TL;DR: Your callers form an opinion about your business the moment they hear your voicemail. This guide walks you through everything you need to know to get a professional voicemail recording that reflects your brand and keeps callers confident.
- Voicemail greetings fall into three categories: personalized extensions, business-level after-hours messages, and automated attendant/IVR recordings
- Recordings are priced by word count, so map your full call flow and write your script before requesting a quote
- One consistent voice talent across all recordings keeps your phone system sounding unified and professional
- Place the most-used call menu options first to prevent caller frustration and reduce abandoned calls
- A company-wide voicemail policy for individual extensions protects brand consistency at every touchpoint
I just got off the phone with a telecom technician who is ready to throw in the towel. He has been overwhelmed with requests for updates to his clients’ business phone greetings. Hours change, personnel change, and, wham the phone tech gets slammed with requests for newly recorded greetings. He contacted Easy On Hold for several professional voicemail recording solutions so his business customers could get fast service and the sound of a voice recording professional.
Call your business after hours. Do you feel that you have called a business that pays attention to detail? Is the experience smooth and helpful or frustrating? Is there anything “amateur” about the voice mail voices?
In this article we will cover the many meanings of voicemail greeting, share professional voice recording solutions that will improve your business image and impress callers.
What Are Voicemail Greetings?
In brief, a professional voicemail recording is any pre-recorded audio message that greets your callers when a live person isn’t available to answer. It represents your business at it’s most vulnerable touchpoint: after hours, during peak volume, or when a caller gets routed to the wrong place.
Done well, it reassures your callers, reinforces your brand and keeps the experience moving forward. Done poorly? It will cost you credibility and customers.
For clarity, we will define the term voicemail greeting three ways:
- personalized voicemail greetings
- business voicemail greetings
- automated attendant/IVR
Personalized Voicemail Greeting Recordings
The term ‘professional greeting for voicemail refers to the greeting callers hear when they reach your phone extension. We also use voicemail recordings on our mobile phones.
It’s handy to be able to let the voicemail pick up a call when we’re not sure who the caller is. But there’s another definition that applies to the use of phone voice recordings in business. You can get some professional voicemail greeting examples from the Best4Business Blog.
Business Voicemail Greeting Recordings
A professional voicemail greeting for business can be an out of office voicemail that lets callers leave a recorded message for you to pick up the next day. Many service and support call centers that don’t offer 24/7 service will use this type of recorded voice message.
Business voicemail is helpful during peak call times or when customers want to quickly communicate an idea or question. Sometimes companies use a recorded phone message to provide answers to frequently asked questions such as hours of operation, return policies, location instructions like: hours of operation, return policies, or location instructions. . Our VoIP Phone Partner, OnSIP has some tips and samples you might enjoy.
Automated Attendant/IVR Greeting Recordings
Some businesses choose to have an automated attendant greet every caller with a recorded voice message before transferring the call. An auto-attendant can be as simple as recorded messages that present a few options to transfer the call.
Or, the phone menus, also known as phone trees, phone prompts and IVR (Interactive Voice Response) queues can go many layers deep. After getting to a department, you may get another group of options, such as a particular group or individual.
Easy on Hold supports systems with professional audio that integrates seamlessly into your existing call flow. These are the recorded messages that are driving my telecom engineer friend crazy.
So, How Do I Get Professional Voicemail Greeting Recordings?
When business phones are answered by a recording, it has to be good. Your brand image is on the line. Apple didn’t use the receptionist or the phone tech when they needed a voice for Siri. Your brand can sound professional or amateur.
Easy On Hold offers IVR Telephone Prompts for Call Centers and Businesses. “Voice quality and accuracy determine the caller experience,” says Easy On Hold CEO Julie Brown. “Back in 2015 we wrote an article about the challenges of automated telephone greetings and prompts, and it’s still relevant today.”
Step One: Write Your Professional Voicemail Greeting Script. Use these 5 Tips.
Your strongest professional voicemail greeting script starts with knowing your caller. Before you record a single word, map your call flow and write with intention to speak directly to your callers.
