Who Is The Voice Of Your Business?
Who is the voice of your business, in a word, everyone.
Many businesses probably feel pretty good about managing their in-bound sales calls. They probably have a great website and probably have well established sales professionals managing all of their web-based sales as well as those old school sales that come in from callers.
What about all of the other departments or employees in your business that might interact with the outside world? Do they need to know how to manage calls and perhaps be well trained in customer service techniques?
I don’t do a lot of cold calling, but I do some. Most weeks I have a specific target for the number of new potential clients I’m trying to reach. I’m not alone, many business people and entrepreneurs are out there trying to build better relationships and earn more business, and a lot of them establish and build these relationships on the telephone or with video technology.
In today’s world many calls end up in a voice mail message, but occasionally you’ll get to speak with a real live person. Sometimes it might be the person who you were trying to reach and sometimes it might be someone far removed from your target.
What is the Point?
The point I’m about to make is that every auto-attendant, voice mail system, or person gives you an impression of that business. Every button you have to push, the length of time you spend listening to a recorded message, or the tone or perceived attitude of each recorded personal greeting is telling you something about that business.
On a recent call I reached someone in a department that was close to my target, but not an exact match. My impression was not good. The person listened patiently and gave me a few seconds to introduce the reason for my call, she didn’t seem especially hurried or annoyed, but when it came time to help me reach my intended target she acted like I just asked for the social security numbers and birth dates of her entire team.
I’m typically not a suspicious person, but my suspicion in this case is that she has been the victim of an internal assault for giving out anyone’s name or identifying anyone in a specific position. My asking to get to a specific person in a specific job role terrified her.
What is the Message?
The message here is that your business has people who are outside of your in-bound fielding team (or sales group) who may receive some occasional in-bound calls from a potential vendor or a misrouted customer, and those people who are representing your business are creating a first impression. They are the voice of your business. They represent everything that your business is and everything that your business does, including how it respects people and other businesses.
It doesn’t matter how awesome your website, marketing materials, or television ads are, when someone touches your operation through a telephone call they are visualizing every moment of that interaction as a representation of your business.
The worst part of this is that everyone gets it, this isn’t rocket science, but yet so many businesses fail to manage this properly. Often their thought is, “We’ve got better things to do.”
What to Do?
If you’re considering making a difference for your business you’ll need to review your auto-attendant answering system, you’ll need to consider who might be receiving calls. Many businesses have what is referred to as a dial by name directory, and these are great but then an outside caller may reach anyone in that system.
What does each employee have recorded as their personal greeting message? How does is it sound? How often is it changed or updated? What is the protocol for managing an in-bound call? What are the guidelines? Do you have a response time policy? Is their voice clear, warm, and friendly?
Does every employee know and understand?
So, I have to ask. Who is the voice of your business?
Everyone.
– DEG
Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a four-time author and some of his work includes, Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce and Pivot and Accelerate, The Next Move Is Yours! Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.
