How Important is Your Receptionist

I have been preaching this to attorneys for years and Seth Godwin has done a terrific blog post on the subject.  So many times I have seen business owners who don't want to invest in this integral piece of their business.  A receptionist is often times the first person prospective clients come in contact with in your company; they are one of the KEY people on your team.  If you are going have a receptionist, be sure you take this into consideration.  Train them on how to give everyone who comes in contact with them, the "Red Carpet Treatment".  Your business will benefit and your customers will thank you.  We have all called businesses where the person on the other end has not performed their job satisfactorily, and if you are like me, you probably didn't waste anymore of your time trying to do business with the company.  Don't fall into that trap with your business.  Have someone who is qualified do the job, or let voice mail pick up the phone!