Voice mail recorded messages may turn some of your prospects off. Especially the important, time-starved ones. Sit next to your answering machine for one day and you will discover that many callers hang up once they hear a recorded message -- Without leaving a message.

There are three ways to combat this problem:

1. You can use an inbound answering service with live operators who will take your calls. The drawback is, the operator will know very little about your business and can be trusted to take messages, but no more.

2. You can hire a secretary. A secretary can do more than just take messages, and would leave a much better impression on callers. However, the issue with this solution is cost to the small business owner on a low operating budget.

3. You can call-forward your incoming calls to a cell phone, and handle them yourself while away from your office. This eliminates both option A and B above. Make sure you tell your prospects that this is a direct line to you.