Published
Monthly by Joeann Fossland, GRI, LTG
Coaching High
Achievers For Sales Success
(520)744-8731 email:
Joeann@joeann.com (800)597-4196 fax
ADvantage Solutions
PO Box 133 Cortaro, AZ 85652
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ADvantage Thinking
Advantage Solutions Newsletter
- READER INPUT: Contest
- ADvantage Thinking: COMMUNICATE WELL OR EXPIRE!
- RESOURCES and SHAMELESS PLUGS
READER INPUT: Win a Free Class By Email!
QUESTION for this month:
From your site, which links or affiliations have produced the
best responses?
A winner will be chosen randomly from all submissions.
Prize is a free class delivered by email!
Send your answers to this month's question before April 30th
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ADvantage Thinking: Communicate
Well or Expire!
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Fran Lebowitz said "The opposite of talking isn't listening. The opposite of
talking is waiting."
Have you ever lost a listing or a deal because of poor communication? Or can you think
of a time when one party made an assumption that later killed the deal? Good communication
skills are "soft" skills. We rarely focus on them when we want to increase
production and productivity. The fact is though, good communication skills may be the most
important thing you can do to enhance your effectiveness and enable you to close more
transactions, with fewer problem. By raising your communications awareness and
competence is like making sure you do a spellcheck on every document you write: you'll
catch problems BEFORE they make you look bad and you'll upgrade your professionalism.
It's said that we were given 2 ears and 1 mouth in that proportion for a reason! Joyce
Brothers said, "listening, not imitation, may be the sincerest form of
flattery." yet many salespeople still believe learning glib scripts and manipulating
the client is the way to be more effective in business. They think if they just
practice the right retorts and comeback, they will emerge a winner. This kind of dated
thinking is reflective of the old win/lose paradigm. persuasive dialog alone will
never lead to success without the important elements of understanding, listening and trust
that comes from building a relationship. In the nineties, a win/win philosophy
builds relationships and increases business success.
How are your communication
skills
1. Seek First to Understand
and Then to be Understood
In Stephen Covey's Classic book, "The Seven
Habits Of Highly Effective People" he distinguishes four levels of listening:
Ignoring, Pretending, Selective Listening and Empathetic Listening. "Empathetic
listening gets inside the other person's frame of reference", he says. Great
communicators and negotiators cite this as their most important tool. Has selective
listening ever sidetracked negotiations and caused hard feelings? Or have you ever assumed
you know why the other person is asking for certain terms, and then found out later there
was a different reason altogether? It might happen when the seller is adamant about a
bottom line price. Instead of being pigheaded and arbitrary, they think that is the
ONLY way to get the cash they need for their next home... when in fact other alternative
financing structures might generate what they need, even at a lower price. Our
assumptions come from seeing things through our experiences and view of the facts.
The other person has different experiences and may be looking at other facts. The
more you can understand their point of view, the easier and better the communication is.
Coaches Tip>
Think of someone who you feel has great communication skills. Make a list of what
skills are important and rate yourself from 1-5 on each skill. This week, be on the
lookout for where you are "assuming" and ask 1 or 2 more questions to clarify
whether you are on track or if there is some more information you can glean by digging
deeper. ASSUME you DON'T understand!
2.
Know Thyself
The most effective
people are those who understand their own strengths and weaknesses and are able to develop
strategies to meet the demands of their environment. Psychological research that
identifies four dominate personal communication styles. Different systems and
interpretations give these styles different names, but ultimately identify that each style
has very different ways of processing information and in communicating to others. We
are most comfortable and understand best those whose style is the same as ours (perhaps
warm, friendly and caring or bottomline, results oriented). We struggle understanding
where others are coming from when their styles differ (perhaps a cautious, slow quiet
person).
When I coach clients, I often use two reports that
give 30+ pages of information about their values and communication styles, called the
Executive Action Briefing. By understanding motivators and the natural strengths of
their personal styles, my clients can identify their niche markets more easily and know
which clients will be the best for them to work with.
Coaches Tip>
List the dos and don'ts of communicating with you. How do you like others to
present facts, information and requests? What pushes your buttons and drives you crazy?
Next ask 1 or 2 others you work closely with to develop their lists. Then share the
information with each other.
This is especially effective if you are working on some
team projects together.
For more on this topic, read The Platinum
Rule by Tony Alessandra & Michael O'Connor or contact me about getting your
own Executive Action Briefing (Normally $195...Specially priced at $95 for the rest of
April. Includes reports plus 1 hour coaching/debriefing). I am a Certified Behaviors and
Values Coach and Analyst.
3.
Build Trust
Exhibiting
integrity in all we do, builds trust with others. You know people who you can count on to
ALWAYS be on time and to ALWAYS do what they say they will do. Is that how you
operate? Breaking little promises or not doing what you said you would and not
communicating it erodes your relationships.-
Coaches
Tip>
Raise your standards in
the area of communication. Any time you know you will not be able to deliver on a promise
or you know there is something that needs to be discussed that is distasteful, do not wait
deliver the communication. Implement the 10 minute rule: Within 10 minutes of knowing you
need to tell the other person, take action.
You'll build trust and your integrity will be strong. Waiting and /or not
communicating breakdowns and bad news exacerbates the problem, drains energy and usually
turns into a crisis.
"Respect for people is the cornerstone of
communication and networking in the nineties." Susan RoAne
RESOURCES and SHAMELESS PLUGS
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http://www.soldbydesign.com
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from me!
"You don't get to choose how you're going to die,
or when. You can only decide how your going to live. NOW!" Joan Baez
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