We’ve all done it! You hear a voice, you picture the person, you draw a conclusion about the person and then decide whether or not the company is worthy of your money and loyalty! The focus for me is not whether I sound like I’m 5’6” and wearing the latest fashion, but whether or not I convey to my customer and those around me that I care and I want to serve. However, I am curious about whether I sound taller than my 5’1” frame!

When TOOTY INC. first started in 1988, telemarketing was the only form of advertising we used. Every day, religiously, we would contact new companies to continue building our list of prospective clients. For each new contact we created a file that contained such basics as company name, contact person, address and phone number. In addition to that essential information, we wrote comments about our impression of the person we spoke with i.e., personable, knowledgeable, interested or abrupt. We found those comments to be invaluable when it came time to call the person again. Periodically through any given day, we would witness each other’s reactions to these different phone voices. After a conversation, we would chat about how we “pictured” the person on the end of the line. Eventually, we would find ourselves discussing our impression of the company as projected through the phone by that person. It’s amazing the chain reaction of thoughts that happen from a single phone conversation. If the person on the end of the line works for a big name company, but uses poor grammar or sounds “lifeless”, you immediately assume the company is doing poorly and can’t afford good help. If, on the other hand, the person on the end of the line sounds energetic and intelligent, you can’t help but feel the company would provide a great product or service. This process of associating a voice to a face, Telepicting, affects all business dealings. How many times a day do you use a phone? You hear a voice-you picture the person-you make a mental note of his or her personality-and then you form an impression of the company that is being represented by this person. The bottom line is that the “TELEPICTING PROCESS” has an affect on the company image in the marketplace, which in turn affects sales and resolution of complaints. At some point, a customer will call your company and make a mental note of the impression left by one of your staff. It will be a key factor in deciding whether or not to use your company’s product or service. Would you be shocked to find the impression was one of unfriendliness or incompetence?

For more information and a FREE Telepicting evaluation, contact Lori Miller, President of Tooty Inc. Tooty Inc. is a creative company devoted to evaluating, training, monitoring and mentoring your customer service and sales teams. lori@tootyinc.com 708-478-5772