25 Professional Voicemail Greetings to Help You Record the Perfect One

Sometimes, you might not be able to answer the phone when someone calls you. For such cases, you should record a professional voicemail greeting and update it regularly, depending on your current business situation. Your clients, partners or whoever might call you will realize that you take care of them and are looking forward to the opportunity to talk to them later. A high-quality voicemail greeting will prove that you're competent, polite and responsible. In this article, you'll find examples of what you might want to say in different circumstances to produce a favorable impression on the caller. Plus, you'll be able to select a perfect voicemail greeting for any occasion.

What Is a Good Voicemail Greeting?

A professional voicemail greeting should meet the following criteria:

• Be concise

• Let the person know that you'll call them back

• Offer a call-to-action

Depending on the industry that your business belongs to, you might want to either remain as formal as possible or add a personal touch and a bit of humor to your voicemail greeting. No matter how casual or conservative you are, you should let the caller know your full name and the position that you occupy in the company they're trying to reach.

This is the typical structure of the voicemail greeting:

• A greeting

• Your first and last name

• Your position in the company

• The name of your business

• The reason why you're not able to talk right now

• The approximate time when you'll be able to get back to the caller

• An alternative person that the caller might want to get in touch with right now

• An alternative communication channel that they might use to get in touch with you (such as send you a text message)

• A call-to-action (that encourages the person to send you a text, for instance)

Feel free to vary this sample structure of the voicemail greeting depending on your personal preferences and your industry standards.

Voicemail Greetings

Below, we'll analyze 25 efficient variations of a voicemail greeting that a fictional character called Jean Miller could record. Jean is the senior customer support manager at the fictional Wild Kitten bookstore and she needs to address different types of callers in varying circumstances.

If you're the only person who uses a certain phone, you can create a work voicemail greeting. Here are a few examples of what it might sound like.

1. "Hey, you've reached Jean Miller at the Wild Kitten bookstore. I'm currently unavailable — probably assisting our top managers at the annual presentation that we make for our stakeholders. Leave your name and number, and talk soon!."
2. "Hello, it's Jean Miller at the Wild Kitten bookstore. If you want to discuss something urgent, write me to jeanmiller@jeanmiller.com. I'll reply to you by the close of the business day. Otherwise, leave me a voice message."
3. "Hello, this is Jean Miller. If you're contacting us because of our chatbot bug, please get in touch with my colleague Lilly Dayn or check the Support section on our official site. Otherwise, leave your number and I'll call you back."
4. "Hey, you've reached Jean Miller, the chief customer support manager of the Wild Kitten bookstore. I'm on a sick leave until the first of October. Feel free to call Lilly Dayn at +9876543210 or submit an email to lillydayn@lillydayn.com. See you in October!"
5. "Hi, Jean Miller is no longer with the Wild Kitten bookstore. Please forward any upcoming requests to Lilly Dayn at +9876543210. Thanks!"

A work voicemail greeting should be highly effective because it enables you to establish a relationship with the caller without engaging in a dialogue with them. You'll be able to share a meaningful update quickly and straightforwardly. Please make sure to update your message once the circumstances change. For instance, it would be weird to repeat that you're assisting at the annual presentation for stakeholders for two weeks in a row.

To save both yours and the caller's time, consider recording a short voicemail greeting. Such voice messages are rather universal: once you record one, you can keep using it for months.

1. "Hello, this is Jean Miller. I might be on a call or away from my desk. Leave me a message and I'll get back to you. Many thanks!"
2. "Hi, this is Jean Miller at the Wild Kitten bookstore. Thanks for getting in touch. Please leave your name, number and the reason you called me. I'll be ready to talk to you soon!"
3. "Hello, you've reached Jean Miller. I'm afraid I can't attend to you. But I promise to call back if you tell me who you are and what you'd like to discuss."
4. "Hey, this is Jean Miller. Thanks for getting in touch! I'm busy at the moment, but I'll return your call if you let me know your number."

The essence of an ideal short voicemail greeting consists in the following: you get down to business as quickly as possible and invite the person who calls you to leave a message.

A business voicemail greeting differs from all the previous variations because you record it on behalf of your whole department or organization. You don't need to tell the caller who you are — instead, you should say "we", "us", "ours". Here are a few examples of how to formulate a message.

