Great Communication Yields Impact for Small Business Growth
Create success by extending generosity your colleagues and customers, it’s known as the Law of Reciprocity.
As a career Wall Streeter and mountaineer, I learned over the years that mountains are not climbed alone; neither are businesses. Each depends on the generosity you’re willing to extend to your colleagues and customers, known as the Law of Reciprocity. It’s a universal understanding to explain that in order to create success, extend help to others along the way. They in turn will assist and inspire you to reach your career summits. Mountaineering is also a metaphor for the way we climb the corporate ladder and build our business. In all three cases, we set a goal, take one step at a time, and collaborate our way to success. We bring our own ability, motivation, and mind-set on the way up. Although I was surrounded by intelligent and competent professionals, one other observation about career climbing became evident.
No matter what your job is, success will be determined by:
- 5 percent by your academic credentials.
- 15 percent by your professional experiences.
- 15 percent by your natural ability; and
- 65 percent by your communication skills.
Despite evolving management theories, differing corporate cultures, and various product lines, there is one common thread that weaves its way through today’s economy: the top jobs and successful business people are more often than not the most compelling communicators. Climbing and persuasively communicating also underscore the battles we fight in our minds as we seek to define the meaning of success. They tap into the deepest understanding of ourselves and help us realize the importance of tenacity in pursuit of success. As General George Patton once said, “I don’t measure a man’s success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces back when he hits rock bottom.”
Whether it’s a small business or large corporation, in the U.S. or Latin America, the need to drive revenue is critically tied to the quality of your customer interaction.
- Why should they buy what you’re selling?
- What is the benefit?
- How will you make them feel when the interaction is complete?
In the day-to-day tactics of business development, we often lose sight of the interactive moments that can make the difference between winning a loyal customer or losing them for good. Consequently, the focus on powerful and compelling communication is critical at every turn. In this high-tech world surrounded by electronic communication devices, don’t ignore the most important tool in your kit…your own voice. Strive to connect with others on an emotional level that texting and emailing rarely do. Your customer may forget what you say when establishing a personal connection, but they will never forget how you make them feel. Use your words, body language, and positive attitude to win that business. As strange as it may be, learning to speak with purpose and listen with intent has become a business differentiator in the congested and competitive world of business. When it comes to many professional development programs, the soft skills are often ignored.
It’s unfortunate.
As you ascend in your career, you’ll have shifting job expectations. The higher you are on the leadership ladder, the less of the “real work” you used to do. You now lead others and are counted on to inspire, persuade, and provoke the change necessary to ensure others stay motivated and productive. Consequently, a great deal of your time is in meetings and presentations, communicating your way and motivating others to the top.
The call to action:
Change the focus of your career development and learn to become an exceptional communicator. Whatever method you choose to improve your communication and presentation skills, many will seem unnatural, uncomfortable, and awkward. Communication skills and public speaking bring fear and frustration to many. Rarely do these skill developments happen spontaneously. Like climbing a mountain, your ability to speak powerfully brings a new set of struggles. In both cases, it’s in the act of overcoming challenges where professional and personal growth occurs. Consequently, the heightened focus on these skills is not just about communicating or climbing your metaphorical mountains.
It’s about you and your success – and the recognition that it’s rarely a straight line to the top. You’ll zig and you’ll zag knowing that these tools and tactics will help you to keep moving up. As you contemplate the challenges that lie ahead, look to the mountains for inspiration, and reflect on these words of wisdom to propel your career to new heights:
“Challenge is the core and mainspring of all human activity. If there’s an ocean, we cross it; if there’s a disease, we cure it; if there’s a wrong, we right it; if there’s a record, we break it; and, finally, if there’s a mountain, we climb it.” James Ramsey Ullman, Climbing Historian
Related content:
Looking for a Leader for Your Business? Listen!
