When people call your telephone number, and you’re not there, what do they hear? It's most likely an automated voicemail or other messaging system so they can leave you a message and you can call them back on your time. Let’s focus on making the message you have when people call your number and you’re not there.

Many people have a plain vanilla greeting, and often you're not even sure if you reached a human being or just a machine. "Hi, you've reached 555-1212. Leave a message." Who am I calling, and why should I care enough to leave a message with you?

"Hi, this is Phil. Leave a message. I'll call you back. Thanks." That's a little bit better. At least I know I called Phil. Does he check his voicemail often? What if this is an emergency? Is there another way to reach Phil?

"Hi, you've reached Phil Gerbyshak. I'm not available to take your call right now, however your call is very important to me. Otherwise, leave your name, number, a brief message, and your favorite 80s video game after the tone, and I'll call you back as soon as I can. My favorite 80s video game is (I have lots, so I change up the game). Thanks for calling. Make it a great day!" Hey, now that's pretty good. I let the caller know they're important to me, I injected some energy into the situation and put them at ease by askin them to share their favorite 80s video game, and I shared mine, and I closed with energy: "Make it a great day!"

Most people do leave me a message, most laughing by my request for their favorite 80s something or other, and then they tell me what they need. I call them back as soon as I can with the same energy as I have on my voicemail greeting. After all, who wants to talk to someone plain vanilla boring? Not me!

Now perhaps you are looking for a business voicemail greeting. Voicemail greetings for business need to be personal, but probably a bit more professional. Here’s my work voicemail greeting script, and it works for me. “This is Phil Gerbyshak. You need help? You’ve called the right place. You have TWO options now. You can press zero, and one of your outstanding Help Desk reps will assist you right away, or you can wait for the tone, leave me a message, and I’ll call you back as soon as I’m able. Make it a great day, and thanks for calling me!”

The key to your voicemail greeting is easy…It’s ENERGY! Practice having energy. An energetic voicemail is fun, and puts people at ease.

Variety is also important. Try to change your voicemail greeting at least once a month. 12 times a year, make time to change your voicemail greetings. A small investment of your time can pay big dividends for you.
The last thing is uniqueness. How many other people can you name who have the same greeting as you? If the answer is more than 1, you're not being unique enough. Think about this as your signature where people think of you when they hear it. My friends leave me messages that tell me to make it a great day because I've added that as my signature to all my voicemail greeting. Feel free to share yours with me by calling 414.640.7445 anytime. Don't be surprised if I actually answer the phone though!