Tiggy Sonya's Business Communications Blog Station

It had been a busy morning in the office. Nigel had put together a rather long report and statistical analysis for this week’s sales meeting. He stopped whilst looking at the empty desks around him. And then he realized Duncan, the new telesales executive was having another conversation with himself, and this time it looked serious. Great! Nigel relaxed and closed his eyes. As he began to doze off, he sunk deeper into his padded executive chair. He felt his neck relax as he slumbered off into sleepy land. Suddenly, Nigel was not in his office, but in a room full of proactive salespeople! They picked up calls within three rings and were so, well, proactive! And they knew how to communicate! As Nigel listened to the conversations around the room, he knew he was dreaming. Open questions, Excel spreadsheets being filled in, and the CRM system was totally up to date! Surely, he had traveled to sales office heaven, not the offices of Pratts Plumb and Gooseberry Conserve, Norfolk Keys.

And then I hear you say, hey, what are you going on about Sonya? Well, it’s all about our internal dialogue when we make a consultative call. You see, listening is a multi-functional task that requires thinking  about how you do it. Maybe you would not agree. Especially If you won your new sales executive position based on being an expert with years of experience. You are indeed a tip-top consultant who knows how to implement a call. Who am I to open your canny little ears? But what if there was more cream, or pudding available if you reconsidered the process of making those sales calls? Sorry to bring it back to puddings. Having your cake and eating it is great. When you stand back and look at your creation and want to share, knowing how to blend the ingredients will either leave a good or bad taste in the mouth of the consumer. The phenomena of hearing and therefore listening can be split if you like …no bananas needed. So, listen up, we need to examine this experience as b

A Business Fable Rita had worked hard with her new venture. Providing cleaning services for local households was going well. She felt contented in the realization of her expertise. Other people appreciated her no-nonsense approach. Therefore, she had trained her staff to work with hands of steel, with strong elbows, and to get on with it. Yes, get in there, clean, and get out! Rita was confident that she knew it all, and therefore all would come to her. Ah, but that is when everything went just a little bit wrong. With her staff trained to have hands of steel, be relentless in what they do, and get the job done and out the door, Rita thought she had everything under control. And then one day, the phone rang. Rita was told, in uncertain terms, by Mrs. Jarrod, residing at The Lodge, that she would not require a cleaner anymore. The customer then went on to explain that the rather heavy-handed cleaner had managed to crack two antique glasses, chip Mrs. Jarrod’s Jacobean windowpanes, and a