Your On Hold Script

Messages on Hold Australia

First things First!

Writing the on hold message.

The most common thing said to us by customers wanting a voices.com.au on hold message system is “I don’t know what to say”

Message on hold scripting and writing your on hold script is not as difficult as you may think. It just requires a little thought and plenty of proof reading.

You have two choices. Write it yourself or get us to write it. If you are commissioning us to write the script you will need to supply us with a brief.

You can download the brief right here.

You can download our complete guide to Messaging on Hold “Hold That Call” here.

YOU are the best person to write your brief if you are getting us to complete the writing. (the brief is the list of thoughts and prompts you give to the writer. Its the outline)  You know your company, your services and your products better than anyone else. Start by listing 10 subjects you wish to cover. Remember the best message is a message that creates curiosity. You want the listener to ask more questions of look for answers on the website. Don’t use the MOH to try and do a complete sell. Keep your messages to “one thought”. Only cover one subject in each message or “paragraph”.

Writing it yourself.

Please be aware, our price breaks for recording are at every message and each message should be around 75 words (give or take 15 words).

Your script may include one or more of these elements: –

  • IVR / Menu Voice Prompts – Directions for your callers, for example:
    • For sales, press 1
    • For accounts, press 2
    • For customer services, press 3 …etc.
  • On hold sections – On hold marketing messages mixed with music whilst callers are on hold.
  • Answer machine greetings – If the caller needs to leave a message.
  • Out of hours – If calling outside office hours.

Here are some examples to help you structure your on hold script

On hold Message 1 – Get off to a good start… Let the caller know where they are and be courteous.

Thank you for calling voices dot com dot au, one of our advisers will be with you shortly.

On hold message 2 – You are less than 30 seconds into keeping your caller on hold. Give them something to think about…

On hold messaging has never been so easy and affordable. With voices dot com dot au, there are no ongoing payments, no contracts and no residuals

On Hold Message 3 – What do your callers not know about you?

Did you know?…as well as providing on hold music and messages, voices dot com dot au is a sister company of On Hold Technology Pty. Ltd., a provider of high quality voice over talent and audio production services.

On Hold Message 4 – Use the waiting time on hold to your advantage; let callers know about your other services, products, seasonal promotions, offers, industry news

As part of your on hold audio package, we can offer you a discounted message revisions and seasonal messages when ordered at the same time. Once you are connected, please ask your adviser for full details.

On Hold Message 5 – You may also wish to thank your caller every minute or so and offer additional options.

Thank you for continuing to hold, your patience is appreciated. Please continue to hold and we will be with you shortly. If you would prefer to leave a message and get us to call you back, please press 0 at any time.

Tips for Writing Your Script

Spending the time to write your on hold messages is an opportunity to demonstrate your professionalism and inform your callers about your company’s products and services as well as advertise offers, promotions and company news. You should write as many on hold sections as required depending on how long you expect the average caller to be on hold. Usually 6-10 sections of dialogue is sufficient.

If you need to use IVR voice prompts (Interactive Voice Response) to direct your callers through various menu options, try to keep them as short as possible.

For example:

Thank you for calling voices dot com dot au. In order to connect you to the right department, please choose from the following options: For General Enquiries, press 1, For Billing, press 2 and for any other enquiries, press 3.

Finished Your Script?

OK, so once you have completed your draft, we recommend triple checking it. After all, once recorded, it will be with you for months if not years.

  • Re-read it more than once
  • Read it out loud
  • Read it to your colleagues and get them to read it back to you

Choose a Voice Over to record your script.