Perfect Pitch: Are you the Music Man?

                                

Business success is based on two elements: communication skills and technical competence. Top executives always have at least one of those two elements. Sometimes, very rarely, they have both of them. But as most industries have become more complex, I’m finding that the technical competence of executives is falling behind their communication skills. In other words, we’re getting to be better talkers than doers. The good news is, you can set yourself apart if your technical skills are as good or better than your talking.

Maybe you’ve seen the play called The Music Man. It’s about a fast talking guy who arrives in a small town with the intention of hugely upgrading a marching band. His secret, however, is that he can’t play any instruments, doesn’t know how to lead a band, and doesn’t really have any musical skills whatsoever.

The Music Man is a comedy, but it’s not totally unrealistic. There are managers in the computer industry who don’t know how to format a document. There are automobile executives who could not change a tire. There was once even a vice president who couldn’t spell potato. It’s not a good idea to lack the fundamental technical skills of your industry, and it’s really not a good idea to get caught lacking them. So let’s see what you can do to avoid those problems.

The first step is to ask yourself some revealing questions. If you find yourself answering no to these questions, you need to do some work in this area right away. And even if most of your answers are affirmative, you can use these questions as guideposts. They can suggest new steps for enhancing yourself in these areas. They can call your attention to people you know who are especially competent or otherwise impressive -- people who you can learn from, people you might like to know better. In general, the questions we’ll be asking can help you to do more.

So here are some items to think about regarding technical competence:

Are your ideas and opinions readily accepted? Or are your suggestions frequently challenged and turned down -- often because they’re considered impractical?

To what degree do others call upon your expertise? Are you often asked to make decisions involving technical matters? Or do people seem to lack confidence in your know-how?

Do you keep up with new developments in your business and industry? Or are you inclined to keep doing things the way you’ve always done them?

Give those questions some thought. And as you do so, here are some specific actions you can take for elevating your technical competence, and also for making sure that it gets recognized.

Make sure that you read the trade journals and major internet sites for your business of industry. Learn the names and titles of the executives at major companies. Be able to discuss new products and services from an operational perspective. Make sure you’re comfortable using the industry buzzwords and jargon that the experts use to recognize each other. And most importantly, really make an effort to learn the technical side of your business. If you can do that, you’ll distinguish yourself from the vast majority of people occupying managerial positions today. It’s definitely worth the effort. By being technically competent, you’ll be perceived as hugely valuable -- and as technical competence becomes rarer, you’ll also be seen as a total and unforgettable original.

Your Inner CEO: What you see is what you are (or aren't)

Talk to anyone who’s working in executive recruiting and you’ll hear a very paradoxical message. The good news is, people applying for managerial positions are better qualified than ever. They have glowing academic records, often including degrees in business or accounting. They have solid work experience, with sincere letters of recommendation from their supervisors. They present themselves very effectively in interviews, with excellent knowledge of the company they hope to work for, and of the economy as a whole.

The bad news is, everyone looks great on paper and in interviews, but everyone also looks exactly the same. People have figured out how to present themselves as competent, qualified managers who won’t make waves and who won’t make mistakes -- but hardly anybody wants to say, “I’ve got ideas that are really new and different!” People are afraid to present themselves as innovators, and consequently innovation itself has become a lost art.

This is a problem for American business. But it’s also an opportunity for anyone who values originality and knows how to put it to work. You can instantly set yourself apart from the crowd by focusing on what you’ll do right instead of what you won’t do wrong. To do that, you’ll need insight about your strengths and weakness, and intelligence about how to maximize your contribution. But most of all you’ll need inspiration -- the power to create energy and excitement by what you say, how you look, and above all, what you do.

Self-image is built upon self-perception. How do you see yourself in your own eyes? If your self-perception is out of synch with the way you want to be perceived, you will have a hard time making a positive impression -- especially if you’re not even fully aware of the problem. This is exactly what happens to many people. For some reason, we tend to think less of ourselves than we'd like. We also tend to have a lower opinion of ourselves than other people have of us.

It may be that you don’t want to seem egotistical or that you don’t want to elevate your self-image at the expense of others -- but putting yourself down is definitely not a good way to get ahead. So recognize the fact that you deserve to think of yourself in a far better light than you’ve gotten used to. This will not only make you feel more confident and deserving of success, but it will probably also bring you a lot closer to the truth of your image in the world.

