Moving Words – Impressive

• Timothy Brady

“Nobody counts the number of ads you run; they just remember the impression you make.”

 –  William Bernbach

Every so often it’s a good idea to review those skills and techniques that we take for granted; second nature to us. We need to ask ourselves if we’ve gotten into a rut where we aren’t optimizing those important proficiencies that are the difference between success and failure. And the more challenging the business environment, honing those abilities becomes extremely important.

According to many studies on the subject, you’ve got fewer than 30 seconds to make either a negative or a positive impression on someone. In business, this can mean the difference between losing, landing – or keeping – a customer. Ask yourself: What would impress me?

One area that requires a super power is when that first contact is by phone conversation, text or email. When you’re not face-to-face with that prospective customer, a lot can be lost by how the person on the other end interprets your words. If spoken, tone and inflection are important; if written, tone and perceived inflection can make the difference between a negative or positive impression.

If your initial contact is by phone, your customer’s impression is determined by the manner in which you handled the phone call.

Did you: 

• Answer the phone in a professional, business-like manner?
• Speak clearly and slowly enough so the listener had time to understand what you were saying?
• Allow the caller/customer to express the reason for his/her call? Did you let them fully express their thoughts, points or questions?
• Immediately respond to the caller’s request or need? In moving, most people call because they have an immediate request. If you need to gather information or research details, did you give your caller a time when you’d get back to him/her with the answers? And did you follow up and call them back at the appointed time?
• Speak with the person on the other end, not to them? Did you listen to what they said, and repeat any questions back to them to be sure you understood the request?
• Use correct language? This is very important. Use of expletives or the latest street slang would diminish your value to the customer/caller very quickly.

Another area to consider is how you handle cell phone business calls.

• If driving, let all calls go to voice mail. In areas where using the cell phone while driving is permitted, keep conversations short and to the point. If the conversation will require more than a minute or two, wait to take the call until you can pull over. Nothing is more disconcerting for a customer than hearing a mover or van operator blurt out his reaction to something another driver just did, instead of shipment information.
• Record a voice mail message that says you’re unavailable but will return the call as soon as possible. It’s easier to listen to a voice mail message to determine its level of importance and the best time to return the call when you’re not driving. 

For text or e-mail communications, try these to make a good impression:

• Every text or email needs to identify who you are, who you represent and the subject of the communication. Nothing is more frustrating than to receive a text when you have no idea who it came from or who they represent.
• Also mark its level of importance and identifying information which would help the recipient determine the level of priority for your text or email.
• Check spelling and grammar before sending your fax or email. Part of being professional and being taken seriously is the quality of your grammar and spelling. Considering how many “professionals” don’t take the time to edit their texts or email, think how impressed a potential customer will be when they receive a well-edited email or text.

Yes, it’s true you can only make a first impression once, whether over the phone, text, or email. However, remember –  if you want to gain them as customers, you need to think of their ‘WOW – What an awesome moving company’ impression and how to maintain that with every communication.

 “Your grammar is a reflection of your image. Good or bad, you have made an impression. And like all impressions, you are in total control.”  – Jeffrey Gitomer