As long as I can remember, people always impressed upon me that first impressions were extremely important.  Once someone gets an impression of you or your business, it’s very difficult to change that impression.  Even though most CEOs, presidents and business owners are aware of the concept, many haven’t effectively applied it to their business. 

From your customer’s perspective, every employee provides a lasting impression of your business.  Ultimately, it’s how the customer judges your company, its products or services.  Do customers want to do business with you?  Do you provide excellent service?  Do you offer great products?  Are you a reliable company? 

Although most companies work at making a favorable impression there’s one area often neglected:  How the telephone is answered. 

Calling many businesses throughout the country, I am actually shocked at how unprofessional people answer the telephone.  Do a test at your company.  Call into your business at different times of the day during the next week and see if the people answering the telephone are giving your customers the impression you are someone they want to do business with.  Are they pleasant?  Do they have a business-like, confident-sounding voice?  Do they make the caller feel like they are important and the call is appreciated?  Do they know how to take a message?  And if placed on hold, what type of music, radio station, or informational message does the customer listen to – or is it just dead silence?  And how long do customers generally remain on hold?

If you have an automated voice system at your company, the concept of first impressions count for a lot, is just as critical as with a live voice, and perhaps even more so – simply because it is automated.  Does the automated voice sound “real” or robotic?  Is it easy to navigate through the system or can your customers easily get lost in the system due to having to listen to too many numbers, instructions or too general of choices rather than being able to quickly reach the appropriate person they need to speak with?   

To the person calling, the voice they hear on the other end of the telephone is the business.  Make sure that voice is an extension of your own voice – as though you were talking to each and every person when they call into your company.