Communication (Soft) Skills=Hard Dollar Results -part 1

I had a conversation today that went like this:

Susan: Hi, Mike. So, do you clean gutters?
Mike: Yes, we've been doing it for 17 years, and now we do wood repair, and caulking, and, and, and... I'll give you one of my brochures.
Susan: Thanks. (End of conversation, NO SALE)

Executives, managers and business owners too often rely on their communication habits--the soft skills--and since they don't recognize how ineffective those habits are, they don't invest in improving their soft skills.

They reason that they should spend their marketing, promotional, or education dollars on developing hard skills--technical or industry specific content. While cutting edge knowledge keeps you competitive, what good will all that knowledge be if your people can't:

• Find out what prospects, or colleagues, care about
• Explain the value of your services to your customers in terms of their needs
• Close sales through presentations and demos
• Grow the business through networking
• Be effective team leaders
• Manage others to reach company goals
• Make an outstanding impression the first time and every time

I wish more people would invest in communication skills improvement--refresh their skills, learn new ones, replace bad habits. The investment will lead to hard dollar results.