If you’ve ever called a business to make an appointment or verify their hours and been hit with a generic message, then you know how important a business voicemail greeting can be. Your voicemail might seem like a small detail, but it directly affects whether callers leave messages, trust your business, and feel confident you’ll follow up.

Phone calls remain the preferred channel for contacting customer care across generations, even as customers shift toward newer platforms like live chatbots and social media. A well-crafted greeting lets callers know they’ve reached the right person, conveys essential information, and gives callers assurance that someone will respond promptly to answer questions and solve their problems. 

In this guide, you’ll learn what to include in effective business voicemail greetings, see 11 ready-to-use templates for different scenarios, and get step-by-step setup instructions to implement your message quickly.

What is a business voicemail greeting? 

A business voicemail greeting is a recorded message that plays when you’re unable to answer phone calls to your business telephone number. This message directly affects whether customers leave detailed messages, feel confident you’re legitimate, and trust you’ll actually call back—which means it impacts whether you convert that caller into a customer.

What to include in a business voicemail greeting 

A business voicemail greeting should be short and informative. Think of it as a verbal handshake that breaks the ice and acts as a first impression in your absence. Most businesses can include the same key elements in their voicemail greeting. 

To ensure callers feel confident that they’ve reached the right person, while also guiding them on next steps, include the following essential information:

• Your company name (and your name if appropriate). Immediately inform callers who they’ve reached. This is arguably the most important part of your voicemail greeting, as it lets callers know they have the right number and legitimizes your business.

• Your availability or regular business hours. Note your business hours so callers know if they’ve reached you after hours and should expect a delay in reply. If you run a brick-and-mortar business, this is especially important to update, as many callers simply want to verify your hours.

• Clear instructions. Ask the caller to leave their name, message, and call-back phone number.

• Alternative contact information. Some business types might have callers with more urgent issues, so you might offer an alternative contact method for off-hours or emergency issues.

Examples of business voicemail greetings

• Standard business voicemail greeting
• Sales department voicemail greeting
• Personal voicemail greeting
• After-hours voicemail greeting
• Out-of-office voicemail greeting
• Holiday voicemail greeting
• Temporary closure voicemail greeting
• Customer support voicemail greeting
• Shipping and logistics voicemail greeting
• Service business voicemail greeting
• Promotional voicemail greeting

The appropriate professional voicemail greeting depends on your business type, company department, and sometimes even special occasions. Here’s a range of business voicemail greeting examples, from standard messages to greetings for specific scenarios:

Standard business voicemail greeting

A standard business voicemail greeting is a brief message used during regular business hours when you’re unable to answer a call. Your greeting should present a respectful and professional tone, while also reflecting your authentic personal brand. You don’t want people thinking they’ve reached yet another automated call center.

Sales department voicemail greeting

The voicemail for a sales department should let callers know they’ve reached the right team. Demonstrating enthusiasm will signal to prospective customers that your team is excited about your products or services. Mention your website’s capabilities, such as scheduling a consultation, to keep the momentum going even when you can’t immediately answer incoming calls. 

Personal voicemail greeting 

Depending on your unique brand voice and business type, you might opt for a slightly warmer, personal voicemail greeting. A personalized voicemail greeting adds a human touch to your professional communication. This type of voicemail message is ideal for solo entrepreneurs representing their personal brand and those who want to build rapport with callers while remaining professional. 

After-hours voicemail greeting

An after-hours voicemail greeting is used when someone calls outside of your regular business hours. This message should state your working hours, let the caller know when they can expect a response, or include an alternative contact method if appropriate for your business. 

Out-of-office voicemail greeting 

An out-of-office business voicemail greeting is used when you’re away for an extended period of time and unable to return calls. When away for longer stretches, provide specific dates and direct urgent matters to a colleague so nothing falls through the cracks while you’re unavailable. 

Holiday voicemail greeting

A holiday voicemail greeting is a seasonal message used when your business is closed or operating on holiday hours. This type of business voicemail greeting should include key information such as your return date or alternative ways to get in touch. 

Temporary closure voicemail greeting

Update your business voicemail when you’re closed for a short-term reason, such as for renovations, special events, or emergencies. State the reason for the closure, announce when business will resume, and explain how callers can get assistance in the meantime, if needed. 

Customer support voicemail greeting

Customer support lines require reassuring, informative greetings that demonstrate you value their business. A voicemail greeting for a customer support line should be clear, reassuring, and informative because it represents one of the most important touchpoints in customer communication. 

Shipping and logistics voicemail greeting

The voicemail greeting for a shipping and logistics team should be highly specific to the needs of carriers, vendors, and customers checking on deliveries. Your greeting should guide callers to provide the specific information you’ll need to help them quickly, such as tracking numbers or shipping details. 

Service business voicemail greeting

A voicemail greeting for a service business will vary depending on the specific nature of your services, whether you own a nail salon, barbershop, or boutique gym. Service businesses should prioritize helping clients get immediate assistance to enhance customer satisfaction, as many callers have time-sensitive appointment questions. 

Promotional voicemail greeting

A promotional voicemail greeting is a way to inform callers about special offers, even if they were contacting your business about something else. Promotional greetings turn every missed call into a marketing opportunity, ensuring prospects hear about your special offers even when you can’t answer immediately. 

How to set up a business voicemail greeting

1. Write a simple script
2. Prepare to record
3. Record your greeting
4. Implement voicemail tools

Setting up a business voicemail greeting is relatively straightforward and can be done in a matter of minutes. You can use the following steps as general guidelines, but feel free to make it your own. Your voicemail greeting should be authentic and align with your business needs or company brand. Here’s how to record a greeting that sounds professional without being stiff: 

1. Write a simple script 

Use any of the examples mentioned above as templates, and lay out all of the necessary information you wish to convey to your caller in a clear and logical manner. Edit to eliminate any fluff. In most cases, your message should be between 10 and 15 seconds long. 

2. Prepare to record

Find a quiet space and do a quick voice warm-up to ensure your voice comes across clearly and confidently. Your voicemail greeting might be just 15 seconds, but a shaky or unclear recording can cost you customers who hang up rather than leave messages.

3. Record your greeting

Exactly how you record your greeting will depend on your telephone service provider and device. For example, if you use Google Voice, you can record a voicemail greeting on your phone using the Google Voice app or on your computer by going to voice.google.com and selecting Settings (the gear icon). If you use AT&T and have a landline, you can dial *98 to set up your mailbox. Refer to your phone service provider’s instructions or contact your company’s IT department.

Once you’re ready to record, read through your script, trying to speak quickly enough to keep your caller engaged but slowly enough that you don’t sound rushed. If you make a mistake, don’t worry—you can always delete and try again.

4. Implement voicemail tools 

If you handle high call volumes, specialized tools can streamline your voicemail management. Services like Google Voice, Nextiva, and RingCentral are alternatives to traditional phone service providers that often come with additional features like voicemail transcription, call forwarding with custom extensions, auto-attendents to guide callers to the right departments, and robocall blocking to dodge annoying spam callers. That said, many smartphones also automatically transcribe calls and flag suspected spam calls.

Customer relationship management (CRM) software is particularly useful for customer care and sales teams because it allows you to see all of a customer’s interactions with your business in one place. This can give you much-needed context when checking voicemails.

If you receive a large number of calls, it may be worth looking into these tools to reduce the time you spend sifting through missed calls.