Communication and Your Business: 4 Things that Need to Happen

Emma Sturgis

June 24, 2016

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Being able to communicate, and communicate effectively is one of the primary factors to being a success at business. It is a special ability, which demands certain procedures during the process. Business owners, executives, customer service representatives and salespeople all have an obligation to communicate effectively with the customers. The livelihood of a business is dependent on how well and swiftly the customer is served. Here are four things, which are crucial.

Make Sure to Ask the Right Questions

Part of selling a good or service is having perfect clarification of the client's specific needs. The only way to fully understand the client's unique needs is to ask questions. Once the problem is clear, then it is time to offer the services to resolve and meet the client's needs, and the client should be made privy to the steps taken to satisfy their needs.

Communicate Professionally at All Times

Impeccable professionalism wins contacts, contracts and financial success. Fine-tuned communication skills along with professionalism help to form someone into the total package in the business world. Always answer the phone professionally, make sure a business email address with a proper signature is always used and strive to speak competently and articulately no matter the circumstances. For example, even if it is an online chat for business, which is made available by many companies to offer added access to customer service technicians and personnel, always maintain the same pristine way of speaking and addressing questions as if it were a face to face conversation.

Schedule and Prepare Thoroughly

Scheduling a meeting in advance for a reasonable block of time ensures the meeting will not be pressed, and it gives the client adequate and uninterrupted time to communicate with whoever is interviewing. Once the time and location of the meeting is set, then it is wise to structure an outline and form an agenda for the meeting. It is also important to share the agenda with everyone involved, so they have the opportunity to prepare. It demonstrates professional courtesy.

Speak, Pause, and Listen

This is the easiest part. Eliminate anything distracting or invasive to the conversation. Then, make sure to speak in a way so a give and take pattern is established. This allows everyone involved a chance to fully communicate everything they wanted to discuss for the meeting. Finally, end the conversation appreciatively to demonstrate how everyone's time was obviously of great value.

Being a tolerable, mediocre communicator or an effective, practiced communicator is the difference between being good and great. An effective, practiced communicator is someone who is obviously a deal maker headed into a direction paved with success. For example, if a person has the same exact I.Q. as a competitor, then what separates the two will be communications skills. Communication skills need to be strengthened and practiced constantly. There will always be a myriad of benefits for someone who consistently presents professional and polished interactions.