicemail greeting for people calling during business hours and an after-hours voicemail greeting for those calling when you're closed for the day.
Here are some examples of after-hours voicemail greetings:
“Hi, you’ve reached [company]. Thanks for your call. Our business hours are [day] to [day] [start time] to [end time] [timezone]. Unfortunately, we're closed right now but if you leave your name and a brief message we'll get back to you when we reopen. Thank you!”
"Hi, thanks for calling [company]. Sorry, we're closed right now. If you leave your name and a brief message we'll get back to you as soon as possible."
2. Decide on the voiceover
Now that you have a script prepared, it's time to record your voicemail greeting. Before you proceed with recording your greeting, consider having it recorded by a voiceover artist.
Record yourself or hire a voiceover artist? What should you do?
If this is your individual phone number and callers work with you directly, recording the message yourself is your best bet.
It'll make it more personal and ensure the best experience for your callers. Your callers expect to get in touch with you so hearing another person's voice will be confusing.
If this is the main phone number of your business and callers can speak with one of your team members, consider working with a voiceover artist.
The simplest way to find one is through a marketplace like Fiverr.
There are 6k+ voiceover artists on Fiverr so you have a wide selection of professionals. You can refine your search by filtering by Purpose (pick "Phone System / IVR"), Gender, Language, Accent, Age Range.
If you're in a hurry, you can filter by Delivery Time.
Every artist has a demo reel with samples of their work - use them to find your perfect match. Customer reviews on their page are very helpful as well.
Things to keep in mind:
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Before giving the artist a script, make sure to proofread it since most artists include proofreading as an additional service.
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Make sure to include the way to pronounce your name, company name or names of any places. A simple recording made on your phone's voice notes app will do!
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If you have any special instructions or preferences, communicate them with the artist upfront. This includes any preferences for the tone of voice (eg. upbeat, professional, friendly)
OpenPhone default voicemail greeting was recorded by Jonathan on Fiverr - https://www.fiverr.com/jontcoleman Thanks, Jonathan!
3. Record your greeting
If you've decided to outsource your recording to an artist, feel free to skip this part.
If you're recording the greeting yourself, you have 2 options:
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Record on your phone through the OpenPhone app in seconds. Detailed steps can be found here
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Record on your computer using a tool like QuickTime
Now that you're ready for the recording, here are our best tips for sounding great:
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Make sure you're recording in a quiet place with no background noise or echo.
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Decide on the tone of your voicemail - Do you want to sound upbeat? Professional? Friendly? If you want your voicemail greeting to be upbeat and friendly, smile! 😄
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Speak slowly. Most people speak too fast (looking at myself) which might make it harder for your callers to understand your recording. That means they won't leave a message or follow your instructions, resulting in a bad experience for both of you.
4. Upload your greeting
With OpenPhone, you can upload the greeting via an mp3 file, record the greeting directly in the app, or use our text-to-speech option.
Not sure how to set up your voicemail? We've got you covered.
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That's it! Hope your callers enjoy your brand new voicemail greeting.
Don't have an OpenPhone number yet? Get one today!
If you have any other questions, please submit a request here. We're happy to help!
