Calling your retrieval number — instead of your home phone number — is a faster way to listen to your messages remotely. You will be prompted immediately to enter your PIN and don't have to wait for your greeting to start.
Do they want to sit through an IVR menu that may or may not direct them to the right person? Do they know you’re a one-man/woman team and there’s no reason to sit through a menu? Skip the menu entirely and let them leave a message as quickly as possible. There’s no reason to add any additional steps or make your customers go through leaps and hurdles to leave a simple voicemail. When you identify what your customers’ pain points are, you make it much easier to determine what you want them to do to save everyone from the unnecessary stress.

The message needs to be clearer than glass. No shuffling papers or dogs barking in the background. **Professional. **Your phone greeting needs to sound like you're a real company, not a random person answering their cell phone. Thought-out. Companies suffer when their founders don't think carefully about phone interactions.
Once you thank your customers for calling, state your name and the department. Make sure to speak clearly so the caller knows they called the right place and can understand what is being said. Don’t rush through in case the caller wants to write the information down.