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- How to Create a
Great First Impression
- (c) 1998 LJL Seminars
They say you can't judge a book by it's cover but how
many of us judge people by the way the talk, the way
they talk or even by the way they answer the telephone?
We form opinions about people the first time we see or
hear them. We even form opinions about people we have
never met! Conversations with people we know about
people we do not know can bias our opinion of people
before we meet them.
People's "perception" about us DO matter. As a
professional speaker who provides workshops, keynotes
and consultations on presentation skills and public
speaking, I know that we are all judged by people
through "What we say", and "How we say it". We are also
judged by "How we Dress", "How we walk" and even "How we
eat our food". In the work environment, we judge people
by the size of their office, the location of their
office or by the number of people working for us. As a
business owner YOUR company is judged by the way your
receptionist answers the telephone or greets people at
the door.
Think about it!
You CANNOT, NOT! make a first impression. People always
form an initial impression about us the first time they
come in contact with us whether it is in person or
whether it is over the telephone or even by the way we
leave a message on THEIR answering machine. Every other
contact with after that first time either supports or
conflicts with that first impression. Create a good
first impression and the relationship grows from there.
Create a bad first impression and your relationship with
that person can be an uphill battle.
Whether we are communicating "one-to-one" over the
telephone, "one-to-a-group" such as a small business
meeting or "one-to-a-hundred" such as during a
presentation other people's impression of us is very
important and we should work hard to make sure that
FIRST impression is a great one. Below I have provided
some tips to help you make a great first impression in
two telephone situations:
1. Receiving a telephone call
2. Initiating a telephone call
Receiving a Telephone Call
1. Answer the telephone by the 3rd ring (Or your
answering machine) - I usually answer my phone by the
second ring and rarely do I answer it on the very first
ring. My answering machine will automatically answer my
phone after the third ring.
2. Make sure your greeting is professional. - It is
important that your greeting is friendly and
professional. Don't answer the telephone and try and
speak with food in your mouth! - (How many of us can
tell when the person we are speaking to on the other end
is EATING!).
Playback your answering machines personal greeting. Does
it sound professional? Do your greet people politely?,
do you leave them with instructions on "what to do"? I
am amazed how often I call someone and their answering
machine greets me with a greeting which I can't
understand, and worse the person has used the words,
"Uh", or "Uhm" over 3 times during the 15 second
greeting. Remember I am a speech coach and I especially
notice these things.
3. Be prepared before you answer the telephone. - Have a
pencil or pen along with a pad of paper near your
telephone so you can write down important information
such as their NAME. When speaking to them, use their
NAME during the conversation but don't over do it.
4. Be an "active" listener. - by using step 3 above you
can be an active listener by writing down important
information. Ask them to spell their name if you are not
sure. Ask them when it is the best time to call them
back.
5. If you answer the telephone and someone wants to ask
you some specific questions but you ARE NOT prepared
because their file is in the other room or at the bottom
of the pile just say, "I am in the middle of something
at the moment, can I call your right back?". This will
give you a chance to collect the materials you need and
when returning their phone call you are now prepared to
speak. (A more controlled situation). If they insist on
"holding on" just say, "Please give me a moment to get
your file".
NOTE: If you put someone on hold DO NOT make them wait
more than 30 seconds. I have had people put me on hold
for so long I was able to read that article I was dying
to read while waiting for them.
6. If you are out of town, check your messages
frequently. I usually check my messages twice in the
morning and twice in the afternoon, unless I am not able
to interrupt what I am doing. If I am in the middle of a
seminar or coaching session with a client, THEY are the
most important priority. I will call at a break or when
I get home.
7. Return telephone calls promptly. - One of most
unprofessional things a business can do is NOT RETURNING
PHONE CALLS. How many of us have attempted to contact
some over a period of days or even weeks and you find
that YOU are the only one initiating the telephone call.
One of the comments I have heard from my clients or
potential clients is, "Thank you for returning my call
so promptly!" or "Thanks for getting back to me". I have
actually been hired for speaking engagements over other
speaker because I not only returned their call but I
returned it that same morning, not 3 days later.
