Communication- don't let it be a catastrophe

Content, your message, is obviously vital for good communication. Your message can only be given in one of two ways; written or verbal.
How often have you read, then repeatedly re-read, an email from a client, a supplier or a colleague or boss and still have no idea what it means? So much time is wasted in asking for clarification. Even more time is wasted by assuming you know what the unclear message means and then forging on ahead in a mistaken direction. If you are doing this to other people’s messages you can be sure they are doing the same to yours.

Why does that happen? One of the main reasons is because you are not necessarily defining your terminology in the same way the other person is. One Sandler client I was working with markets fabric. They are keen to make sure they are talking about the right quality of fabric and so they refer to the number of “rubs” the material will last for before it wears away. The number comes from a standard rub test. However, what they did not appreciate is that there are two completely distinct internationally recognised rub tests with completely different scales. According to the Joseph Noble website “Wyzenbeek involves rubbing along the warp and weft of the fabric whereas Martindale is a figure-8 rub. Success in one test does not infer success in the other.” The potential for confusion is clearly enormous if you assume there is only one test.

I often ask more than one salesperson from the same team to define one of their common industry terms; every time I get more than one definition, quite often severely at odds with each other and usually worryingly lacking in precision. Do the same exercise with one of your colleagues. I am sure you will be shocked. If you cannot be precise in your own internal use of terminology, the chances are high that your recipient also has a very different understanding of your technical terms. We have a Sandler rule, “No buzzwords”.

The only way of being sure what your client, existing or potential, means by a specific term is to contact them and verbally ask them. You do not want to look stupid and unprofessional so you have to be careful you do not come across as if you do not know the meanings of your industry acronyms, phrases and technical terms. We suggest you ask the question along these lines “Mr Client, we here at our organisation have a very particular understanding of what is meant by that term; just so we are definitely on the same page, how do you define it?” You will be amazed at some of the answers. Technical specialists who are very good at their job will define terms in a way that are so far from your understanding of the same words that you could easily have ended up selling them completely the wrong solution with potentially catastrophic results.

If you cannot be sure about terminology, what else might be weak in your written message? The meaning of a sentence can vary enormously depending on the emphasis you place on an individual phrase or word. You probably have had a message that read something like “We cannot decide to go ahead with your proposal at the moment.” What does this mean? It could mean they cannot make a decision at the moment but give them a week or so and they will be able to decide. Alternatively, it could mean that they have decided to go ahead with somebody else’s proposal. Or it could be a plea for a revised proposal. When we are in “salesperson” mode we read this with eagerness and a hint of desperation and end up convincing ourselves it means that just a delay or a tweak is required. Almost always, however, the message should be translated as “We are not convinced, please go away.”

Once we have clarified the words in the message, we still have tonality to deal with. My own personal rule is “An email is sent in the tone it was received.” You might have attempted to be a little informal in your written message as part of “bonding and rapport”, but if the recipient reads it as being sarcastic, then that was the tone it was sent in, regardless of your intention. If you sent a message full of features and benefits specific to their problem and it was read as being “pushy” or “sales-y”, then that it was you sent: a desperate attempt at selling to them. There is only way to ensure that does not happen: if at all possible only send emails to confirm what has already been agreed and do not attempt to use them to move a sale forward unless there is no other method of communication available.

This last rule would imply that almost all selling should be done verbally. Marketing can be done in written form, but selling is personal and should be done as much as possible in a two-way communication medium where you can judge what impact your message is having, in real time. If you know how your content is being received you can fix any misunderstandings as they occur, or even before they arise.

Whether your message is in written or verbal form, in order for the content to be persuasive, you need to consider who the information is for. If you want your recipient to react favourably to it, you should be aware of the type of personality they are. We at Sandler think in terms of the “DISC” model (Dominant, Influencer, Steady Relator and Cautious Thinker). You may have come across these as colours of personality (Red, Yellow, Green and Blue) For example if you are writing to a “Dominant” person, you should write your message and then go back and delete all the unnecessary words to the point of making it a series of bullet points. The most effective email to a highly dominant character is a blank one; ideally put your message in the subject line. When you speak to a Dominant person you should similarly keep your content to the point. A good email to a “Cautious Thinker” should be the opposite. It needs to be full of detail. When you speak with them, remember they need the information to be correct first time and to be enough to convince them you can be trusted. A “Steady Relator” requires a gentle approach whilst an “Influencer” can quite happily handle a message that is apparently shouting with enthusiasm. Exactly the same information can look very different depending on the level of understanding of the recipient and their DISC style. We will look more at behaviour styles in the chapter on Delivery.

If you are going to rely more on verbal communication instead of written there are a host of considerations you need to think about. In particular they will include precision, grammar, and register.

Some people deliberately half-start a sentence and then start another so that they can appear to have made a comment on something but also have complete deniability. President Trump does that frequently. However, it is not a good tactic in business; if not done with consummate skill it just comes across as inauthentic and untrustworthy. Speak with as much truth as you can and you will come across as a strong communicator.

You may feel your handling of grammar is not as good as you would like it to be. Sometimes this lack is down to a local way of handling language, a dialectal form. So long as you are consistent within your communication then this should not present a great a problem for your listener who will be able to “re-translate” the words into their own particular version of language. It is when you start to mix grammars that you start to come across as inauthentic and hard to judge and hard to understand.

Sociolinguists cannot agree amongst themselves what is meant by “register”, but we at Sandler take it to mean the language appropriate for a particular environment. For example, you will probably use very formal language in some instances such as delivering a speech and then informal language with the same people on a more relaxed occasion. Certain vocabulary will be fine with workmates and then be totally inappropriate with clients. You need to choose your words according to the circumstances you are in. For example, humour is probably fine with your boss but could prove disastrous with a business contact. In fact I strongly suggest that trying to be funny with clients or prospects is so dangerous that you should avoid it; you cannot be sure they will agree with you that you are using an appropriate “register”.

Practical Exercises
Write according to the type of person you are writing to. Before you send your next email, check what type of behaviour style the intended recipient is and potentially edit or re-write it to take them into consideration.
Speak according to the type of person you are speaking with. The same point holds true for spoken as written communications. Remember “Cautious Thinkers” are uncomfortable with imprecise or incomplete content. “Dominants” will use your “slip of the tongue” against you if it is in their interests.
Write down your organisation’s definitions of technical terms that you need for your business. Ask your specialists, which could include you, to write down a clear, short, precise definition of all the industry and company terms, buzzwords and acronyms. This will not be a quick or easy exercise. Until you do this you will not realise just how many words and phrases you use that your clients might not understand the same way you do.
Ask your clients’ definition of the term that you use. Once you know their definition, use theirs as much as possible. If that is simply not possible, gently say something like “I appreciate you mean a very specific thing when you use that term, but we mean something slightly different when we use it. Can I explain that difference so you know what we are referring to as we go forward?” You are not saying they are wrong, just that they have a different view and you want to use your definition in the future. This way you will not make them feel inadequate and they will probably be relieved that somebody has taken the effort to clarify a term they know should be familiar with but has privately confused them.

Conclusion
If you wish to be a great communicator you need to give attention to the content you are creating. Remember the Sandler rule “No mutual mystification”. There is nothing to be gained by being deliberately opaque. If you are working on having great Personal Presence, make it your aim that your content is easily understood by the recipient. If they are having to guess what you mean they are not gaining a good impression of you and consequently you will be losing control of the sales techniques you are attempting to use. With these practical exercises both your written and verbal messages will be clear and in precisely the right language your recipient needs.