Your #1 Business Skill

Your First Sales Tool: Your Voice
When speaking with someone over the phone for the first time, we do not have the luxury of visual cues therefore it becomes even more important to make a good impression using our voice.

Yes, your voice is a sales tool and how it is used over the phone can often make the difference between getting the sale or losing it to a competitor. In their book "Put Your Best Foot Forward, Make a Great Impression By Taking Control of How Others see You" Jo-Ellan Dimitirus, Ph.D. and Mark Mazzarella devote a whole chapter to voice alone.

Studies show people dislike irritating, harsh, loud, quiet or boring voices and are attracted to deeper, more vibrant, energetic, clear and moderately paced speech. Similar to a car radio if the signal is static-filled or unclear, we change the station. If the signal is crisp and clear, we listen.
To build a voice that sells requires learning how to send out crisp and clear signals and that takes practice.

Here's an exercise for you to do just that. Pickup a tape recorder and a few audio tapes and then once a day for a week set aside 15 minutes. Pick up the daily newspaper and read it aloud and record the stories on the front page in your normal voice. Next, read the same material only this time, read it with confidence, authority, and credibility just as an anchor on the evening news. How do you sound?

Remember you can control the emotion (up and down), volume (loud or soft), pace (fast or slow), tone and pitch (high or low) and accent of your voice. Your goal is a voice that shows controlled emotion. A lower pitch, has a moderate pace and has a standard accent for your country. It requires conscious effort, in the long run you will have developed a voice that sells.