Written by Sean McPheat | 
You’ll no doubt agree that one of the most important key skills you need to develop today as a salesperson is that of communication.
Ok, it’s a well-banged drum, but I’m going to say it again anyway…you simply will not be the success you could be without having excellent communication skills, especially with clients.
How can you start to improve, so that you have the best chance to make an impact and create high level communications with clients that will persuade them they are making a good decision to choose your products and services?
Well, as with all skill development, it starts with laying a solid foundation to build on.
And any message you send will only be listened to and dealt with if you lay this foundation.
Think of the acronym PIMMS, and you have laid the foundation.
PIMMS stands for:
Purpose
What is the purpose of your message?
What are you trying to achieve?
Without the answer to this most basic of questions, you are going on a magical mystery tour.
Intent
What do you intend to accomplish?
If you’re purely giving information, you may approach a client differently than if you wished to motivate them to change suppliers.
Meaning
What meaning do you want the client to get from your communication?
How do you want them to react?
What decisions should they make?
Identify this meaning before setting out to communicate.
Message
When you’ve gone through those three stages, you can determine the best method to send the message.
Would an email suffice?
Should you send a personalised, hand-written letter?
Should you call in person?
Would a phone call be best?
Structure
How should you structure the message so the message gets through first time to the person?
Think of these steps every time you need to communicate a message.
If you know the destination first, you have a better chance of finding the right route and achieving the goal, because the person will know what benefits the communication will have for them.
That will set the scene for you to deliver your message and get the results you were hoping for.
In our Sales Training, we put a lot of emphasis on improving your sales communication skills, like in our Selling Skills Training programmes and on our Telesales Training.
Take a look at our full portfolio of Sales Training Courses, where you can find a wider range of what we offer.
Both courses are geared around making you an excellent communicator!
We hope the PIMMS acronym will help you.
Here are some cold calling tips and how to get your voicemails returned. Both require you to have effective communication skills.
Happy Selling!
Sean
Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Sales Training
Updated on: 3 September, 2018
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