Why is it important to have a
professional voicemail?

The right custom voicemail narration will welcome your corporate and business customers with a professional sound, and on-hold messages are a pleasure to listen to, set to the right voice and music. Make your brand and image stand out on the phone. 
No one likes to be on hold. Make that experience enjoyable for your customers and clients. I can voice custom messages, with music in the background, talking about your business or products while they wait. Reassure them that someone will be with them soon.
When your business relies on calls coming in, having a professional voicemail message leaves a positive impression on customers and clients.
A custom voicemail narration makes calling a cell phone feel just as legitimate as making a call to your office's front desk.

What is a professional voicemail greeting?

While there are endless ways you could say hello in a custom voicemail greeting, there are a few main generic lines that most of us have probably heard many times.
Examples of some:
Hello, you have reached the voicemail of (person of company) we are unable to get to the phone at the moment, please leave your name and number, and we will be happy to call you back soon. Thank you.

Thank you for calling (company or person) we are not available or are on the other line with another customer, please hold and a representative will be with you shortly.

Thank you for calling (company) if you know the extension of the person you are trying to reach dial it now, for billing press 1, for customer service press 2. or press 0 for the operator.

Each professional custom voicemail is unique to the person or the company and can be structured any way you need it to represent your brand, business, or you as a person. There are options such as adding music that also make the voicemail greeting attractive. These are all ideas that we can work on in the free consultation I offer on all projects. It is best if you have the script on a word doc or notepad, and if you need help refining, I can help there also.

 

Is an On-Hold message different than
a custom voicemail greeting?

Yes. As the voicemail greeting is the first thing your calls hear as in the examples above, the On-Hold message is the really important part if you have to ask your customers or clients to hold.
No one ever likes to be on hold, but if you don't have a professionally structured on-hold system set up, it is worse for them to sit and wait.
On-hold messages can be set up to include just music, which with the right music will keep your calls more relaxed during the hold time, especially longer holds.
On-hold time should be best utilized to further build your company brand, or offer suggestions and info to guide the caller to ask more questions when with a live operator or you.
Here is an example of a brand building on-hold message:
...music playing.... Thank you for holding we will be with you in a moment. Did you know (company name) offers this and that service along with the service you have. Ask a representative when we come on the line how this can benefit you today. ....music continues for 15 seconds... We appreciate your business, thank you for continuing to hold. We at (company) strive to give you the best possible products at the best prices. Did you know you can get a (product) this week only for ($). Tell the representative you heard this offer while waiting and we can get you all the details.
On-hold messages can include whatever you want and will often just loop from end to beginning as the customer or client is on hold. Think of it as a way you can advertise to your own customers as they wait.