Wouldn’t it be great if the big authoritative voice that sells you new BMW’s on TV could voice your message on hold?  It’s a voice that elicits emotion, can bring you to tears or fill you with determination to purchase a BMW.  A voice that sounds rich and brings that BMW just within reach in your lifestyle, he makes you feel like it’s possible to obtain that BMW and you’ll be filled with completeness.  Wouldn’t his voice help your customers be content while on hold?  Convince your customers that the products you sell or the services you provide will improve their life?

It is possible to get that guy to voice your message on hold but is blowing your marketing budget for the whole year obtaining his talents?  He’s most likely located in New York City or Los Angeles, he gets paid thousands of dollars for his voice to sell BMW’s for a couple of months, and if BMW continues to run that spot past the first campaign, he gets paid again.  By now you have told yourself he’s just not the best for your company.

He’s not the only voice with that level of talent in the world of professional voice recording.  There are literally thousands of voices, thousands of people that provide professional voice recording.  Before you think you have found “the” voice you should think of the voice that will motivate your customer.  So put your idea of your average customer (or the customer you wish to obtain) in the forefront.  If your customer is a male in his early to mid 20’s perhaps you should present your business with the voice of a young adult male.  Let’s say the product or service you sell goes against the grain of society such as a tattoo studio or a punk rock clothing shop, now you can imagine how out of place that BMW voice would be when the phone rings.  A younger voice, male or female talking in their language and with just a note of rebellion (and at this point script writing is important but that’s for another day) will convince your customer that you know how to cater to them.

Let’s say you sell flowers, and a big piece of your revenue comes from sending flowers to the hospital down the street.  What type of voice would relate to those customers?  A voice that can relay the emotion your customer is feeling at that moment and can help up-   sell that customer from a rose and a fern in a vase to a huge bouquet of a dozen artfully arranged roses, with a card and a balloon.  Perhaps a female voice that emotes warmth and empathy?  

I hope I made the point about choosing a voice related to your business, but let’s say your budget isn’t anywhere near the cost of a big company that has 40 voices for you to choose from in their professional studio complete with a director and script writer at the ready to artfully design your professional voice recording.

Your budget is pennies compared to their $100 bills.  And you have decided to stop right there and use the receptionist to record something quick into your VOIP system.  Your receptionist who has a slight nasal delivery and a funny way of saying your company name but she’ been a loyal employee and can get the job done even though you hear a little stage fright and anxiousness you think you’re good to go.

Sure you may be good to go if you are that punk rock clothing retailer, after all what young adult male calls a business these days anyway?  He texts, sends an email, or goes to your website to ask a question, or look up your address.

But that customer looking to send flowers to his wife to celebrate the birth of their first baby or a daughter wanting to send flowers to her mother after surgery in the hospital has too many questions and needs guidance and will pick up the phone to call you.  Therefore a professional voice recording is necessary while they wait for you, the business owner to come to the line and assist.  That customer needs to hear a message that you know exactly what you’re doing and  how they feel, a message that will convey that you’re ready to put together a product that will tell their loved one how much they care.  Of course the exact words in the script are extremely important (and again script writing is just as important but that’s for another day)  To convey your message with the right voice in the empathetic, or joyful, or serious delivery needed is an important as Katy Perry hitting the high notes, or Fred Astaire not missing a step.

And it’s not difficult, at the top of every script you submit for your message on hold or your IVR messages tell the voice the emotion you want.  Tell them you are a high energy auto dealer and would like an energetic read, or to take it down a level and be empathetic because you are a funeral home.  Let’s say you sell retirement financial services and therefore a reassuring delivery by an older adult will get your message across.  Before your potential client even comes into your office to meet with you he or she will know you know what you’re talking about and you walk the talk or talk the walk.

Choose your voice by age, as mentioned in my previous paragraph consider your business and who you cater to.  Don’t worry about whether your voice is recorded in a big expensive professional voice recording studio either.  With today’s technology recording a voice to play over the phone can be done in almost any room, even a car!

Then choose your voice quality.  Deep with a lot of bass and timber for a male voice?  High range for a female voice to show youth?  A fast reader?  Is a lot of emotion needed.  When listening to demos think of these qualities and how they will show off your business when the public comes calling.

In the future when your business has grown and you have learned to cater to everyone perhaps you’ll be able to afford Mr. Big Voice from LA, but if you’re not selling BMW’s will it be worth it>