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CHAPTER 4
USING
COMMUNICATION
PRINCIPLES TO
BUILD
RELATIONSHIPS
Stephen B. Castleberry | John F. Tanner Jr.
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• What are the basic elements in the communication
process?
• Why are listening and questioning skills important?
• How can salespeople develop listening skills to collect
information about customers?
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LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• How do people communicate without using words?
• What are some things to remember when
communicating via technology like phones, e-mail, and
social media?
• How does a salesperson adjust for cultural differences?
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TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION PROCESS
• Encoding: Translation of thoughts into words
• Decoding: Interpreting the meaning of the received
message
• Feedback: Reply to the message
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EXHIBIT 4.1 - TWO-WAY FLOW
OF INFORMATION
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COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWNS
• Encoding and decoding problems
• Environment in which the communications occur
• Noises: Sounds unrelated to messages being exchanged
• Physical comfort
• Buyers do not always follow this communication model
perfectly
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SENDING VERBAL MESSAGES EFFECTIVELY
• Choice of words
• Use short words and phrases to:
• Demonstrate strength and force
• Provide charm and grace
• Avoid
• Trite words
• Phrases that sound overeager
• Off-color language
• Slang or foul language
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SENDING VERBAL MESSAGES EFFECTIVELY
• Draw on a set of words to best help present the features of
a product or service
• Do not use words that have become common and
meaningless
• Use culture specific words
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SENDING VERBAL MESSAGES EFFECTIVELY
• Voice characteristics
• Rate of speech - Faster rate for simple messages
• Slower rate for more difficult concepts
• Loudness: Should be tailored to the communication
situation
• Inflection: Tone or pitch of speech
• Articulation: Production of recognizable sounds
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SENDING VERBAL MESSAGES EFFECTIVELY
• Stories
• Conflicts, trials, and crises
• Help listener think through choices and outcomes of those
decisions
• Word picture: Graphic or vivid story designed to help the
buyer easily visualize a point
• Analogy: Speaker attempts to draw a parallel between one
thing and another
• Keep open lines of communication
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ACTIVE LISTENING
• 80-20 listening rule
• Listening - 80 percent of the time
• Talking - 20 percent or less of the time
• Speaking-listening differential: Difference between
the rate at which people speak and listen
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EXHIBIT 4.3 - LEVELS OF LISTENING
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ACTIVE LISTENING
• Think about the conclusions toward which the speaker
is building
• Evaluate the evidence being presented
• Sort out important facts from irrelevant ones
• Attempt to draw out as much information as possible
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SUGGESTIONS FOR ACTIVE LISTENING
• Repeating information
• To verify information being collected
• Restating or rephrasing information
• To verify a customer’s intent
• Clarifying information
• To verify a customer’s meaning
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SUGGESTIONS FOR ACTIVE LISTENING
• Summarizing the conversation
• To get a quick review
• Tolerating silences
• To give customer time to think
• Concentrating on the ideas being communicated
• To avoid getting distracted
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READING NONVERBAL MESSAGES
FROM CUSTOMERS
• Body language
• Nonverbal communication: Body language, space, and
appearance
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READING NONVERBAL MESSAGES
FROM CUSTOMERS
Body angle
Face
Arms
Hands
Legs
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EXHIBIT 4.4 - PATTERNS OF NONVERBAL
REACTIONS TO PRESENTATION
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BODY LANGUAGE PATTERNS
• Signals that customers may be hiding their true feelings
• Contradictions and verbal mistakes
• Differences in two parts of a conversation
• Contradictions between verbal and nonverbal messages
• Nonverbal signals
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SENDING MESSAGES WITH NONVERBAL
COMMUNICATION
• Using body language
• Facial muscles - Involuntary, especially during stressful
situations
• Eye contact
• Gestures and hand shaking
• Posture and body movements
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ROLE OF SPACE AND PHYSICAL CONTACT
• Distance zones
• Intimate zone: For a person’s closest relationships
• Personal zone: For close friends and those who share
special interests
• Social zone: For business transactions and other
impersonal relationships
• Public zone: For speeches, teachers in classrooms, and
passersby
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EXHIBIT 4.6 - DISTANCE ZONES FOR
INTERACTION
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ROLE OF SPACE AND PHYSICAL CONTACT
• Buyers fall into two touching groups
• Contact - See noncontact people as cold and unfriendly
• Noncontact - View contact people as overly friendly and
obtrusive
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APPEARANCE
• Priorities in dressing for business are:
• Getting customers to notice you in a positive way
• Getting customers to trust you
• Proper attire and grooming give salespeople additional
poise and confidence
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PRINCIPLES TO DRESS FOR SUCCESS
Consider the
geography
• Temperature
• Local cultural norms
Consider customers
• Their appearance
• Their expectations of your appearance
Consider corporate
culture
• Norms for your industry
Consider aspirations
• Top levels of your organization
• Dress above your position
Consider personal
style
• Wait until you have the halo effect
• Be reasonable
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COMMUNICATING VIA TECHNOLOGY
• Salespeople communicate with customers by using
different methods that vary in:
• Interactivity of the communications
• Ability to use verbal and nonverbal communication
channels
• Quantity of information that can be conveyed
• Response time: Time between sending a message and
getting a response to it
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EXHIBIT 4.7 - COMPARISON OF VARIOUS METHODS
OF SALESPERSON COMMUNICATIONS
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TELEPHONE COMMUNICATIONS
• Decide what to say before calling
• Be polite, enthusiastic, and an active listener
• Take notes and restate the message
• Encourage two-way communication with verbal cues
• Give customer opportunity to ask questions
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VOICE MAIL COMMUNICATIONS
• When cold calling, set up an appointment, don’t leave a
message
• Leave a clear, concise message including a suggested
time for a return call
• Avoid wasting the prospect’s time and ask for a callback
• Give name and phone number at the end of the message
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E-MAIL COMMUNICATION
Suggestions
• Immediacy does not mean intimacy
• Use meaningful subject lines
• Put important information in the first few lines
• Be careful of the tone or intent of e-mail
• Learn customer preferences for email
• Avoid techno overkill
• Avoid sending long e-mail messages or large
attachments
• Use speed to impress customers
• Do not deliver bad news via e-mail
• Check for timing before sending an e-mail
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SOCIAL NETWORKING
• Use of Web tools that allow users to:
• Share content
• Interact
• Develop communities around similar interests
• Salespeople use it to communicate with customers
and prospects
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SOCIAL NETWORKING
Suggestions
• Fill out your profile completely to build trust and establish
common bonds
• Create contacts/friends lists
• Follow all rules for the networking sites
• Share articles and links to presentations and other
information that might be helpful to prospects
• Remember to post updates on your wall about your
business
• Combine your social media accounts
• Respond quickly to posts and queries
• Add your Facebook/LinkedIn URL to your e-mail
signature
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ADJUSTING FOR CULTURAL DIFFERENCES
• Rules for using English in international selling
• Use common English words
• Use words that do not have multiple meanings
• Avoid slang expressions peculiar to American culture
• Use rules of grammar strictly
• Use action-specific verbs
• Never use vulgar expressions
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ADJUSTING FOR CULTURAL DIFFERENCES
• Considerations for international salespeople
• Terms have different meanings in different cultures
• Varying perceptions of time in general
• Time it takes for business activities to occur in different
countries
• Level of eye contact to be used
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