https://www.channelfutures.com/wp-content/themes/channelfutures_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • Analytics
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud
    • Data Centers
    • Desktop
    • IoT
    • Mobility
    • Networking
    • Open Source
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Virtualization
    • Voice/Connectivity
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Best Practices
    • Business Models
    • Channel 101
    • Channel Programs
    • Channel Research
    • Digital Transformation
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • Leadership
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Specialty Practices
  • MSSP Insider
    • Back
    • Business of Security
    • Cloud and Edge
    • Endpoint
    • Network
    • People and Careers
    • Training and Policies
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • 2020 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2020 Hot 101 Rankings
    • 2020 MSP 501 Report
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Our Sponsors
    • From the Industry
    • Content Resources
    • COVID-19 Partner Help
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • Reports
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • EMEA
  • Awards
    • Back
    • Excellence in Digital Services
    • 2020 MSP 501
    • Top Gun 51
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Partners Evolution
    • Channel Evolution Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
  • Channel Mentor
    • Back
    • Channel Market Intelligence
    • Channel Educational Series
Channel Futures
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • Analytics
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud
    • Data Centers
    • Desktop
    • IoT
    • Mobility
    • Networking
    • Open Source
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Virtualization
    • Voice/Connectivity
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Best Practices
    • Business Models
    • Channel 101
    • Channel Programs
    • Channel Research
    • Digital Transformation
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • Leadership
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Specialty Practices
  • MSSP Insider
    • Back
    • Business of Security
    • Cloud and Edge
    • Endpoint
    • Network
    • People and Careers
    • Training and Policies
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • 2020 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2020 Hot 101 Rankings
    • 2020 MSP 501 Report
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Our Sponsors
    • From the Industry
    • Content Resources
    • COVID-19 Partner Help
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • Reports
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • EMEA
  • Awards
    • Back
    • Excellence in Digital Services
    • 2020 MSP 501
    • Top Gun 51
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Partners Evolution
    • Channel Evolution Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
  • Channel Mentor
    • Back
    • Channel Market Intelligence
    • Channel Educational Series
    • Newsletter
  • REGISTER
  • MSPs
  • VARs / SIs
  • Digital Service Providers
  • Cloud Service Providers
  • CHANNEL PARTNERS ONLINE
 Channel Futures

Sales & Marketing


The Art of Spoken Communications

  • Written by Mitch York 1
  • July 14, 2008

Reading an article in the New York Times the other day, I was struck by a problem I see all the time in business (and in life in general): our difficulty communicating clearly with others. The article was about an American baseball manager who’s training the Chinese Olympic baseball team. The story certainly applies to solutions providers.  Here’s why.

The manager tells the team:

“If you hit it here,”… acting as if he were hitting a ball after it passed his body, “you drive a Chevy. If you hit it here,” he said, pretending to hit the ball as it crossed the middle of the plate, “you drive a Cadillac. But if you hit it here,” he said, pretending to connect a smidgen earlier, “you’re in a Rolls-Royce with a chauffeur! Get it? That’s how much money they have. They don’t count it, they weigh it!”

They had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. Despite the interpreter.

The article reminded me of two other communications-gap stories. One was another language/culture problem, the other just corporate comedy. In the first example, a respected publisher of one of the largest electronics newspaper in the United States was addressing a group of Japanese executives. He told them an anecdote about the U.S. semiconductor market and ended it by saying, “…but what do I know?” The audience was puzzled. If he didn’t know the electronics market, why was he addressing them? His intention was to be humble and self-deprecating. But it came across as awkward ignorance.

In my favorite example, a former employer of mine brought in a new senior executive to “fix” what was wrong with our corporate sales effort. This fella came into a meeting with a half dozen senior VPs heading our various business units. He was toting a well-worn copy of a magazine he had been publisher of….a decade-and-a-half earlier. He plopped it down on the table and it landed with a thud that made the room shake. His message: he knows a thing or two about selling advertising. What we heard: as long as we’re selling it 15 years ago!

And then his well rehearsed speech began. “There are three kinds of people in the world,” he started, with great import and seriousness. I looked out of my peripheral vision to see one of my colleagues in the room starting to stifle a laugh.

“There are people who watch things happen.” Now where is he going with this? He seems like he knows what the next line is, so I’ll be patient.

“Then there are people who make things happen. “ Ah, that must be himself he’s talking about.

“And there are people who say, ‘What just happened?’ ” Wow! Where did those lines come from? There was no Google at the time so I just had to sit and wonder. This is my boss’s new boss talking! C’mon, there must be a hidden camera in this room. This is a joke, right?

We then went around the room introducing ourselves to this brilliant executive. I took my turn and then my boss said, “What just happened?” I had to excuse myself briefly from the room.

Entrepreneurs take note: Whether you are talking to a group of people from another country or another company, or in the case of “What-just-happened-man” perhaps people from another planet, you had best have some insight into what those people are thinking, believing and needing to hear at that moment. You better have some emotional intelligence to get your message across, or you will be laughed out of the room.

Contributing blogger Mitch York is a personal friend of The VAR Guy. York coaches executives who are evolving into entrepreneurs. Find York — and his personal blog — at www.e2ecoaching.com.

