If you’re not going to apologize or sound regretful about it, chances are you will lose on potential prospects. Mean it to your prospects how you are really sorry you can’t assist them at the moment.
This is the type of message you should aim for when you are recording an answering machine greeting at your place of business. Some people do need to leave other information for business salutations, such as office hours, and they may leave special messages when they’re on vacation. Name of the business, or your name can be important too, since people may want to be sure they’ve reached the right person or business. Answering machine greetings should be pleasant in tone.

Speaking slowly also gives the listener on the line the opportunity to write down your message. Remember that people write slower than they talk. If you don’t speak clearly and slowly enough, your target listeners won’t be able to catch up, or they may even write the wrong information, making your message ineffective.
The key here is customer service. If it’s information that’ll help your business better serve your customers, don’t be afraid to ask for it. Write out your voicemail script and practice it. It may seem silly, but you’ll save time if you write down what you want to say in your message. Get everything you want to include in your greeting down on paper, and then rehearse it before you record your greeting to ensure your script flows smoothly.