I have been contacted by newspaper reporters who are
working on an article and have contacted me for my
expert opinion. I have even had calls from magazines who
would like to publish one of my website articles and are
calling for permission and need to know TODAY!
Remember, these people are often working on a deadline
to complete their article and cannot wait days for you
to return their call.
8. If you have a staff which works for you, call in once
in a while on the road and see for yourself how they
greet people when they call. Pretend you are a potential
client. How were you treated over the telephone? If it
was less than favorable, it's time to make some changes.
Remember that first impression WILL be initiated by that
"in coming" telephone call and the impression you make,
either directly by you, your staff or even your
answering machines greeting or voice mail will determine
is they call you back. Think about the eight points I
have discussed and make changes or adjustments where you
need to.
Initiating the Telephone Call
1. Organize your thoughts before you place your call. It
is important that you are concise but thorough with your
call. I like to make a short list of important items I
want to discuss during the telephone call. In the event
I do not actually "connect" with the person I need to, I
can quickly summarize a short message based on these
notes. Have a pad of paper and a pen or pencil handy to
take notes.
2. When speaking on the telephone try to SMILE.-When we
smile and change our facial expressions, it effects the
sound of our voice. Our vocal tone can be greatly
effected by the manner when use our facial muscles. One
of the oldest telephone sales tricks is to have a mirror
near the telephone so you can monitor your facial
expressions and to be sure you are smiling. Several
studies have indicated that as much as 87% of the
opinions people form about us, when speaking to us on
the telephone are based on the tone of our voice. Only
13% is based on the actual words we use. We all do this.
People can "hear" our personality and mannerisms through
the tone of our voice.
3. Should the person you are trying to contact ACTUALLY
answer the telephone (I now this can throw some of you
off when they do), after shortly introducing who you
are, begin by asking them, "Is this a good time to
talk?" You may have called while they were in the middle
of something and will appreciate your consideration. If
they are, ask them when the best time would be to call
them back. Remember to be sure and call them back at the
correct time.
4. If you are trying to reach a senior level officer (CEO,
President or V.P.) call after usual working hours. You
are more likely to get the CEO answer the telephone
after normal business hours since their clerical staff
has gone home. Should their secretary or receptionist
also be working late and answer the telephone, be kind
and courteous as you always should be with them. They
may be working late and would appreciate a kind voice at
the end of the day.
5. Do not speak too fast! - Slow down when you are
leaving a message, especially if you have an accent. I
receive many messages where I cannot even understand
what the person is saying. Even worse, I cannot write
fast enough and I find myself replaying the message
several times to record the entire message.
6. Pronounce your name clearly - Announce your name
slowly and clearly, especially if your name is not a
common name. Spell your name slowly if necessary. Allow
people to get the correct spelling of your name.
7. Slow down when saying your telephone number - This is
the biggest complaint I have when people leave their
telephone number. People state their telephone numbers
TOO FAST! Say the numbers slowly and place a "pause"
somewhere in the sequence of providing your number.
People will appreciate this, especially me! Repeat the
telephone at the end of your message so they will not
have to play back the message.
8. Give your company name, your title & why you are
calling - Describe to the person, in a few short
sentences who you are, which company you are with and
why you are calling. If you are requesting information,
leave a detailed but brief message.
9. Let them know when to call you back - Leave a date,
time, and preferred telephone number for people. They
can't return your telephone call if you don't leave your
telephone number. Providing them with the preferred time
to call back makes it much easier for them.
10. Always sound professional - Remember what I
indicated in the beginning of this article. People DO
judge you by the tone of your voice and what you say. If
you come across sounding unprofessional in your message,
they may not return your telephone call. Also, do not
leave very long winded messages or they will stop
listening.
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- Lenny Laskowski
- Lenny Laskowski is an international professional speaker and the author
of the book, No Sweat Presentations - The Painless Way to Successful Speaking and several
other publications. Lenny is also available for hire to speak to your organization,
college or association. Lenny also provides in-house seminars and workshops. Why not
contact Lenny today for your next function or event. Lenny can be found at his Web site, http://www.ljlseminars.com/ or can be contacted by
email at the following address: Sales@LJLSeminars.com.
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