How to write a voicemail drop script that gets callbacks

A voicemail drop script that gets called back is short, sounds like a person, and is about the listener. Name yourself and your business in the first sentence, give one reason that matters to them, ask for one thing, and stop. Twenty to 35 seconds is enough: people decide in the first few words whether the message is for them.

This guide is for a Canadian business sending a voicemail campaign to its own customers. The examples are written the way The Call Guy's builder takes them, with each customer's details in square brackets, but the structure works with any service.

The five parts of a script that works

1. Who is calling. Your first name and your business, in the first sentence. People keep listening to a name they know. The CRTC's rules for recorded messages ask for this too: a message begins by naming the business it is sent for.

2. Their name and one detail. "Hi [First name]" and the vehicle they drive, the furnace you installed or the estimate you sent. One detail shows the message was made for them, not for a list.

3. One reason, with a date. A recall on their model, winter tires before the first snow, a sale that ends Saturday. One reason, said plainly. A date gives people a reason to call this week rather than someday.

4. One ask. "Call us back at this number." Two asks split the response, and a website address read out loud is rarely remembered.

5. The close. Your name and your business again, then stop. A message that repeats who it is from is easier to call back.

Keep it to 20 to 35 seconds

A voice reads about two and a half words a second, so 20 to 35 seconds is roughly 50 to 90 words. That is enough for the five parts and nothing else.

Cut these first:

• warm-ups such as "hope you're having a great day";

• your company's history and awards;

• a second offer;

• anything the listener has to write down.

In The Call Guy, the builder shows how long each voicemail runs while you type, suggests a trim past 35 seconds, and stops at 700 characters. See Write a script people call back.

Say "this number", not a phone number

Every voicemail shows the number it came from. "Call us back at this number" is shorter than reading digits out, and it sends every callback to the line that counts it. A number read out in the message, such as your main line, gets calls no campaign can count, so you never learn what the voicemail earned.

Whether a particular message also needs an address or a number spoken in it depends on what it is for. See What a message must say.

Example scripts

Each example runs about 20 to 30 seconds. Words in square brackets are details from your list, said differently for each customer.

A service reminder (car dealership)

An estimate follow-up (trades and home services)

A renewal (maintenance plans, memberships, policies)

A private sale (a message that sells)

A message that sells needs each person's express consent to recorded messages before it goes. See How to get consent for voicemail and text campaigns in Canada.

A win-back (customers you haven't seen in a while)

Dealerships can start from scripts written for each campaign of their year, from service reminders to lease-end: Dealership voicemail scripts.

What stops people calling back

• It sounds like a list. No name, no detail, an offer anyone could get.

• The ask is unclear. "Feel free to reach out" asks for nothing.

• There is no reason to act now. No date, no limit, no next step.

• Nobody answers the callback. Send when your team is there to pick up. With a campaign line, a callback nobody answered still reaches you as an alert, and can go to your CRM as a lead. See How voicemail callbacks reach a dealership's CRM and BDC.

Send the follow-up text with it

Some people will never call but will answer a text. The Call Guy sends one text after each delivered voicemail, about 7 minutes later, to mobiles only and inside the text hours. It is included in that voicemail's credit, and replies cost nothing. Write it as one line that says the same thing:

See Voicemail drop or text message: which should a business send?.

Common questions

How long should a voicemail drop be?

Twenty to 35 seconds, or roughly 50 to 90 spoken words. Long enough to say who you are, one reason and one ask; short enough that people hear the ask before they stop listening.

Should a voicemail drop say the customer's name?

Yes, when you have it. A first name and one detail, such as the vehicle they drive, show the message was made for them. With The Call Guy, a message for each lead and one take for everyone cost the same.

Should I read my phone number out in the voicemail?

The builder asks you to say "call us back at this number" rather than read a number out, so callbacks reach the number the voicemail shows and are counted against the campaign. Canada's rules for recorded messages also ask for an address and a number where someone can be reached (see What a message must say). Whether a particular message also needs an address or a number spoken in it depends on what the message is for, so ask your lawyer about your own scripts.

Can I send the same script to every customer?

Yes. One take for everyone works for news that is the same for all, such as new hours or an event. When customers differ, a message for each lead says each person's own details in the same voice.

What should a voicemail drop never say?

Anything untrue. No deadline that isn't real, no offer you can't honour, and no business name other than your own. Name your business accurately and say why you are calling.

Related

• Write a script people call back

• Merge fields

• What callback rate should a voicemail campaign get?

• Are voicemail drops legal in Canada?

• Voicemail campaigns for car dealerships