Five key communication skills for success

Being able to communicate with clients effectively has never been so important, particularly when there is so much uncertainty at the moment – here are five key communication skills you should master

CREDIT: This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared on The Sales Ace

It’s more vital than ever to ensure that your communications with your clients and prospects go beyond simply sending an invoice.

With this in mind, here are the top five skills for effective business communication.

Active listening

There is a huge difference between listening to respond and listening to understand. To become an effective listener, and therefore an effective communicator, you must be able to listen to understand.

It seems simple but very often, especially in business interactions, you can enter a conversation with an agenda that differs from the other person. This doesn’t usually make for effective communication.

To become a more active listener, try these out:

• Pay attention – look at the speaker directly and minimise external distractions
• Show that you’ve heard them – nod, smile and offer an ‘uh ha’ or ‘yes’
• Offer feedback – repeat what they’ve said to confirm you’ve understood then follow up with questions
• Put aside your judgements – remember, the aim of active listening is to understand their perspective, not to interrupt with counterarguments

Desire to reach a consensus

Nothing destroys communication quite like stubbornness. If you’re not entering business interactions with the aim of agreeing or negotiating, then it’s unlikely you’re forging the kind of close business ties you’re aiming for.

One way to demonstrate your desire for consensus is to practice active listening as outlined above. You’re unlikely to be able to reach agreements if you’re not listening or being listened to effectively.

Once you’ve got a sense of where your client or prospect is in their head, you can ask questions more respectfully and openly, challenging their position without them getting defensive. This is the basis for reaching agreements.

Strong grasp of language

It may sound obvious but being able to articulate your thoughts and ideas, both verbally and in writing, is a crucial part of your communication toolkit.

When reaching out to clients during a difficult time like this, or even when you’re just in everyday conversation with them, you must have a good grasp of the language you need to use to make them feel valued, heard, or important.

If you cannot articulate your position or make them feel heard, you will struggle to communicate effectively.

Empathy

Similarly to using the right language, your goal when communicating with clients is always to make them feel heard. By being empathetic to their thoughts and feelings, you’re providing a space in which they’re more likely to open up about their problems and, therefore, enable you to provide solutions. Empathy is a greatly underrated skill in the business world but makes for vastly improved communication.

Problem solving

Anyone who follows The Sales Ace regularly will know that she advocates a sales approach that places problem-solving front and foremost. Therefore, in order to be able to communicate your offering to clients and prospects, you must be proficient in solving problems.

This ties into all of the above points because if you do not listen effectively, strive to reach a consensus or show empathy, you’re unable to truly uncover their pain points and offer solutions.

At the end of the day, you need to leave your customers feeling valued and supported, but you also need to make sales. Taking a problem-solving approach is the final step to achieving that.