Having a professional, well decorated space would be what you think would create a customer's first impression of your business, but in fact the person answering your telephone may be their first contact with your business.

The person who answers the telephone creates an impression of your business and sets the tone. They need to effectively handle different callers, over-come objections and effectively negotiate with customers. They also need to balance calls while at the same time serving face to face customers.

The person answering the telephone can create new business for you, or possibly be responsible for losing potential business. Their role cannot be understated. Make sure that the people who are creating the first impression of your business have been trained to deal with all of the day-to-day situations that can arise when answering the telephone.