Short answer
A professional voicemail greeting confirms who the caller has reached (your name, role or company), says what to leave (name, number and reason for calling), says when you'll call back, and offers an alternative for anything urgent. Keep a personal greeting to 10 to 20 seconds, about 25 to 50 words, and a main business line to 15 to 25 seconds. Record it slowly in a quiet room and update it whenever your availability changes.
- Say who they've reached, what to leave and when you'll call back: everything else is optional.
- At a recorded pace of 130 to 150 words a minute, 20 seconds is about 43 to 50 words.
- Give a callback time you'll keep, such as "today" or "within one business day".
- Change the greeting before every absence, holiday closure or role change, and set a reminder to change it back.
- If your phone system records live calls, say so in the greeting: some states require every party's consent.
On this page
- What a good voicemail greeting does
- How long a voicemail greeting should be
- Which greeting to use when
- Voicemail greeting scripts
- Recording it so callers can understand it
- If your line records calls
- Worked example: a contract manufacturer's greetings
- Mistakes to avoid
- Greeting checklist
- Sources
- Questions people ask
This page is for salespeople, account managers, founders and small B2B businesses setting up the greeting callers hear when nobody answers: on a direct line, a mobile used for work, a shared sales line or the company's main number. It's about your outgoing message. For the messages you leave on prospects' phones, see the sales voicemail scripts.
What a good voicemail greeting does
A caller who reaches voicemail wants to know two things: did they reach the right place, and is it worth leaving a message? A good greeting answers both, in this order:
- Confirms who they've reached. Your full name and company, or the company and department on a shared line. A carrier's default "the person you are calling is not available" makes careful callers hang up and wonder whether they dialed correctly.
- Says what to leave. Name, number and what the call is about. The reason lets you call back prepared.
- Says when you'll call back. "Today", "within one business day" or "after Monday the 9th". Only promise what you'll keep.
- Offers an alternative. Email, text or a colleague, for anything that can't wait.
- Stops. No "your call is important to us", no "at the tone, please leave a message" (the tone explains itself) and no music.
How long a voicemail greeting should be
Callers are listening for the beep. A greeting longer than 25 seconds tests their patience, and one shorter than 10 seconds usually leaves out the callback time.
Conversation is faster than you'd think. In a study of 2,438 recorded US telephone conversations from the Switchboard corpus, University of Pennsylvania linguists measured average rates of 164 to 196 words a minute, depending on how pauses and overlaps were counted. A recorded greeting should be slower than conversation, because the caller can't ask you to repeat it. Budget 130 to 150 words a minute:
| Greeting length | Words at 130 a minute | Words at 150 a minute |
|---|---|---|
| 10 seconds | 22 | 25 |
| 15 seconds | 33 | 38 |
| 20 seconds | 43 | 50 |
| 25 seconds | 54 | 63 |
| 30 seconds | 65 | 75 |
A ten-digit phone number said once is ten words, about 4 to 5 seconds at this pace. Every number or email address you add costs that much again, so give alternatives sparingly.
Which greeting to use when
| Situation | Greeting | Target length | Change it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Normal working day, direct line | Standard | 10 to 15 seconds | Rarely; check it each quarter |
| You make outbound calls | Salesperson's line | 15 to 20 seconds | Your role or company changes |
| Work mobile | Mobile | 10 to 15 seconds | You stop taking texts |
| At an event or in meetings all day | Busy day | 15 to 20 seconds | The evening it ends |
| Vacation or leave | Out of office | 20 to 25 seconds | The morning you're back |
| Company main line, open hours | Main line | 15 to 25 seconds | Hours or services change |
| Company main line, closed | After hours | 20 to 30 seconds | Hours change |
| Holiday shutdown | Holiday | 20 to 30 seconds | The day you reopen |
| Shared sales or quotes line | Team line | 15 to 25 seconds | The quote process changes |
| Someone leaves or changes role | Redirect | 10 to 15 seconds | After about 90 days, retire the mailbox |
Voicemail greeting scripts
Read each one aloud with a timer before you record it. Cut anything that pushes you past the target length.
