Being able to communicate effectively is one of the most important skills we can learn in life. It is of paramount importance in business. A lot of clients and customers might be dealt with online. So you need to be able to communicate effectively. Otherwise, they might not get the right message or understand correctly. People’s time can be wasted, and nothing can get achieved or planned. So here are some ways that your business team can improve how they communicate with customers and clients.
Be Courteous
There is nothing worse than turning up for a business meeting and having the person be looking at their phone the whole time. Put away distractions and focus on the customer or client. Use their name, make eye contact and ask questions. In emails, keep things formal and polite. You don’t want to presume that it is a causal business relationship when you’ve never met the person receiving the email.
Be a Good Listener
This one might sound a little odd, but to communicate well, you need to be able to listen well. It helps you to understand what they are talking about and help you to ‘read between the lines’. So take time when talking with customers or clients. Listen to them and get the exact details of the things they want or want to be resolved. Ask questions to clarify and take time with them. It will help to impress the customer or client when you take the time to listen properly to what they want.
Go on a Course
If you are good at meeting with customers in person but are no good at dealing with them over the phone or online, there are courses you can go on. Somewhere like Training Connection offers a variety of courses to help improve your business. Course include things like doing presentations, business writing and even just spelling and grammar. It can be a worthwhile thing to do to help improve the quality of your business team.
Practice Makes Perfect
If you have face-to-face client meetings or have to do a presentation, it might be worth practising. If you take the time to run through what you are saying, you will feel much more confident. You could practice with a friend or colleague to check that it is clear what you are saying. Sometimes it might be obvious to you what you are talking about. But it isn’t always clear to others that don’t know about it. So practice will help to make perfect.
Be Specific
We are all busy in life and in business. So a meeting that just drags on and nothing is achieved, is a waste of everyone’s time. Be specific in your communication. Know what you want to get out of the conversation or email. If someone gets lot reading your email, they won’t know how to respond. So keep things to the point, yet still be courteous and polite. Keeping communication clear and concise is key to getting the message across and get things done.