The message you leave for a prospect, and the greeting your callers hear. Pick the situation, add your details, and get a script that is written, timed and checked before you hit record.
Say your number twice, slowly
Situation
Version
Sales voicemail script
First voicemail · Direct
26 sec
50 words
50 words, ≈ 26 sec spoken
Good length8 more words before the limit
12
▲ limit 30 sec060 sec
SpeechPhone numberTarget zone
Hi Chris, this is Jordan Lee with Northvale. I'm calling about the demo request you sent us. I have one specific question, and it'll take two minutes. You can reach me at 312, 555, 0147. Again, that's 312, 555, 0147. If I don't hear back, I'll try you Thursday morning.
Checks
8 of 8
Every field is filled in
Your name and company come first
Under the length limit
Your number is given twice
Your number comes back at the end
One short reason
Short sentences, easy to say
No filler phrases
Before you record
Smile while you talk: people can hear it, and it slows you down naturally.
Take a real pause at every comma in your number.
Don’t speed up at the end: that is when the prospect writes your number down.
Stand up and speak at a normal volume, as if they had picked up.
Time yourself
0.0sec
Read the script out loud at the pace you’ll record it. Nothing is recorded: it is just a stopwatch.
Timer assumptions
44 spoken words at 150 wpm = 18 sec, plus 9 sec to read the phone numbers = 26 sec. A phone number read slowly counts about 0.3 sec per digit, plus a pause per group.
You
Optional
Said as: 312, 555, 0147 (about 4 sec)
The prospect
Optional
6 words
One reason, in a few words. It completes the sentence “I’m calling about…”.
Optional: leave it empty and the sentence goes away.
Timer assumptions150 wpm · 30 sec
No public study sets the ideal voicemail length: these are starting points, change them.
150 words per minute is a measured, unhurried pace. The timer below measures yours.
Above it, the counter turns orange, then red. A phone number read slowly counts about 0.3 sec per digit, plus a pause per group.
Two scripts, two sets of rules
“Voicemail script” covers two very different things. The tool keeps them in separate tabs, because they succeed for different reasons.
The voicemail you leave
You call, the prospect doesn’t pick up
It has one job: earn a callback with a single idea. Who you are, why you’re calling, what to do next, and your number, twice. It is measured in callbacks.
Your voicemail greeting
Someone calls you, you can’t answer
It reassures the caller: they reached the right person, they know what to leave and when you’ll call back. It is measured in messages left instead of hang-ups.
Sales voicemail and greeting examples
Four scripts the tool writes with its starting example (the name, company and number are made up). Open one in the generator to swap in your details: the link loads the right situation and version.
Sales voicemail script
First voicemail · Direct
Hi Chris, this is Jordan Lee with Northvale. I'm calling about the demo request you sent us. I have one specific question, and it'll take two minutes. You can reach me at 312, 555, 0147. Again, that's 312, 555, 0147. If I don't hear back, I'll try you Thursday morning.
Hi Chris, Jordan with Northvale. I haven't been able to reach you about the demo request you sent us, so I'm guessing the timing isn't right. I'll close the loop on my end. If I've got that wrong, call me at 312, 555, 0147. That's 312, 555, 0147. Thanks, and take care.
Hi, you've reached Jordan Lee at Northvale. Please leave your name, number and the reason for your call, and I'll get back to you within one business day. You can also email me at jordan.lee@northvale.com.
Thanks for calling Northvale. Our office is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Central. Please leave your name, number and the reason for your call, and we'll get back to you the next business day. You can also email us at jordan.lee@northvale.com.
A sales voicemail isn’t there to sell. It is there to get a callback, or to set up your next call (“I left you a voicemail on Tuesday”). Four parts are enough, and each fits in one sentence.
1
Who you are
Your first name and company in the first sentence. The prospect decides within seconds whether to keep listening.
2
One reason
A specific reason tied to their work, not your product list. Two topics in one voicemail and neither one sticks. The “reason” field counts words to keep you honest.
3
What you want
A callback, a reply to your email, or nothing at all if you’ll call again. Saying when you’ll try next takes the surprise out of the follow-up.
4
Your number, twice
Read slowly, in groups, and repeated at the end. A prospect who wants to call back shouldn’t have to replay the message to write it down.
The five situations in the tool follow a prospecting sequence: first voicemail, follow-up, after an email, referral, then the break-up voicemail. Export them all at once with “All scripts” and record them in one sitting.
Voicemail greeting: what a professional greeting should say
A good greeting answers the questions a caller has at the beep: did I reach the right person, what should I leave, when will I hear back? Everything else is padding, including lines like “your call is important to us.”
Everyday greeting
Your name, your company, what to leave and when you’ll call back. This is the one you keep year-round.
After hours
Your hours, written the way you say them (“Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.”), and a callback the next business day.
