JUNE 2011 |www.opp.org.uk WORDS |Mark Sharp


Communicate well H


ow essential do you think it is to communicate the success of your business? If you are


one of those who say ‘it isn’t’ … please stop reading now and put in your notice to the liquidators straight away. For those who of you who say ‘very’, please read on as it is likely you will 1) learn something new, 2) enhance your business opportunities and 3) be able to add to your repertoire of skills as a person. The simplest of structures often work wonders in many different walks of life, and the art of communication is no different.


But before you set out with a new communication campaign, the best approach is to a) have an opening b) know what the main thrust of your communication is going to be and c) have a closing. This simple structure can be used as a model for all communications ... letter, memo, telephone call, email, multi-media presentation or sales pitch. And once you have a plan it is a matter of ensuring that what you are going to say can be understood. The key here is to remember the situation your communication is going to be used in ... i.e. its context. There is no point in spending a huge amount of time in preparing budgets for a staff picnic for instance, but preparation is essential to communicating well. In fact, it is better to be over prepared. Your preparation should include identifying who your audience is and tailoring to suit.


When writing, be consistent in your approach. If you use a certain font or lettering style, whether it is right or wrong, be consistent, to continually change will breed mistrust in your communication and thus mistrust in your company.


There is little doubt that the key to most business relationships is based on trust and that comes down to the individual and how clients perceive and trust you. Therefore it is vital to be


consistent and this includes the medium you use to communicate your message. We live in a media-rich environment so there are more tools than ever available at your disposal.


Identify not just what suits you, but also what gains you the best results. For instance, if you are good at face-to-face meetings and you get results from this approach, then use it, especially if you are not so good at making presentations. Identify how the explosion of social media can enhance your business. Is it possible for you to make a video? (You


“Identify a relevant piece of information to whet the appetite of the audience and then back it up”


also have control of the whole image being portrayed.) As part of the AIPP ethical sales training, we encourage people to include their photograph on all their business communications so that you are recognisable to those you are communicating with.


It is also vital that you ensure that what you are saying is relevant to your product and your audience. The overseas property market is a niche market but that doesn’t mean that products from other industries are not relevant, such as mortgages, lawyers, foreign exchange etc.


They key is to identify a particularly relevant piece of information that whets the appetite of the audience and then be able to back it up with a website or publication with further detailed information … this again gives confi dence to the audience. You are effectively saying that you can be trusted and therefore ensures confi dence in you and your product or service. Credibility and sincerity are both crucial in getting your message across. However, there is nothing worse than giving out of date information. You will lose your audience


immediately if you use out-of-date information. And for everyday communiqués, refrain from humorous remarks. They may seem funny to you, but your audience may feel differently, and the idea is to make friends and sell things rather than losing both. Again, preparation is the key – if you know who your audience is, you may well gain enough confi dence to make outlandish statements in order to win attention. But this is a real danger point. Just ask yourself ‘If I were to be the recipient – what would I think? Ever wondered why 80% of your sales come from 20% of your clients? Pareto identifi ed this phenomenon is the early 1900’s and it is remarkable how and where you can use this simple test as a rule of thumb. The human brain is organised so that it can retain information in clusters of between 7 to 9 items at a time. So ensure that you have no more than this amount of chapters, key messages or action points in any one message. By doing this the audience will be able to retain this information in its long-term memory and so give you a better chance of


BUSINESS


AIPP ADVICE | 27


In the modern world it is essential to get your message across as quickly and as simply as possible. Audiences are being bombarded with news and information all the time so keep things simple and be very disciplined in your approach. Mark Sharp suggests a very easy template to adopt.


Professor Mark Sharp is the chief executive of AIPP. He has more than 14 years of board level experience in the international property industry. Visit AIPP at: www.aipp.org.uk


succeeding in your communication. And the last chance to capture your audience’s attention is in the summary or conclusion. Essential techniques in doing this include resisting the temptation to introduce something new that you think is really important … but which you haven’t found the right place for earlier.


The summary is an ideal opportunity to re-iterate the important points – such as the AIPP ethical training course, and not to bring in our new insurance products available shortly! It should be a re-cap of everything that went before. Remind them of what you have just said. Do not add anything new in the conclusion. By using this simple structure and these principles, you can enhance your communications and improve your business and yourself at the same time.


Hit the target | if you want to make friends, infl uence people and sell things


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68