Tags: Cloud Service Providers Digital Service Providers MSPs VARs/SIs Sales & Marketing

Related


  • No Racism
    Racially Charged Tweet Costs Alteryx CRO His Job
    Numerous individuals, including a customer, criticized Alteryx for the tweet, which led to the CRO's resignation.
  • Public sector IT
    Public Sector IT Funding Outlook for 2021--and What It Means for Our Reseller Partners
    Public sector IT resellers must anticipate customers’ changing priorities to most effectively position offerings.
  • MSP Marketing
    MSPs: Grow the Business with Marketing (While Focusing on What You Do Best)
    Marketing is important for growing the business, but it’s often not a core competency for MSPs.
  • Financial Services
    Xerox Financial Services Launches to Help Enterprise, SMB Customers
    The new business works with any third-party dealer or reseller.

2 comments

  1. Avatar Alprazolam r039 prices. February 7, 2009 @ 7:23 am
    Reply

    Alprazolam-ratiopharm….

    Alprazolam from mexico. Alprazolam no prescription. Alprazolam without prescription. Alprazolam south america. Alprazolam galprazolam….

  2. Avatar nathanvinson November 16, 2016 @ 6:32 am
    Reply

    Communication is the best
    Communication is the best ever way for interacting, especially in business and relationship. People are taking the help of communication for client interaction, customer interaction, business meeting, and in personal life such as; relationship building. So, we never deny the importance of communication in our day to day life, but, we have to develop our communication skills through following various expert advice and coaching programs. I really appreciate the efforts putting here to improve the communication part and also suggest the below link to get facts about communication.
    slideshare.net/certifiedcoaches/enhance-personal-effectiveness-communicate-more-effectively-51383548

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your Channel Futures account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • CEO Benioff Touts Salesforce Customer 360 Work-From-Anywhere Capabilities
  • Cisco Second Quarter: Profit Slips, Revenue Flat
  • Channel Survey: Sales and Marketing, Analytics Are Significant Challenges
  • Linux Security Provider Capsule8 Rolls Out First Partner Program

Galleries

View all

Threat Protection Vendors: Why MSSPs Have to Ramp Up Efforts Right Now

February 23, 2021

Industry Perspectives

View all

Three Ways MSPs Can Improve Supply Chain Security

February 24, 2021

SASE: The Key to Mitigating Business Transformation Risk

February 22, 2021

Public Sector IT Funding Outlook for 2021–and What It Means for Our Reseller Partners

February 18, 2021

Webinars

View all

XDR and Why it Matters to MSPs

March 24, 2021

Top Security Trends Impacting Technology Security Providers In 2021

March 25, 2021

In Case of Emergency: The Importance of Proactive Critical Event Management

February 23, 2021
  • 1

White Papers

View all

Kaspersky Endpoint Detection and Response Optimum

February 19, 2021

Product Brief: Kaseya VSA Integrated Workflows with BMS and IT Glue

January 26, 2021

Why Subscription Business Model

January 15, 2021

Upcoming Events

View all

Channel Partners Virtual

March 2, 2021 - March 4, 2021

Channel Partners Conference & Expo

November 1, 2021 - November 4, 2021

Videos and Fastchats

View all

FASTCHAT: How SOAR Eliminates Security Challenges and Elevates Service Provider Revenues

January 6, 2021

Happy Holidays from Channel Partners & Channel Futures!

December 21, 2020

FASTCHAT: How Old, Unpatched Technologies Are Creating New Security Threats for MSPs and Their Customers

December 3, 2020

Twitter

ChannelFutures

.@BlackBerry report shows rise in hacker-for-hire groups targeting #MSSPs. dlvr.it/RtQjD9 https://t.co/VYr5cEXCCm

February 25, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@PTsecurity_UK discovers #vulnerabilities in @VMware vCenter server. dlvr.it/RtQjD5 https://t.co/WQbn5SJdFL

February 25, 2021
ChannelFutures

Take #supplychainsecurity to the next level. @Sophos #MSP #MSSP #ransomware #cybersecurity #managedservice… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

February 25, 2021
ChannelFutures

[email protected]_inc rolls out first partner program. #securityanalytics dlvr.it/RtQhlW https://t.co/c1Xhxaf3qr

February 25, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@AteraCloud receives $25 million investment to help more #MSPs, IT pros. dlvr.it/RtPbBG https://t.co/UxHqhrUKgx

February 24, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@Infoblox rolls out new #Cloud Specialization program to increase partners' #SaaS sales. dlvr.it/RtPb7f https://t.co/CmZTwYiv1u

February 24, 2021
ChannelFutures

RT @Channel_Expo: ⏱️ Time is ticking to save on your pass to #CPVirtual next week...View all pass options and secure your virtual seat by F…

February 24, 2021
ChannelFutures

The new @Commvault #EMEA channel exec will focus attention on alliances, cloud and simplifying and expanding partne… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

February 24, 2021

MSSP Insider

Newsletters and Updates

Sign up for The Channel Report, Channel Futures Update, MSP 501 Newsletter and more.

Live Channel Events

Get the latest information on the next industry-leading Channel Partners event.

Channel Partners Online

Want more? Find more channel news and analysis on our sister site, Channel Partners.

Media Kit And Advertising

Want to reach our audience? Access our media kit

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • Channel Partners Online
  • Channel Partners Events
  • MSP 501
  • MSSP Insider
  • IoT World Today
  • Webhostingtalk

WORKING WITH US

  • Contact
  • About us
  • Advertise
  • Newsletter

FOLLOW Channel Futures ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2021 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X