Hi, you've reached [first and last name] at [company]. I can't take your call right now. Leave your name, number and a short message, and I'll call you back [today / within one business day]. Thanks.
Hi, this is [first name] [last name], [role] at [company]. If you're returning my call, thank you. Leave your name and the best time to reach you, and I'll call you back today. Or reply to my email if that's easier.
You've reached [first name] at [company]. I'm probably on a site visit or driving. Leave a message, or text this number if that's quicker, and I'll get back to you within [time].
Hi, it's [first name] at [company]. I'm at [event / in meetings] until [day], checking messages each evening. Leave a message and I'll call you back by [day]. If it's urgent, call [colleague's first name] on [number].
You've reached [first and last name] at [company]. I'm out of the office from [date] to [date] and won't be checking messages. If it can't wait, please call [colleague's name] on [number]. Otherwise, leave a message and I'll call you back after [return date].
Thanks for calling [company]. We're with other callers right now. Leave your name, company, number and what your call is about, and we'll call you back within [time]. For [the most common request, e.g. order status], you can also email [address].
Thanks for calling [company]. Our office is open [days], [opening time] to [closing time] [time zone]. Leave your name, number and a short message, and we'll call you back the next business day. [For an urgent production or delivery problem, call [number].]
Thanks for calling [company]. We're closed from [day and date] and reopen on [day and date]. Leave a message and we'll return your call when we're back. For [urgent issue], call [number]. Happy holidays.
You've reached the sales team at [company]. Leave your name, company, number and what you're looking for, and one of us will call you back within [time]. To request a quote, email [address] with [what to include, e.g. drawings, quantities and the delivery date].
You've reached the voicemail of [name] at [company]. [Name] no longer looks after [area]. Please call [colleague's name] on [number] or email [address]. Messages left here are not checked.
The salesperson's greeting matters more than it looks. When a prospect returns your call and hears a full mailbox or a carrier default, they rarely try twice. If you make outbound calls, make sure the greeting on your own line is ready for the callbacks they produce, and send a follow-up email after each cold call so prospects also have your number in writing.
Recording it so callers can understand it
- Write it, then say it. Read the script aloud twice before you record. Written sentences that look fine often trip you up when spoken.
- Slow down for names and numbers. Say your name as if spelling it for someone who's never heard it. Group phone numbers in threes and fours, the way people write them down.
- Use a quiet room and your normal voice. No speakerphone, no headset echo. Standing up and smiling both help your voice carry.
- Leave out the date unless you'll change it. "I'm out today" left on a greeting for a week is worse than no date at all.
- Test it from another phone. Call yourself, listen to the whole greeting, leave a test message and check it arrives. Do the same on the main line from outside the building.
- Set a reminder to change it back. Put the date in your calendar when you record an out-of-office or holiday greeting.
If your line records calls
This applies to live calls your phone system records, not to voicemail itself: a caller leaving a message knows it's being recorded. It's general information, not legal advice.
Federal law allows recording when one party to the call consents. Some states go further: California's Penal Code makes it an offense to record a confidential communication "without the consent of all parties". If your system records calls for training or quality, add a line to your main-line greeting or auto-attendant, such as "Calls to this line may be recorded for quality and training", so every caller hears it before they speak to anyone.
Worked example: a contract manufacturer's greetings
Illustrative example. The company, people and numbers are fictional, to show the method.
The company: Halvorsen Precision Plastics (halvorsenplastics.example), a contract manufacturer in Cleveland with 85 employees. One receptionist answers the main line from 7:30 to 4:30; after that, calls go to voicemail. Quote requests are the most common reason customers call. Tomas, a sales engineer, makes outbound calls to medical device and appliance makers.
Main line, after hours (64 spoken words, counting each digit, about 27 seconds at 140 words a minute):
Thanks for calling Halvorsen Precision Plastics. Our office is open Monday to Friday, 7:30 to 4:30 Eastern. Leave your name, number and a short message, and we'll call you back the next business day. For a quote, email quotes at halvorsenplastics.example. For an urgent production or delivery problem, call 216 555 0148.
