Choosing how to best communicate…

When attempting to generate action your communication method can make a huge difference in producing the desired outcome and in producing peace of mind!

On Monday, I had a conversation with a fairly successful entrepreneur who was attempting to get a company to move forward with an opportunity he was promoting.  The company was in the midst of making operational decision regarding where to invest for 2010 and it seemed his opportunity would potentially be delayed or cut.  He decided to escalate his contact to the president of the company who he had met once before.  He asked, “should I send him an email or give him a call?”  I was clear that his purpose was to get them to take action because if it were to be delayed, it would potentially find permanence on the shelf.   He proceeded to read a very powerful email message he intended to send that really impressed me. However, I ask him a question that allowed us to determine his best strategy.  “What if you don’t receive a response from this person in 1 -2 days, what will go through your mind?”  His response was, “well I will probably wonder if he received it after day 1; then after day 2, I may wonder if it was worded too strong.”  Then I asked, “what if it goes on for 2 more days?” He thought for a moment and responded,  “then I may think that they’ve decided to go in a different direction…”

When attempting to elicit action choosing what method to use is critical.  First, consider whether or not the communication method will placed you in limbo.  Limbo is when you are no longer able to take action as you wait for a response or reaction.  It is also a dangerous place where all sort of evil thoughts live.  This leads us to the second consideration, determine the likelihood of being misunderstood. This could be from content or intent of the communication or from lengthy response delays.  Matters only gets worst the longer you have to wait and that then lead to false realities.  A false reality is when you start to create a story in your head about how the communication may have been received or other conclusions you draw based upon no or inconclusive information. False realities lead to loss of power in addition to anxiety.  When you finally do connect with the other party, you’re operating from a weakened state due to uncertainty regarding the interpretation of the communication, etc…   EMail and other written forms of communication can leave the reader with a different interpretation of your real intent and as in the story above, it allows the mind to potentially fester on an inaccurate view.

After thinking about it for a while I came up with this chart that ranks different ways we might communicate with one another.  The idea is that you should choose the best method based upon the requirement for feedback, clarity, and empowerment.  The objective when trying to elicit action, is to be in limbo as little as possible and avoid potential for being misunderstood.

I shared the idea with another executive over lunch and he asked me, “does it make any difference which stage you’re at in the sales process?”  After a brief pause I responded, “absolutely”.  The third consideration, is to consider the stage of the sales process and the purpose the communication serves.  If you’re following up on a sales call and you desire to confirm your understanding, an email or letter is a very powerful way to ensure clarity and alignment with the prospect.

Fourth, consider the generational differences and preferences in communication method.   Studies have shown that many Baby Boomers, prefer phone conversations or letters, where as Gen Xers tend to prefer email a bit more than phone.  Gen Y’s are Txt and IM users, they are a multitask generation.  Generational consideration is also a very important checkpoint.  Imagine you’re a 50 something sales professional and you’re trying to develop a business relationship with an enterprising, well funded start-up in the technology marketspace.  The founders are two persons in their late 20′s early 30′s.  You’ve been reaching out to them, leaving them voice mail messages, shooting them emails and they’re not responding.  After a few weeks you learn through someone in the office that they’re in talks with another company on the same idea you were bringing to them.  When you asked how they found out, you hear they read a tweet regarding it.  Unfortunately even though your solution is better and you can even prove it, your ability to position “best fit” started with how you aligned with the customer through your communication method.

After searching all over the internet, reading countless articles, reviewing all sorts of demographics data, I developed the following chart on preferred communication methods by demographic:

Dr. Carol Goman claims that “Generation Y’s have a very strong ability to multi-task and low tolerance for boredom. This is mirrored in how MTV throws 100 images each minute at their audiences – it is constantly changing and highly image-driven. Technology has changed cognition, and altered the way we need to communicate.”  An important step in communicating with the younger generations has been the move from the “passive” or “pushing” communications to the “active” or “pulling” communications. Generation Y needs active involvement in receiving information or they will quickly lose interest.

Obviously there are a number of other consideration such as are you communicating to someone internal or external to your company, a subordinate or a more senior individual, what is the window of opportunity, is it a priority for the other party, etc…

Just to tie up the loose ends to the story… the entrepreneur didn’t take my advice and sent the email anyway.  Later he call and told me that it blew up on him so we began to strategize on how to clean up the new situation.  This time he executed our collaborative strategy flawlessly.  It’s too soon to say for sure, but he believes that the opportunity now  looks promising.  I’d love to hear your ideas or reaction to this post… wish I could pick up the phone and call each of you but heck, this is a blog… guess I’ll have to tweet.

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Copyright 2010 by SalesFX, Inc., All rights reserved

Vaughn Rachal is President of SalesFX, Inc.