|
|
|||||
|
what happens if we type these here |
 |
||||
|
Who’s
Feeling the Pain of Poor Communication? I
thought about the early days of my own business. When I first started, I
intended to focus on the communication problems that plagued most
technical consulting firms. When I’d tell people what I do, I’d often
get a chuckle and a comment like: “Well, engineers could sure use some
help with communicating.” And these are engineers telling me this. But
rarely did anyone hire me to help them improve their communication. I
concluded that they weren’t feeling enough pain. As a
subscriber to this newsletter [The
Consultant Communicator], I’m assuming that, if not in pain, you are
at least interested in improving your health. But let’s face it, most of
us have become rather adept at ignoring the chronic pain of poor
communication in our profession. We accept it as a fact of life. It
doesn’t have to be that way. Yet before we can treat the illness, we
must first recognize its debilitating effects. So
like a good doctor, I offer my diagnosis. You probably came into my office
feeling fine, but after hearing the results of my examination—I hate to
say it—you may not feel so well. I’m sorry, but that’s my job. So
where does it hurt? Let me tell you: u
Unproductive
selling. Studies indicate that
salespeople fail in 90 percent of their calls. For those of us who make
enough sales calls to amass a 90 percent failure rate, the number is
probably not far off. No wonder so few of us enjoy it. u
Lost
proposals. Speaking of 90
percent failure rates, that accurately describes the proposal loss rate of
several technical consulting firms. Some assume that’s simply the nature
of this business. But a few exceptional firms win over half of their
proposals. u
Lost
clients. Most client
relationships end because of poor service, and the preponderance of
service problems have something to do with communication difficulties.
Even lasting relationships could be better. One survey of environmental
service buyers found that only 23 percent would recommend their existing
providers to someone else. u
Stalled
projects. How important are
communication skills in negotiating with regulatory agencies or conducting
public meetings? Well, how many of your projects have been held up by
regulators or community activists? By the way, there are far more projects
killed by public opposition than technical issues. Can you spell
N-I-M-B-Y? u
Organizational
ineffectiveness. I don’t even
know where to start with this one. Budget overruns, missed deadlines,
rework, spotty quality, inefficiency, stress, bad morale, employee
turnover—all problems frequently resulting from communication
breakdowns. I
could go on, but you get the point. Can you feel the pain yet? I do. I had
run this race for over 20 years before it occurred to me—our
communication woes are like dragging a ball and chain behind us. It could
be worse, but thankfully our competitors have the same the handicap. What
would happen if we decided enough is enough, and we diligently sought the
cure for our sickness? Could it be that better communication skills
comprise one of the last unexploited competitive advantages in our
business? I
think so. More effective selling. More successful proposals. Stronger
client relationships. Fewer stalled projects. Greater organizational
harmony and efficiency. It’s all within reach. There are no miracle
cures, but better health is attainable. First, though, we have to tire of
the pain. Copyright © 1997, The Business Edge, all rights reserved (from the newsletter The Consultant Communicator)
|
|||||
|
Home | Experience | Articles | Links | Contact |
|||||