Until you stop selling yourself short, don't be surprised if the world does the same thing. 

Your Inner CEO: "Leave a profanity at the sound of the beep...."

When you make a first call to a prospective client, your first few words are the most important -- so you want to get them right. Always state your name first, even if the person you’re talking with will have no idea who you are. Then ask to speak with your referral, and mention the name and affiliation of the person who gave you the contact.

Like this: “Good morning. This is Steve Parker. I’m calling Janet Sloan, referred by Brian Hunt at The Wall Street Journal.”

Notice three elements: your name, the name of the person you want to contact, and the identity of the person who gave you the referral. If you’re calling a corporate office, sometimes you’ll be asked the reason for your call. So once again mention the name of the person who gave you the referral, and add some information about how the referral came about.

You might say, “Brian suggested I get in touch regarding computer support.” Don’t feel you have to go into any more detail. And just use the first name of the person who referred you. One important key to successful phone communication is to be very respectful but also informal. Usually the person on the other end of the line will mirror your approach. If you’re tense, they’ll be tense. If you’re calm, low key, and confident, you’ll get the same positive energy back.

Once you do get the referral on the line, introduce yourself again by name. Then mention the person who referred you along with a brief reason for your call. “Brian Hunt at The Wall Street Journal suggested I call you about computer support.”

If you get a neutral or positive response, go one step further. “I was able to help Brian with a computer support program and he though you might be in the market for something similar. Is that correct?”

Sometimes this will open the door to further discussion. Other times it will just give you an opportunity to sign off from a referral who is clearly not interested. And occasionally it will even lead to another referral. In any case, always keep the person who referred you in the loop about the outcome. They’ll appreciate knowing what happened and may give you more referrals as a result.

What about voicemail? Many people look at voicemail as a dead end. They say to themselves, “Oh well, I’ll leave a message and maybe I’ll get a call back.” They don’t really believe that, but they're relieved not to have to talk with someone, so they leave a message. That’s how they avoid dealing with a potentially negative response.

This can lead to some dangerous ways of thinking. By the time the day is over, you might feel good because you’ve made a lot of calls and left a lot of messages. But your real productivity has been minimal. And over time that can take its toll.

Voicemail can actually be an opportunity. Voicemail can become the starting point for locating the person you’re trying to contact. It’s the starting point because you’re not going to let it be the ending point. Instead, you’re going to hit the “O” button and do your best to get a live person on the phone. When you do get connected to someone, here’s how the dialogue might go:

“Hi, could you help me out for a second? I’m trying to get hold of Mr. X and I got his voicemail. Would you happen to know if he’s at lunch, or on vacation, or in a meeting?”

Notice that you aren’t just asking to find Mr. X. You’re also providing possible solutions for finding him. This helps the phone receptionist feel as if he or she is part of the problem-solving process.

The receptionist is likely to offer one of two responses. The first is, “Yes, he’s in a meeting (or at lunch, or on vacation) and I’m not sure when he’ll be back at his desk.”

This answer has just given you a lot more information than you would have if you had just left a voicemail. Now you know your contact’s whereabouts in real time and you can call back at a better time.

The second possible response is, “No, I really don’t know where he is.” In this case, you reply, “That’s not a problem. Would you happen to know anyone whose desk or office is near him or who works in his area who might know where he is?” Again, you’re offering another option. Sometimes the receptionist will then transfer you to a colleague of your contact who can help you.

But the receptionist might also reply, “No, I don’t know anyone in his area.” You then say, “Would you happen to have a paging system or his cell phone number by any chance?”

If the receptionist can’t help you at that point either, just say, “Thank you very much. I really appreciate your help.” Then hang up and call back another time. You’re still much better off than if you’d just left a voicemail and let it go at that. You’ve been much more proactive and resilient. More often than you might expect, you’ll get through to your prospect just because you took a few extra steps.

The most important elements for finding new clients – whether by referrals or otherwise -- are optimism and resilience. You need inner certainty that you will get new clients even if you face some rejection in the process. A genuine liking for people is also really essential. You can see this in your own relationships. When you have a conversation with someone, you can quickly pick up on whether they really like you or are indifferent to you -- and you are much more likely to do business with those who like you.