Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Flipboard 0 All professional voicemail greetings aren’t created equal. Depending on the size and complexity of your business, you may need different types of professional voicemail greetings to serve your customers well. That’s particularly true if your company is large enough to benefit from professional voicemail greetings for departments. Just as you personalize your individual voicemail greetings you should also personalize your departmental greetings. Departments often need to communicate specific information to callers as well as ask for specific information from callers in their professional voicemail greetings. So when writing and recording your department greetings, keep in mind these seven key elements: Element #1: State your department name clearly It’s important to make sure your caller knows to what department he or she has been routed. If it’s not the right one, you can’t help them and you’re wasting your time and theirs. They’ll appreciate knowing they got the wrong department and can select a response to be re-routed. And if it is the right department, then they’ll feel reassured. Element #2: State that you can’t take their call Yes, this is stating the obvious. But assuming they know that you can’t take their call leaves an awkward gap in the conversational flow of the call. So just say, “We’re sorry that we can’t take your call right now’ – and then move on. Element #3: Invite them to leave a message Again, obvious – but callers really do need directions. Depending on your department, you may even need to ask them to personalize the message such as ‘Please leave your company name’ or ‘account number’. Ask for the information you need so that when you call them back, you’re ready to help them. Element #4: Let them know when they can expect a return call If you give the caller an estimate on when to expect a return call, you are reassuring them that they’ve been heard. How many times have you left your number never to receive a call back? It happens all too often. So you’ll be ahead of the game if you tell them when you’ll call back and then deliver on that promise. Element #5: Offer additional options Sometimes, it serves the caller best for you to offer other options: such a number to call in case of emergencies. Make sure to include these options when appropriate. Element #6: Direct callers to the website Direct callers to the website or social media platforms with information that may help such as: days and hours of operation, business locations and ‘frequently asked questions’. Element #7: Be brief Make sure your message is no longer than 20-25 seconds. Any longer and you risk the caller hanging up. Be brief and let the caller leave a message. The Reward Remember that professional voicemail greetings are your lifeline to callers when you can’t pick up the call. Do them well and you’re more likely to convert callers to customers and have a higher customer satisfaction rate. Twitter Tweet Facebook Share Email This article originally appeared on On Hold Company Blog and has been republished with permission.Find out how to syndicate your content with B2C Author: Jay Leonard Jay is a UK-based cryptocurrency expert, specialising in fundamental analysis and medium to long term investments. Jay has a great deal of hands-on experience in analysing financial markets and performing technical analysis. Jay is currently focusing on the institutional adoption of cryptocurrency and what it means for the future of … View full profile ›More by this author:Top Trending Meme Coins: ELON, HOGE, SAMO, TAMA, MARVIN, BABYDOGE, MONAHotbit Exchange Forced to Suspend Service As it’s Under Criminal InvestigationCameo CEO Steven Galanis Wallet Hacked – $231k Worth of NFTs Stolen