I’m attending a think tank conference in Boston. It’s a diverse group of women entrepreneurs, leaders in sales, marketing, social media, and business development. You might think that each of us has our exclusive niche, secret sauce, perspective, way of seeing the world. You might think that we all think how we see the world is so special that no one else really can understand it.
Nah. I don’t think so. Not at all.
We are making the “what we do” accessible and comprehensible to everyone else. And we are not dumbing things down, either. It’s a matter of finding the common denominators of everyone seated around the table so everyone gets on the same page. Simultaneously. Do you know how thrilling an experience this is?
Is this something that you can bring into your workplace as well?
Are there departments, concepts, individuals that you simply “don’t get?” Ever?
Find out the common denominators of the other folks you interact with. It’s not that hard a thing to do.
Being incomprehensible to colleagues and customers doesn’t create exclusivity. It doesn’t make them want you or your brand more. In fact, it marginalizes folks. Perhaps they are being too polite to tell you this. However, I’m telling you this. Now.
You may think you know your colleagues, your internal customers, really well because you work with them every day. Perhaps you do. How well do you know your customers? What are their common denominators?
Determining common denominators keeps things uncomplicated. It demystifies what you are all about. And it makes you a lot more accessible and desirable to the folks you do business with. That, to me, represents a career-building, business-building, and revenue-generating platform.
It starts with how you communicate to each other.
- Does business babble or techno-speak end up creating two or more camps, self-segmenting around the table? Stop it. Find the common denominators and use them as you involve everyone.
- Does everyone use the same written communication style when sending information between team members or to customers? Gather all the post-meeting team correspondence and compare writing styles. Find a succinct means of getting your point across, so that everyone is literally on the same page and understands what is being asked of them.
- How do you present information to each other, both internally and externally. Film yourself and your colleagues. Then review the video, together. Look at things like body language during the presentation. Are you engaging folks or losing them in minutes? Are you making people nervous or are they comfortable being in the same room, not only with you but also with others seating at the table . Then start thinking about what would happen if your customers could view this video of all of you. Because that’s what they are seeing when you take your team into their company to make a presentation to them.
Is this the picture you want to present?
How complicated are you making things. For yourself? And what are your results?
What examples can you give me about how you or your company are over-complicating things? How does this habit impact revenue generation?
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