|
Easy to Make This Mistake!
"I know you believe you understand what you
think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you hear
is not what I meant." - Ralph
Coursey 1947
Have you ever listened to someone who left you thoroughly
confused? It's not at all uncommon for one person to say
something and for another to hear something completely
different. In study after study, lack of effective communication
is one of the reasons people miss sales and fail to convince
prospects about a product or service being offered.
When building any organization, the ability to communicate
effectively is critical. Fact is, communication is far more
complex than we think. And way too many people believe they have
good communication skills. And often in some areas they do, but
just as often the record shows, they lack in getting their full
point across. If you want to improve your leadership skills,
build distributor loyalty, and enhance the duplication of your
company’s success plans, understanding communication basics is a
must.
First, let's erase the myth that talking is the most important
method of communicating. There are many ways to communicate
other than spoken words. Written words, figures, symbols, and
pictures dating back thousands of years represent man’s
evolution in communication. But, today we extend the art of
communication into technology to reach around the world in
seconds. The telephone provides nearly instant contact between
individuals. Three way calling, national conference calls
connecting thousands of your own distributors, e-mail, personal
and corporate websites, online web casts etc. are creating ways
to communicate and grow our businesses never imagined just a few
years ago.
However, communication is a two-way street. It not only involves
talking or making signs or motions, it also involves listening.
Authorities claim that most of us spend almost seventy percent
of our waking hours in some form of communication.
When you are trying to market, sell, or represents your company
or product to a prospect, communication is especially
meaningful. For example, the first ten words in any
communication are more important than the next 10,000 or the
rest of your speech or sales presentation.
Pop psychologists will tell you that people
are primarily motivated by only two things. One is to gain
pleasure, the other is to avoid pain. Both the pleasure or pain
can be physical, mental or emotional. On the pleasure side the
four basic motivators are:
1.
Financial gain
2.
Romance
3.
Self-preservation
4.
Recognition
Knowing this means that the first ten words
of any effective communication must include one or more of the
basic motivators in order to get your prospect's attention. And
you can not truly do that, unless you know which of these
motivators your prospect if operating under at the moment.
Like anything else, practice makes perfect, or at least with
practice your batting average will increase greatly. You must
prepare yourself in advance for effective communication. How do
you know what motivation a person will respond to? You must have
pre-approach information. In other words, when communicating
with your distributor, find out all you can about that
individual before approaching him. I've always said pre-approach
is half the sale.
Some additional
rules to follow:
You only get one chance to make a
good, first impression.
What the other person says is 100
times more important than what you say. This means you
should listen. Unfortunately, many reps just enjoy
hearing themselves talk. They then wonder why their
percentages are down.
In sales or negotiations, the listener
usually wins. Most distributors, sales managers, teachers, and
preachers know where they are mentally, but very few know where
the listener is mentally. You could be on page six of your big
story, and mentally your prospect might be on page two, or
trying to figure out how to unload you altogether.
How can you find
out where your distributor’s mind is?
Simple, but few do it.
Take your distributor's temperature. Ask leading questions;
check for vibes. Look for buying signals; watch for a change of
expression. Encourage your distributor to ask questions. Often a
prospect will ask the very question that he wants to know,
thereby letting you know where he or she is coming from.
Many people are audio learners. They find
that the majority of what they learn comes to them by the
pathway of the ear. Audio recordings, voice mail, conference
calls, etc. are valuable to these folks.
Fifty percent of what you say is never heard.
Some experts say you must listen to a tape recording sixteen
times to basically absorb all the information it contains.
Twenty-five percent of what is said is forgotten.
If you understand the importance of building
strong relationships with your retail customers, distributor
leaders, your own staff members and outside suppliers, you
already know that improving your communication skills should be
at the forefront of your daily self improvement efforts. You
must be a master in effective communication for your business to
succeed. As a leader of your company, you will never succeed
long term without continually honing your communication skills.
|
 |
