In every job or career, communication skills are paramount to success. These skills include proficiency in the spoken language, in the written word, and in settings that call for public speaking. Command over spoken and written language builds confidence and helps control the outcome of customer interactions. A person who has invested in these skill sets is looked up favorably and offered increasing responsibilities.
Let’s dive into the elements that underpin communication skills. I leave out listening skills for now since it is a generally accepted skill and instead focus on message composition and message delivery. We cover what to convey when speaking and how to share messages in this blog.
Quality of Thinking and Action
As consumers, when we buy products, we want to buy the ones with quality. Likewise, for services work, if you employ a contractor to work in your house, you want the one that is the most skilled and smartest to guide you through the house project. Similarly, businesses want to employ the most intelligent resources for their own service needs.
Given these expectations, if you represent your vendor organization, all your actions, conversations, and presentations should convey this superior quality of thinking and service. CSMs should think hard before they talk. Before explaining to others, make sure you can explain it to yourself. Poke holes and raise objections privately in your mind. If you cannot answer, consult your colleagues at your organization, and make sure relevant topics are crystal clear.
Clarity of thought leads to smooth conversations. Employ logical and critical thinking skills. Use your smartness to create a strong positive influence on your customers’ minds. That will help you reap sizeable business benefits in the long run.
Key Takeaway:
Think hard before you talk and act. Develop the habit of critical thinking and preparing for whatever action steps you find are necessary.
Spoken Language
Verbal eloquence is a critical component of customer success lead role. This individual is the face of the vendor organization and should embody professionalism in all aspects of customer communications, starting with the delivery of the spoken word.
- Use professional English. The corporate world does not appreciate slang.
- Form useful and complete sentences. Please do not make them too long or too short.
- Speak at an average pace and pause for breath at logical points of the conversation. Going faster or slower than that may affect the effectiveness of word delivery.
- Do not monopolize the conversation. Let others jump in to add value and perspective.
Digital – Written and Composed Collaterals
The quality of digital communication is essential. It has a more extended retention period than people’s memories. While recipients may forget verbal communications, digital communication is forwarded easily and archived for perpetuity. Quality of your documentation prepared and delivered during any customer touchpoints will dictate the impression people will have of you, as they circulate your written collateral across the enterprise. This documentation is in the form of emails, PowerPoint presentations, Word or PDF-based training materials, Excel-based analysis, or other application-based dashboards or reports. Digital communications have primarily two skill components – writing and presentation. While I outline steps below to improve both for shorter collateral and more extensive time-consuming formats, specialized resources such as resident or outsourced editors and designers should handle the latter such as books, reports, dashboards, and interfaces.
Writing comes with practice. Before becoming a good writer, be a good reader. Enjoy and appreciate good writing. You will start to emulate, and initially may struggle with words, grammar, and ideas. Share your report with liberal arts graduates. Incorporate feedback, debate with them, and correct your style. The English language provides a fair degree of flexibility based on geography. Your place of origin will dictate your writing and speaking style. It is, however, best to tailor your style to your customers’ language nuances.
Presentation is equally important, if not more, compared to the text presented in any digital media. Look for continuity, flow, color consistency, and ease of message delivery when laying out images on the screen or slides. Spend enough time on presentation layout and review final output or get it checked by a third party, not involved with content preparation, before sending it to the customer.
Public Speaking
Customer success meetings may have representation from many people from the customer side or just a few. As lead vendor contact, you will need to have the ability to engage with this variable group. Customer success leads that prefer the bonhomie of small groups may not be comfortable interacting with a larger group. Alternately, good public speakers may get bored with smaller audiences.
If you fall in the former category, look for opportunities to speak at public events. It will make you a better speaker and help you boost credibility further. We suggest using simple language, free of abbreviations and composed using commonly known terms, so that your message resonates with a broader audience. When you are preparing to speak publicly, whether a training session or some other speech or lecture, test the pace of word delivery with friends and colleagues, and practice achieving a potent delivery mechanism over time.
For the latter category speakers, they need to understand that they need to flexible and watch for other challenges that might come their way. Lack of enthusiasm and boredom shows on people’s demeanor and could affect customer satisfaction. The customer has paid for your services. It is your responsibility to provide your best.
Effective Trainer
If you bridge the role of CSM and implementation manager, your supervisors may call you to train customer staff on product usage. CSMs need to fully understand and be a master of the product that they are enabling at the customer. Training is an ongoing activity and starts with the first meeting with the customer.
Make sure you have a clear understanding of your subject matter before you train others. Don’t try to learn the product details a day before training and teach your audience the next day. You will likely confuse your audience and lose credibility. Preparation is vital before you make a presentation in a training session.
While training, you may encounter a question that you may not have heard or know the answer, despite your knowledge and preparation for a training session. In this case, indicate that you do not have a response right now but will get back to them as soon as possible, and make sure you follow up on your promise to follow up with an answer.
Have patience when delivering training. Not everyone grasps concepts in the first hearing. Junior customers or partners in your audience may hold power now or later to influence your relationship with senior customer executives such as a sponsor. Be friendly and apply the same relationship management principles outlined throughout this website with the junior staff.
