How “old” do you need to sound to be credible in a phone conference? In my first job back in the U.S. after working abroad in the early 90’s, one of my bosses told me that he often struggled with getting clients to hire his firm because he looked too young and inexperienced. As he explained to me, once the gray started to come in around his temples, interviews with potential clients were no longer a problem at all and his business boomed.
Nowadays, business is often conducted over the phone and online. I’ve worked with more than a half dozen assistants and consultants since I started my business, and I’ve never met a single one of them face to face. Mostly, I listen to the sound of their voice. I listen for self-confidence, experience, professionalism and clarity in how they serve their clients.
So just last week, I had a conversation with a representative of an online marketing firm that at first glance looked like they’d be perfect fit for taking over and automating some my marketing tasks. Apparently they’re pretty popular right now, getting a lot of media attention, etc. Nevertheless, by the end of the conversation, even before the woman on the other end of the line, who apparently was second in command of the company, sent me their pricing list, I knew I wasn’t going to go with them, at least not now.
Why? Because by the end of the conversation, I felt like I was speaking to an intelligent but inexperienced and unseasoned younger adult. During our talk, I started to be reminded of my very bright high-school age stepson –recently scored in the 1400s on his SATs, great GPA– who has a very confident way of sounding like he knows what he’s talking about when the opposite is really the case. I’ve learned this by painful experience when I trusted him to “help” me with some technical problems with my computer/ office network, not to mention when I let him drive the car. Happily, he listens to me when I tell him to brake, and so we’ve avoided hitting several pedestrians.
So what did she say, exactly, that turned me off? Well, for starters, I was able to research the history of the company online, so I already knew that they’re new and that the founder was pretty young herself, probably somewhere in her late 20s. So right off the bat, where did my red flag fly? Yep, you guessed it, I wondered about their maturity and experience. This young woman told me all about the media attention they’re getting, and that’s great, but media attention is often superficial. It gets my attention, sure, but it certainly doesn’t sell me. I want to hear the numbers. How many clients have they helped? How did their assistance specifically improve individual clients businesses? Instead of hearing solid facts to cement their credibility, for the rest of the conversation I was directed to check out all the bells and whistles they could add to my Facebook profile, with no clear connection as to how that would translate into paying clients. Clearly, the woman I spoke with hadn’t connected her goals for the conversation with the points she chose to make with me, and therefore didn’t make the sale. She failed to make a solid presentation showing how working with her firm would be a sound investment for me.
Don’t think that I’m prejudiced against working with Gen –Yers. I already work with another company founded and run by two younger women that I absolutely trust to do what they say they do. But here’s the thing- they’re thorough, serious, experienced, responsible, and most of all, mature. When I hear the sound of overconfidence in a person’s voice, it tells me that they’re not, and it makes me want to run.
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