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Quick Method to Connect, Promote and Sell More to Your Customers and Prospects

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Do you know who you’re talking to?

I mean can you determine who your customer or prospective customer is in the first 15-30 seconds?

Well, you can if you observe and listen carefully and understand a few key elements of each style. Determining the “buying style” can help you connect quickly and open a conversation that relates to the way your customer likes to buy. Knowing this information will save you time, keep you from “annoying” your customer and help you promote and sell more.

I refer to this system as the M.E.G.A Method and call the four styles, Methodicals, Expansives, Governors, Agreeables.

Here’s 5ways to figure out the “buying style” and quickly shift the way you respond for maximum connection:

1. Respect the Driving Principle

a. Methodicals : Be Accurate at All Costs

b. Expansives : Get It Done and Have Fun

c. Governors : Do It My Way and Fast

d. Agreeables : Consensus Before Action

2. Know How They Make Decisions

a. Methodicals: All the Information, Deliberate

b. Expansives: Enough Info in an Entertaining Way, Spontaneous

c. Governors: Bottom Line, Fast

d. Agreeables: Relationship First, No Decision Until Agreement

3. Observe to Connect – Pace, Posture, Energy, Eye Contact

a. Methodicals: Measured, Contained, Low, Little or None

b. Expansives: Swift, Relaxed Confidence, Kinetic Energy, Direct

c. Governors: Quick, Confident, Controlled High Energy

d. Agreeables: Moderate, Relaxed, Medium, Polite

4. Listen to Connect: Rate, Tone, Pitch

a. Methodicals: Slow, Monotone, Low

b. Expansives: Very Quick, Friendly, Moderately Loud to Loud

c. Governors: Fast, Demanding, Booming

d. Agreeables: Moderate, Thin to Mid-Tone

5. Know What’s Important for Them

a. Methodicals: Best Value

b. Expansives: Visibility

c. Governors: Status

d. Agreeables: Friends & Family

Put this into practice and watch how quickly your sales will grow.

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Find more tips on workplace communication in Misunderstood! The Fast Guide to Communicating at Work– What to Say, How to Say It and When to Shut Up!

Categories : Communication Styles, Customer Service, Sales Artilces

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Communication Quick Tip – The Keep Cool Formula

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It always helps to have a quick formula that’s easy to remember, easy to post where you can see it and easy to implement. In touchy communication situations when emotions might thwart clear thinking try these 3 steps:

1. Look – Observe the pace, voice, eye-contact and posture of your listener. Pay attention to emotions, intentions, and any mental or physical distractions. Match and step it down if emotions are high.

2. Adjust – Shift your style to communicate in the way your listener likes to communicate. A small adjustment now saves time, money and effort later.

3. Verify – Verify that the translation and comprehension of your message matches your intention. (and be honest about your intention-is it aligned to your highest self?)

Ready for more tips you can use? Just enter your name and email in the boxes to your upper right and get FREE Instant Access to your 6-Part Audio Series – The Power of Effective Communication now. Go. 6 short audios that can change the way you communicate. or CLICK HERE

Categories : Communication Articles, Communication Styles

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Avoid Misunderstandings at Work–Communicating with Confidence

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Misunderstandings in the workplace are often the result of poor self-confidence. Confidence shows up first in your presence. In-other-words, your posture, the way you move, the way you stand and your energy.

What does all of this have to do with avoiding misunderstandings? The non-verbal message sent by slouchy shoulders, an unbalanced stance and a voice that lacks conviction can easily negate even the clearest verbal message…and that causes misunderstandings. Communicate like you mean it.

Consider the young manager who is not quite sure of herself as she attempts to give direction to her assistant. The request might be as simple as completing a report needed for a meeting. Her words might be clear but her assistant might read her lack of confidence in her demeanor to mean…”if you have time to get it done.”

If you’re thinking this never happens, think again. The dog whisperer, Cesare Milan, tells dog owners that the conversation they are having in their in heads –positive or negative– translates to the energy a dog understands. The same thing occurs with humans, and no one knows this better than children. The mother who attempts to stop her child from an unwanted behavior by sweetly saying “no honey” in a voice that says “I don’t really mean it” hardly gets the response she would like.

Communicating with confidence won’t eliminate all misunderstandings but it will help. What do you think?

For more communication tips pick up a copy of Misunderstood! The Fast Guide to Communicating at Work. You can get it by clicking the icon of the book on your right or at Amazon.con.

Categories : Communication Articles, Communication Styles, Non-verbal messages

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Communication Styles at Work–More Productivity with Less Misunderstanding

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Learning to connect with all the communication styles in your workplace is the key to increased productivity.

Now I know you aren’t going to get along with everyone at every moment and really, that’s a good thing. Why? Because healthy conflict produces pearls (ask any clam!)

But let’s talk about those communication styles for a moment. If you are familiar at all with communication styles then you have probably heard the them referred to as: Directors or Controllers, Amiables or Relators, Thinkers or Analyticals and Expressives or Sociables.

Even if you aren’t familiar the points below apply to everyone you interact with daily:

Respect the theme or driving principle for each style. Do they prefer to do things their way and quickly? Do they focus on accuracy at all costs? Do they prefer consensus before taking action? Or do they favor fun while getting things done? Go along with their theme while keeping your integrity intact.
Shift your style of communicating to meet theirs if you want to be heard. Bring your energy level up or tone it down and add detail or give the big picture depending on the style you’re communication with to increase your rapport.
To request action, to gather information communicate to each style’s preferred approach to work. Do they need the bottom line only or every last detail? Do they need cooperation and flexibility or do they want enough information to make a decision – not too much, not too little?

Support each style in the way they prefer saves you time, prevents misunderstandings and cultivates a cooperative workplace. Leave me your thoughts–what do you do to get along with others?

You can learn more about communication groups in my book, Misunderstood! The Fast Guide to Communicating at Work–What to Say, How to Say It and When to Shut Up. Get it at Amazon.com. If you don’t need it get it as a gift for someone that can benefit from the message.

Categories : Communication Articles, Communication Styles

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Communicating with the Characters in Your Workplace

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Communicating at work often resembles a sitcom where coworkers are characters and the story is driven by misunderstandings. Every sitcom from I Love Lucy to Seinfeld to Modern Family are great examples of misunderstandings resulting in humor and a tidy ending.

In reality, misunderstanding with the characters (I mean co-workers) you work with often doesn’t end with a happy conclusion. The good news is that your coworkers may be identifiable as the characters in a good story. Once you get to know them, you’ll be able to anticipate a certain amount of predictable behavior. Think Seinfeld’s Kramer–you always expect his cockamamie logic to some mundane situation.

So how does this help you? Well, learning how to talk these character types (or communication styles) will help you get your point across more effectively so that cooperation and collaboration becomes the norm rather than the exception.

Ask these questions and notice these distinctions and shift your approach, and your chances of getting cooperation increases.

1. What motivates them?

2. What do they seek?

3. What do they fear?

4. What is important to them?

5. How do they behave under stress?

Create a game for yourself and see if you can created a profile of each of the people you work with and for–and then decide how you need to shift your behavior to connect with them.

What’s your experience?

This post is an excerpt from Misunderstood! The Fast Guide to Communicating at Work–What to Say, How to Say It and When to Shut Up. Order your copy today and learn more about behavior styles.

Categories : Communication Articles, Communication Styles, Non-verbal messages

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