You've been squeaking - I mean trying to get your way -
ever since you were a baby. A matter of fact, before you
read any further, why not pull out a chubby picture of
yourself just to have a good laugh. Or, get a good image in
your mind of your baby picture. You got the picture? Would
you just look at that baby smile. Now, your method of
persuasion when you were a baby was crying really, really
loud hoping to get someone's attention. Well, it worked.
As I watch my daughter grow up, she mixes in a temper
tantrum to get our attention. And, much of the time it
still works. The point here is that your growing up
experiences have a lot to do with the way you persuade
others to purchase your product or services. And, so does
your communication.
Since I'm qualified to speak about generational cultures, I
want to point out that our persuasion skills are really a
product of our habitual ways of thinking that have been
passed down from generation to generation. I mimic mom, and
she imitated her mother before her. And I taught my
daughter how to speak, much like my teachers taught me. I
make conscious vocal changes, but I often find myself
thinking, "YIKES! I sound like my mom". When it comes to
trying to get our way, though our persuasion techniques are
very similar to those of our ancestors, the world around
those we communicate with has changed dramatically.
When I first learned this, I had a huge Aha! moment. My jaw
dropped open, because I began to understand for the first
time that some people's skills for persuasion were very
outdated. You may be a entrepreneur, manager, parent,
teacher or student. Whatever your role, you are trying to
communicate messages to those around you and probably doing
it much like your family and friends and their ancestors
and their ancestors. But consider for a moment how greatly
communication with the world has changed.
Now, let's fast forward to designing your website, getting
your letterhead or business card printed. Yes, just like a
child, you are still trying to persuade someone to pay
attention to you. However, now that you got staff and bills
to pay, you NEED to get attention, not just want to get
attention. Instead of squeaking, you need to be SPEAKING!
Since your competition is no longer just local, it's
global, you really need to consider getting out into the
public in a big way. Look at how much assertive advertising
went into Earth Hour 2008. The outgoing, friendly, global
minded and confident self-employed professionals will have
more success attracting clients, than the shy and timid.
So, who do you want to pay attention to you?
Here are some tips from the trenches. Follow these
fundamentals to discover how you may want to change your
client communication and improve your existing results. To
persuade prospects into becoming your clients:
- You must have deep conviction that you are the
answer to their problem.
- You have to have the personality, reputation and
credibility to take your message seriously. This comes from
your success record.
- You have to be trained to communicate your message
in front of audiences.
- You need to learn how to write in a way that
clarifies your thoughts to your target market.
- You must be able to share your story, with some
humor, of how the heck you got into your line of work in
the first place.
Let me tell you, you will not always get your way with
clients. But, by being conscious of how you communicate
with clients, polishing up your presentation skills,
strengthening your belief in your product or service, and
developing a deep passion for what you want out of your
business, you will get your way and persuade more prospects
to become your clients.
----------------------------------------------------
Kim Schott, your Global Client Communication Expert, is the
author of the Keys to Client Communication System, the
step-by-step, paint by numbers client communication program
to attract more clients in less time. To receive your
weekly how-to articles on consistantly attracting more
local and global clients in less time, visit
http://www.SchottCulturalConsulting.com
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