| When you own a small or medium-sized business, | | | | product or service you are trying to sell, and will |
| it is a good idea to look for ways to save money. | | | | not have confidence in you. It is also a bad idea to |
| That is great advice if it makes you avoid buying | | | | let potential customers know you can't afford |
| something more expensive when something less | | | | things, even if it is true. People want to do |
| expensive will do, or if you avoid buying things | | | | business with successful people. Therefore, you |
| you don't need. However, some business owners | | | | must always act as though you are successful. |
| try to cut corners a little too far, and end up | | | | Spending money in the right place will help you do |
| without services they actually need. One area in | | | | that. |
| which business owners make this mistake is in | | | | Though the final reason for not acting in your |
| voicing their own commercials. Unless you are a | | | | own commercials won't necessarily drive away |
| voice-over artist yourself, don't try and voice | | | | potential customers, it is a valid thing to think |
| your own commercials, because doing so can | | | | about: Wasting your time doing a job best left to |
| actually drive away potential customers. | | | | professionals is a poor use of one of your most |
| The most common reason that customers are | | | | valuable resources - your time. As the owner of a |
| driven away from businesses whose owners | | | | business venture or department, your time is |
| make homemade commercials is that the | | | | best spent doing what you do best, and that is |
| commercials themselves annoy them. It may not | | | | running things. Your job as manager is to delegate |
| be a pleasant truth to bear, but not every voice | | | | tasks and responsibility. If you do elect to do |
| is cut out for the microphone. If you have a voice | | | | some things yourself, do those things you can do |
| that grates on the ear, customers will not want | | | | well. |
| to listen to you. If you are not a professional, you | | | | Your commercial is like a job interview. It's your |
| may be sending messages that you don't want to | | | | opportunity to make a first impression on |
| send. You may sound tense without intending to | | | | potential customers who don't know your |
| and will, in turn, make your potential customers | | | | business and to remind others you are still out |
| tense. If your voice makes them tense, then | | | | there and still doing a fantastic job. Just as you |
| people will not be inspired to purchase your | | | | would never go into a job interview as anything |
| product or service. | | | | less than a professional, you should never allow |
| If it is obvious that you don't have a professional | | | | your advertising to be anything less than totally |
| voice talent, listeners will assume at least one of | | | | professional. Hiring professionals and delegating |
| two things - that you are cheap or that you are | | | | tasks, where it is the appropriate thing to do, |
| not successful enough to afford to put together a | | | | instead of wearing out yourself trying to do |
| professional commercial. People who assume you | | | | everything, is the mark of a good manager. Don't |
| are cheap when it comes to your advertising may | | | | let the desire to save a buck make you a |
| also assume you are cheap when it comes to the | | | | laughingstock. |