1. "Hey, you've reached the Wild Kitten bookstore. We can't answer your call right now. Please leave your name, contact details and reason for reaching out. Our staff members will try to call you when they get a chance."
2. "Hi, you've reached the Wild Kitten bookstore. Unfortunately, we're currently unavailable. But we will be glad to talk to you! Please let us know your name and number and we promise to get in touch with you ASAP."
3. "Hello, it's the Wild Kitten bookstore. We're available by phone from 10 am to 7 pm UTC Monday through Friday and from 12 pm to 5 pm UTC on Saturdays and Sundays. Plus, you can contact us through our official site, wildkittenbookstore.com, live chat or email. If you'd like us to call you back, please leave your name and number after the tone."
4. "Hello, you've reached the Wild Kitten bookstore. If you're looking for information on our season sale, please check out our official website or Instagram. If you're interested in our job offers, take a look at the Careers section of our website. Do you have any other queries or just want to hear our voices? Let us know your name and number, and we'll call you back promptly."
5. "Hey, you've reached the customer support team at the Wild Kitten bookstore. All our staff is currently helping clients to find and order the books and are unable to answer you. Please leave your name and contact details — and we'll call you back as soon as we can. Thank you!"

This type of voicemail greeting is ideal for phones that you use collectively. For instance, it might be the general number of your business that you indicate on your website and social networks.

If you have a good sense of humor and artistic talent, you might consider recording a funny voicemail greeting. The contents of such a message and your intonations should match the tastes of your target audience and your industry standards. You might prefer to avoid creating a comical voicemail greeting if you're looking for a job and some of your potential employers might call you soon.

1. "This is J.K.Rowling. I'll get back to you as soon as I say bye-bye to Harry. We're finishing lunch and I'm about to learn a few new magic tricks. Okay, it's really Jean Miller. I'll be able to call you back in the evening, if you don't mind."
2. "Hmm. Lazy Kitten… No, Dark Kitten. What's the name of the bookstore that you're trying to reach? Oh! Of course, it's the Wild Kitten! And the voicemail of Jean Miller. Please leave your name and number and I'll call you back."
3. "Hello! You've gotten the voicemail of Jean Miller. Leave your name and contact details. Plus, I would like you to answer the question: what's the best way of domesticating the Wild Kitten? I'll call you back if you guess it right!"

When recording this type of voicemail greeting, make sure the caller can clearly hear every syllable. Try to talk slowly and loudly because most likely, the person trying to get in touch with you will be unprepared for such unusual wording.

Make sure to record a voicemail greeting before going away on a vacation:

1. "Hey, it's Jean Miller. I'm away from the tenth of May to the twentieth of May. If you need help with online orders during these ten days, please contact Lilly Dayn at +9876543210. If you want to discuss some other issue, please leave your contact details. I promise to reach out to you as soon as I'm back to work. Many thanks!"
2. "Hi, you've reached Jean Miller. I'm currently meditating in an ashram in India and won't be back to work until the fifteenth of July. Leave your contact details and I'll get back to you when I return to my office."
3. "Hello, this is Jean Miller from the Wild Kitten bookstore. I'm out of the office until the seventh of August. Please direct your inquiries to Lilly Dayn at lillydayn@lillydayn.com. They can also be reached at +9876543210. Thanks and have a great day!"

Some people might try to contact you even when you and most other working individuals are on holidays. You might want to record a special voicemail greeting for them — here are some samples for your inspiration.

1. "Hello, you've reached Jean Miller from the Wild Kitten bookstore. All our staff are out of the office until the second of January. Feel free to call us later or let us know your number so we can call you back. Merry Christmas and a happy new year!"
2. "Hey, it's Jean Miller, the Wild Kitten bookstore. We're closed until the fifth of January. Leave your name and number and we'll contact you ASAP. Have an amazing Christmas!"
3. "Happy holidays! I'm Jean Miller and I'll be away from the Wild Kitten bookstore until the third of February. If your request is urgent, contact Lilly Dayn at lillydayn@lillydayn.com."
4. "Thank you for calling the Wild Kitten bookstore. We're closed for holiday from the first to the fifth of November. Leave us a message and we'll get back to you ASAP. Have a fantastic holiday season!"
5. "Hello! The Wild Kitten bookstore is closed until the sixth of July. If you let us know your number, we'll get in touch with you ASAP."

When creating such a voicemail greeting, it would be better to sound cheerful and not too formal. You might want to imitate intonation that you use to congratulate your dearest and nearest on a festive occasion.

Once you have recorded a voicemail greeting, you should try to call yourself to listen to it. You might want to ask your friends, colleagues and family members to evaluate your message and tell you honestly which impression it produces on them. If you've done a good job, the greeting will help you nurture prospects even when you can't pick up the phone.

Final Thoughts

After listening to your message, the caller should realize that you take care of them and will be eager to attend to them as soon as you have time. You can ask them to leave their contact details or redirect them to another professional that should be ready to talk to them immediately.