You know, I have never given any thought, what so ever, to how my voicemail sounds to others, especially business associates. I am rather ashamed of how mine sounds.. now that I have read your article! I am going right now to change my to a more personable one. (I have the pre-recorded automated one that came with my phone, gggeeezzz)!
77% of people believe that a phone call is the most efficient way to get business done. But have you got the right call handling protocols in place?

Users often don’t invest enough time into their messages, resulting in incomplete, unprofessional, or otherwise under-whelming greetings. Sure, crafting a greeting doesn’t sound all that complicated; however, there are a number of pitfalls users can fall into—i.e. informality, terseness, sincerity, lack of direction, and more. While none of these sound too catastrophic, they are often interrelated. As such, they tend to worsen any problem. For example, humor can cause informality, worsen ambiguity, and weaken sincerity. That being said, users should strive to avoid ALL these pitfalls.
In an ideal world, voicemail would be unnecessary. There would always be someone available to take customer calls and no one would complain about their calls not being returned and/or rejected. But of course, this perfect world isn’t possible. That’s why it’s important to give your callers options when you are unavailable. For example, aside from leaving a message, callers can also choose to listen to some relevant information about your business (such as a list of your services, your address, directions, hours of operation, and more).