effective communication

Effective Communication

There are numerous aspects to consider when looking to enhance communication skills. I'm going to call this a 'meeting' just so I can generalize this information but in your situation it may be a written email, a direct mail-out, a phone call, a cold call... and so on.

If you have not had experience with this yet, you may want to seek out Toastmasters or visit the Chamber of Commerce and local employment or small business centres to help refine your presentation, communication skills and body language. Also, try a few practice runs on a friend or co-worker - they can help you spot whether you have used the right smile, eye contact, gestures, posture and voice.

The first item on the agenda is determining who your audience is and what the ideal outcome of that meeting will be. With that in mind let's ask ourselves several questions:

How do you envision this happening? 

Have you researched your client prior to visiting them? 

Do you fully understand their business needs, their values, their goals for the future? 

Do you have any leads that may help them that you can pass along and help nurture your relationship with them? 

and... Have you considered all the possible reasons they might say no or not find time for you - and have you prepared responses to that? 

Once you have the meeting set up, it is important to make a worthwhile contribution to the conversation and you need to have a clear purpose in mind and a map for the direction you want the conversation to take. 

It is normal to feel nervous, especially the first few attempts at effective communication. It is ok to say that you are a bit nervous and often people will be more forgiving and patient with you. In time you will gain confidence, but the main key to this is believing in the message you have to offer, knowing you can help them, you have a way to improve their business or ease their day. 

Be clear and concise and definitely ask pointed questions that will help you determine how you can best serve them. 

Take the initiative - don't wait for others to call, suppliers to respond, customers to come to you, buyers to find you... you need to take the initiative to start the conversation. 

Right after the meeting, take the time to write notes about what happened, what was said, things you noticed ... while these are fresh in your mind. 

Did you notice they had sports paraphernalia, pets or family memorabilia in their office? 

Analyze the event at the end of the day, comparing it with other meetings that happened that day. Discover common questions, areas they touched on that you want to have ready in the future. Use the notes to develop a file on your client so that next time you meet you can look it up and remind yourself that he has a dog, his best friend plays for the local soccer team and his wife is a gardener; that his biggest concern the last time you met was a city bylaw that may affect his business etc. With this information in mind, you'll come across information that they might enjoy seeing and this gives you a reason to reach out and keep that connection alive. 

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