By Suzanne Stevens - Ignite Excellence

About a year ago, I was working with a company that was pitching for a piece of business that they had successfully secured for the two previous years. When the Account Manager met with the client, much to his surprise, he was told that they were considering other firms to provide the same service. When asked why they were soliciting other firms, the client reluctantly responded, “We are looking for a company who can bring new ideas to the table, and who can grow with us.” The Account Manger asked if he could bid on this business, and the client responded positively. He never did find out why they didn’t believe that his company could grow with them.

The bidding process began.

There are many different people involved in ensuring the client is satisfied and will remain loyal to your organization. The marketing team starts the process, but it is the individuals who implement the solutions who can truly impact the client’s experience.

When an organization has successfully won new business, they may look, at first, like a well-oiled machine to the new client. In reality, however, are they really prepared, from the front-lines back, to deliver the goods? The structure, process and people may be in place and ready to go, but are the people able to communicate effectively with each other? Unfortunately, the project start is often when miscommunication typically begins. This can potentially delay a project or cause a poorly executed program, and jeopardize the organization’s standing with the hard-won client.

The challenge starts long before the first interaction with the client. It starts by ensuring that anyone who is involved in the implementation of a project is trusted by his or her colleagues and has credibility in their eyes.

I sometimes joke about how hard it can be to convince my family and friends of my capabilities. In all seriousness, however, those who are the closest to us are most often those who may, rightly or wrongly, question our capability. As a result, there can be a challenge in communicating the right solution to a colleague, in a way that will promote buy in and action. Trust is necessary in internal communications because without it, the long-term positive relationships with our colleagues suffer.

Sales and Marketing people bring in business, but the individuals who actually implement the sold product or service have a critical role to play. These people have the product expertise, but often not the communication skills to convey realistic expectations of a project to colleagues.

As employees we all want quality of life. Part of that quality of life is to ensure that our work environment is productive, fulfilling and harmonious. We often neglect to look at all the triggers that impact our satisfaction with our environment. Effective communication is frequently a challenge for relationships, whether personal or professional.

One key element for effective communication is to be able to convey information clearly, succinctly, and in a way that is understood. There is so much more to it, however, than clarity and structure. Ignite Excellence Inc. has trained thousands of people who rely on their ability to communicate in order to make their living. Many are already successful communicators when they first come to us (a number are with RWDI). But, this does not always mean that they are persuasive communicators.

The definition of persuasive, according to the Oxford Dictionary, is “to cause to believe or convince.” People do not generally voluntarily take an action unless they are convinced that the action is the best course to take. Effective persuasion requires learning and practicing a number of specific communication skills.

Many organizations have won business or convinced someone to do what they wanted without consciously using persuasive techniques. But, in order to continue to consistently renew the business, or convince a colleague, there needs to be a continuous conscious focus on persuasion, managing their expectations, uncovering their needs and understanding how they make decisions.

Ignite Excellence Inc. created the Influence Without Authority program to help engineering and other technical experts learn to communicate their messages to colleagues and clients in a persuasive way. This program focuses on the fundamentals of communication to achieve realistic expectations. The program also takes into consideration the politics that often exist between colleagues who work together every day. Participants learn to gain respect, confidence and trust from their colleagues so that their ideas and recommendations are taken seriously. The ability to communicate knowledge and insight clearly and persuasively to colleagues helps the organization deliver the best solutions to their clients.

Persuasive communication skills become very important in order to continuously win business. Earlier, I mentioned a company that had won a client’s business two years in row and then unexpectedly found themselves in a competitive bid situation. They had missed the opportunity to be continuously in tune with the client. As a result, a disconnect occurred, and they lost the client’s trust. This example highlights how essential it is to continue to gain the pulse of our clients to see what is important to them, to know what changes have occurred, and how to position your solution based on their changing priorities.

Similarly, it is just as important that the experts who create those solutions clearly communicate the implications of each aspect of the project when it is executed. Repeat success is based on being consciously competent in every area of your business, including communication to clients and between every member of the team.