Tip One. Your phone tech should work with you to set up a “map” or “call tree” that outlines all of the options for callers. This will help eliminate the dreaded “loop,” also known as “voicemail hell”.
Tip Two. Once the options are mapped, start writing down the words you think work best. Keep your caller profiles in mind. Know who is calling and why.
Tip Three. Put the most-used options up front. Don’t make callers wait to find what you know they’re looking for.
Tip Four. Try to be brief. If possible, be brief and efficient with words.
Tip Five. Read it out loud. Even using professional voice talent, it pays to take the time to hear yourself reading what callers will hear. Make any tweaks necessary. Run it by several coworkers.
Step Two: Contact Easy On Hold for a Free Consultation
Recordings for voicemail (auto-attendant, IVR) are priced by word count. You will need to present your script, even in its basic form, to get an accurate quote. Prices are competitive, as there are many providers in this space. Easy On Hold is a good choice because:
- EXPERIENCE. Easy On Hold is the professional voicemail recording choice for , major brands, including Frontier Communications, Republic Services, Shaw Flooring, Fontainebleau Miami Beach Resort, Westinghouse, NYU Langone Medical Center, and many others.
- VALUE. Easy On Hold charges the same affordable rates for small businesses as it does for large, well-known brands.
- TURNAROUND. Easy On Hold provides a 3-day turnaround on recordings (sometimes less) which does not require a rush fee, as with other providers.
- MULTILINGUAL. Easy On Hold has a roster of voice talents in more than 48 languages and dialects. Translation services are also available.
- MATCHED VOICES. You should also have Easy On Hold record your messages on hold using the same voice. You don’t want to sound “disjointed”. Unify the sound to one voicemail professional talent.
Step Three: Review Each Message Recording
Easy On Hold offers a very easy-to-use online portal where you will hear your recorded voicemail and IVR, auto attendant messages. It’s very simple to listen to the recordings and request modifications at no extra charge. After review, you can download the recordings immediately or have the Easy On Hold production team deliver them to your desired destination in the audio format of your choice.
Step Four: Follow Professional Voicemail Etiquette Guidelines
Your phone system probably includes some kind of voice mail recording capability. Employees will likely have their own individual extension with an “out of office” or “I’m not at my desk” recorded message. Following these professional voicemail guidelines across all extensions keeps your brand, business, or company image consistent at every single touchpoint.
We recommend a policy for voicemail greetings for work that maintains standards that are in line with your company’s image. You may outsource these as professional voice mails with phrases such as, “You’ve reached the desk of Jim Smith, who is unable to take your call.” This way, the professional voicemails aren’t confusing callers when they don’t hear Jim’s actual voice!
Please read the article from Easy On Hold for information on, “What should my voicemail greeting say”?
Get Started on Your Professional Voicemail Greeting Recordings
You can’t afford another caller hearing a poorly recorded or unprofessional-sounding message. Callers will notice that you spent some time trying to find the best professional voicemail recording for the automated attendant (IVR) and for all of your business recordings. It’s easy and affordable to use a voice recording professional.
Contact us today to get started with a free consultation and literally hear the difference a professional recording makes for your business.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should my voicemail say professionally?
A professional voicemail should clearly state your name or business, confirm the caller has reached the right place, and give them a simple next step — whether that’s leaving a message, calling back, or visiting your website. Keep it brief, warm, and on-brand.
How do I record a professional voicemail?
Start with a well-written professional voicemail greeting script, then use a professional voice talent rather than recording it yourself. Services like Easy On Hold deliver studio-quality recordings with fast turnaround, in the exact audio format your phone system requires.
What is a good voicemail script for a business?
A good professional voicemail greeting script for a business includes a greeting, your company name, a brief reason you’re unavailable, and a clear call to action. For example: “Thank you for calling [Company Name]. We’re unable to take your call right now. Please leave your name and number and we’ll get back to you within one business day.”
What are some examples of professional greetings?
Strong professional voicemail greeting examples include after-hours messages, department-specific greetings, holiday closures, and individual extension messages. The key across all of them is consistent voice talent, clear language, and a tone that matches your brand.
