Picture this!  You are in sales and are required to play your role to achieve sales results set by your organization. How do you get your prospects interested in engaging in your sales interaction and considering what you sell when the marketplace has become more complex and global? If you are in a senior management position, how do you communicate effectively to motivate your staff, develop your managers and leaders in contributing to your organizational growth?

If you wish to improve the positive outcomes of business and people relationship, begin to communicate effectively in a way that suits your colleagues, customers, management and any stakeholders in any situations.  Adapt your communication styles, approaches or ways to suit others in their preferred styles of receiving and processing information, and make sure they feel respected when in conversation with you. 

4 Tips of Effective Communication

1. Respect other people's point of view. The basic building block of good communications is the feeling that every human being is unique and of value. You may disagree with your colleague, customers, and superiors on particular issues.  To respect them is to understand that each person is unique with different values and beliefs from their cultural backgrounds or experiences. Based on that understanding, you listen and respect their point of views, which leads to more open communication

2. Adapt the way you communicate to suit others' preferred styles. You might think you have already communicated clearly with others, but you are not getting the expected behaviours and actions from whoever you are speaking to. NLP findings indicate that 35-40% of people is visual (they read symbols, graphs and see meaning from it), 20-25% of people is auditory (they listen to explanation and hear what have been saying) and 40% of people is kinaesthetic (they feel things and prefers hands-on) when taking in information.

Some people are more visual than auditory when receiving information.For example, in a sales interaction, sharing brochures that capture all the facts in graphs, and flowcharts of your products will be more suitable for buyers who prefer visual presentation. However, it is more effective to engage buyers who are auditory by asking questions, discussing and analysing the product advantages with them. Likewise, better customer rapport and experience when presenting a demo of your products to buyers who has a kinetic preference to try out and experience the product's features and advantages.

3. Speak to a person who thinks in big-picture versus a person who prefers detailed information.  When you sell a solution to a buyer who is interested in the only big picture, words such as increasing sales results or cost saving from production efficiency by 20% in terms of how your products could help in getting results for the buyer are more relevant. Whereas, to the end users who prefer to know how a solution works, it makes more sense to explain "steps-by-steps instructions" of how the solution gets the task accomplished. The ability to communicate information in detail and from the big picture will definitely enhance your sales interaction with your buyers.

4. Subtly matching and/or mirroring the other person to build rapport. The communication opens up when there is a positive rapport between you and the others which indirectly increases the feeling of trust. You can improve the rapport by adapting your voice to match the speed/volume/tone of speaking of your customers or colleagues during discussions or match and/or mirror their postures, gestures, facial expressions, styles of dressing, voices, and words. For example, when presenting your products to buyers of your industry, use the industry keywords and phrases that buyers are using when they are communicating with you. These matching and/or mirroring techniques have to be subtle and appropriate in a natural way without causing the others to become uncomfortable.

"In many ways, effective communication begins with mutual respect, communication that inspires, encourages others to do their best." (Zig Ziglar). So start with respecting others' views, use words/body language/facial expression to build rapport, and communicating in the way how people think and receive information for greater rapport and relationship.

By Cecilia Sim

Strategy Training Partner, Facilitator, and Consultant 

www.softskillsnet.com.sg