Don't Do Your Own Voice Over

When you own a small or medium-sized business, it is a good idea to look for ways to cut costs. That is great advice if it makes you avoid purchasing something more expensive when something less expensive will do, or if you avoid making purchases you don't need. However, some business people try to cut corners a little too far, and end up without services they actually need. One area in which business owners make this mistake is in making their own commercials. Unless you are a voice-over talent yourself, it is a mistake to try and voice your own commercials, because doing so can actually drive away potential customers.

The most common reason that customers are driven away from businesses whose owners make do-it-yourself commercials is that the commercials themselves annoy them. It may not be a pleasant truth to bear, but not every person is cut out for the microphone. If you have a voice that grates on the ear, customers will not want to listen to your message. If you are not a professional, you may be sending messages that you don't want to send. You may sound nervous without knowing and will, in turn, make your potential customers tense. If your message makes them tense, then listeners will not be inspired to visit your establishment.

If it is obvious that you don't have a professional voice-over artist, listeners will assume at least one of two things that you are a penny-pincher or that you are not successful enough to afford to put together a professional commercial. People who assume you are cheap when it comes to your advertising may also assume you are cheap when it comes to the product or service you are attempting to sell, and will not have confidence in you. It is also a bad idea to let people know you can't afford things, even if it is true. Customers want to do business with successful people. Therefore, you must always act as though you are successful. Spending money on the right things will help you do that.

Though the final reason for not putting your voice in your own commercials won't necessarily annoy potential customers, it is a valid thing to think about: Wasting your time doing a job best left to professionals is a bad use of one of your most valuable resources your time. As the head of a business venture or department, your time is best spent doing what you do best, and that is running things. Your job as manager is to delegate jobs and responsibility. If you do choose to do some tasks yourself, do those things you can do well.

Your commercial is like a job interview. Its your opportunity to make a first impression on potential customers who don't know your business and to let others know you are still working and still doing an outstanding job. Just as you would never walk into a job interview as anything less than a professional, you should never permit your advertising to be anything less than completely professional. Hiring professionals and assigning tasks, where it is the appropriate thing to do, instead of wasting time trying to do everything, is the mark of a good businessman. Don't let the desire to save a buck make you a laughingstock.