Holiday closure
Exact dates and the day you’re back. The tool works out the first business day after you’re away and skips New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Out of office
Your return date and a way to handle anything urgent: a colleague and their number, or an email address.
Field sales rep
For reps who spend the day in meetings: saying you check messages between meetings reassures more than a vague “I’ll get back to you.”
A vacation greeting left on after you’re back tells callers nobody is listening. Put a reminder in your calendar to switch back.
How long should a voicemail be?
The ranges you’ll find online (20 seconds, 30 seconds, “under 25 seconds”) almost all come from software vendors, with no published method. We found no public study whose data can be checked. So the tool doesn’t claim to know the ideal length: it suggests a 30-second limit that you can change.
The math, on the other hand, is simple. At 150 words per minute, 30 seconds is 75 words. A 10-digit number read slowly takes about 4 to 5 seconds, so saying it twice uses up close to 10. That leaves around 50 words for everything else, four or five short sentences. That is the real constraint, and it is why a sales voicemail can only carry one reason.
Speech≈ 21 sec
Phone number ×2×2≈ 9 sec
030 sec
75
words in 30 sec at 150 wpm
≈ 9 sec
to read a 10-digit number twice
≈ 50
words for everything else
For a greeting, the pressure comes from the caller waiting for the beep: every extra second is a chance to hang up. Aim for under 25 seconds, and time yourself with the tool rather than trusting an estimate.
Reading out your number: the habit that gets callbacks
In the US, a phone number is read in three groups: “three one two, five five five, zero one four seven.” The tool writes your number with a comma between groups, so the pause is built into the script. Enter it with +1 or with parentheses and it comes out the same way.
1
3125550147
≈ 4 sec
2
3125550147
≈ 4 sec
Saying it twice isn’t overkill: the first time, the prospect is looking for a pen; the second time, they write it down. Put the second one at the very end, right before you hang up. The tool’s checks look for both, even after you edit the text by hand.
Voicemail rules to know before you automate
Leaving a live message after the beep is part of a normal call. Dropping a prerecorded message automatically is treated as a prerecorded-voice call. The rules, with sources:
Identify yourself up front, give a number
Every prerecorded message must state the name of the business at the start, and give a phone number for it during or after the message. Not the number of the system that placed the call.
Prerecorded voicemail to a cell phone needs consent
Calls made with a prerecorded voice to a wireless number require the recipient’s prior express consent, and prior express written consent when they are telemarketing. The rule makes no exception for business-to-business calls.
French law bans prospecting through automated systems without prior consent from the individual. For business contacts, the French data protection authority accepts legitimate interest if the message relates to their job, with an opt-out.
Leaving the same voicemail by hand, call after call, eats your day. With Skipcall, you record your messages once; when an outbound call reaches voicemail, the prerecorded message is dropped (or a text is sent instead, depending on your settings) while you move on to the next call.
The rules above apply to these drops like any prerecorded message: check who you are calling before you turn them on.
Marc.A × Lea – Skipcall walkthrough09:30 – 10:00Booked during the call
Elodie.C × Lea – Product demo10:30 – 11:00Booked during the call
Frequently asked questions
Four things, in this order: your first name and company, one reason for calling tied to their work, what you want next (a callback, a reply to your email, or nothing if you’ll call again) and your number, read slowly and repeated at the end. For example: “Hi Chris, Jordan from Northvale. I’m calling about the demo request you sent us. You can reach me at 312, 555, 0147. Again, that’s 312, 555, 0147.”
No reliable public study sets an ideal length: the figures you see come from vendors without a published method. The tool uses a 30-second limit you can change. At 150 words per minute that is 75 words, about 9 seconds of which go to reading your number twice, which leaves roughly 50 words: enough for one reason.
Your name and company, what the caller should leave (name, number, reason for calling) and when you’ll call back. Add your hours to an after-hours greeting, the dates and your return day to a holiday greeting, and an alternative (a colleague, an email address) when you’re away for several days.
In groups, with a pause between them: in the US, three-three-four (“three one two, five five five, zero one four seven”). Say it twice, the second time right before you hang up. The tool writes the number with commas that mark those pauses.
A greeting is what callers hear when you can’t pick up; a sales voicemail script is what you say when your call reaches someone else’s voicemail. They follow different rules, so this tool keeps them in two tabs, each with five situations and two versions.
Yes, that is voicemail drop, offered by several calling tools including Skipcall: the prerecorded message plays when the call reaches voicemail. A dropped message is a prerecorded-voice call: it must name your business at the start and give a callback number, and in the US it needs prior express consent when the number is a cell phone (47 CFR § 64.1200). This is not legal advice.
No. The script is built in your browser, with no account and nothing sent. The timer only counts seconds: nothing is recorded. The share link, if you create one, is the only thing that carries the fields you filled in.
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