Holiday shutdown (47 spoken words, about 20 seconds):
Thanks for calling Halvorsen Precision Plastics. We're closed from Thursday, December 24 and reopen on Monday, January 4. Leave a message and we'll return your call when we're back. For an urgent delivery problem, call 216 555 0148. Happy holidays.
Tomas's direct line (38 words, about 16 seconds):
Hi, this is Tomas Reyes, sales engineer at Halvorsen Precision Plastics. If you're returning my call, thank you. Leave your name and the best time to reach you, and I'll call back today, or reply to my email.
The arithmetic behind the choices: the first draft of the after-hours greeting listed the main number, a fax number, the quotes email and the emergency number, and ran to 88 spoken words, about 38 seconds. Dropping the fax and the main number (the caller has just dialed it), with their lead-in words, cut 24 words and about 10 seconds. The emergency number stayed, because a delivery problem at 9 p.m. is exactly the call the company can't miss.
Mistakes to avoid
- The carrier default. Callers can't tell whether they've reached the right person.
- A full mailbox. Clear old messages weekly; a full box loses every call after it.
- Promising "as soon as possible". It means nothing. Give a time you'll keep.
- An out-of-office greeting that outlives the trip. Change it back the morning you return.
- Too many options. Two numbers and an email address is a 15-second greeting on its own.
- Jokes on a business line. What sounds charming once sounds unprofessional on the fifth call.
Greeting checklist
- Says your name and company, or the company and team.
- Tells callers what to leave: name, number and reason.
- Gives a callback time you'll keep.
- Offers one alternative for urgent calls, at most two.
- Fits the target length when read aloud at an unhurried pace.
- Recorded in a quiet room and tested from another phone.
- Mentions call recording if your system records live calls.
- Has a calendar reminder for the next time it must change.
Next step: if your greeting is ready for callbacks, make the calls that produce them. The sales voicemail scripts cover what to say when you reach a prospect's voicemail, with the email to send afterwards.
Sources
- Towards an Integrated Understanding of Speaking Rate in Conversation (Yuan, Liberman and Cieri, Interspeech 2006), Linguistic Data Consortium, University of Pennsylvania, September 2006
- 18 U.S. Code § 2511, Interception and disclosure of wire, oral, or electronic communications prohibited, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, accessed 26 October 2026
- California Penal Code § 632, California Legislative Information, accessed 26 October 2026
Written by the Bebop team at Blackpearl Group. Last updated .
Questions people ask
What is a good professional voicemail greeting?
One that confirms who the caller reached, says what to leave and when you'll call back. For example: "Hi, you've reached Dana Ortiz at Northline Logistics. I can't take your call right now. Leave your name, number and a short message, and I'll call you back within one business day. Thanks." That's 33 words, about 15 seconds when said at an unhurried pace.
How long should a voicemail greeting be?
Ten to 20 seconds for a personal or direct line, and 15 to 25 seconds for a company main line. At a recorded pace of 130 to 150 words a minute, 20 seconds is about 43 to 50 words. After-hours and holiday greetings can run to 30 seconds if they include opening hours and an urgent contact number, but every extra number costs about 5 seconds.
What should a business voicemail greeting say?
The company name (and team, on a shared line), a request for the caller's name, number and reason for calling, when you'll call back and one alternative for urgent matters, such as an email address or an out-of-hours number. After hours, add your opening hours and time zone. If your phone system records live calls, add a short notice that calls may be recorded.
What should I say in an out-of-office voicemail greeting?
Your name and company, the dates you're away, whether you'll check messages, who to call if it can't wait (with their number) and when you'll return calls. For example: "I'm out of the office from June 8 to June 15 and won't be checking messages. If it can't wait, call Sam Lee on 312 555 0126." Set a reminder to change it back the day you return.
What's the difference between a voicemail greeting and a voicemail message?
A voicemail greeting is the outgoing message callers hear on your line when you can't answer. A voicemail message is what you leave on someone else's phone when they don't pick up. Salespeople need both: a greeting that's ready for prospects returning calls, and short, specific messages to leave when prospecting, usually 20 to 30 seconds with a reason for calling.