Whether working for a charity or for profit, and whatever the sector, good communication skills are a vital element. A million years ago when I started with Procter & Gamble as a Salesman we were drilled on communication skills - so some of the techniques have actually stuck with me!
For your use prior to your next performance meeting with one of your staff, an introductory meeting with a prospect, or just at the dinner table tonight, I offer what we were trained on...
This aspect of communication skills was all about eliciting more input from the "buyer" and had five elements, and they went from techniques that were "least sensitive" to potentially "most sensitive":
1/ General Lead (e.g. "go on", "say more", even "yes...")
2/ Pause (a little more sensitive since it could lead to an awkward silence)
3/ Restatement (in my old world that would be something like the Buyer says "it's not selling", and you reply with "it's not selling?")
4/ Probe (e.g. "how is that selling?")
5/ Interpretation (e.g. "so when you say it's not selling, you mean the Marketing plan isn't working?" or something like that...)
Learning more about prospective donors, buyers, or just one another is always helpful, so maybe this will make your next conversation just that little bit more productive!
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