Communicating The Importance of
Appropriate Communications
By Adina Genn
Friday, March 23, 2007
Badly construed messages can destroy your bottom line.
That "New Yawk" accent may be a put-off for Midwestern customers and a poorly written proposal may get tossed in the trash, but many business owners may not realize that ineffective communications may be why they’re not winning accounts.
Two new Long Island companies hope to help others hone their communications skills, but they face a major hurdle: proving the value of their service, even if they can’t specifically quantify the number of opportunities lost to poor communications.
In fact, linking communication to business results is a top industry challenge, according to a 2005 study by the San Francisco-based International Association of Business Communicators Research Foundation.
Judy Cavallo applies a mix of strategies that has helped her land 15 clients for her Oyster Bay company, New York Speech Solutions, which she opened in March 2006. A licensed speech-language pathologist who also teaches American Broadcaster English, Cavallo provides accent modification, speech and voice improvement and public speaking courses.
Clients who find her through her Web site or through networking events - including doctors with heavy accents or others in the public eye - are eager for help. In some instances, her clients’ employers have sponsored training.
But Cavallo wants to land more corporate clients, perhaps even some who don’t yet realize they need her help, and is pitching a program on telephone etiquette and accent modification to large companies.
Organizations are often "judged by whoever answers the phone," she said, and by their customer service and sales reps. In trying to win big accounts, Cavallo cites tools that she says help improve customer rapport and increase productivity and sales, thanks to fewer communication breakdowns.
Claire Meirowitz and Natalie Canavor face similar hurdles. In October 2006, they started C&M Business Writing Workshops, a Babylon- and Northport-based company that aims to design custom-tailored programs to help organizations improve their print and Web communications.
"The challenge is to show prospects what would be accomplished with better writing," said Meirowitz, who with Canavor writes for IABC’s publications.
When pitching clients, the partners point to a 2004 National Commission on Writing Study, revealing that large corporations spend several billion dollars annually to improve employee writing. Currently, they have proposals out to law firms, colleges and libraries. Other businesses are deferring their decisions, they say, until they plan budgets for upcoming training.
To boost visibility and credentials, they plan to publish a business-writing book, speak before professional groups and sponsor an upcoming IABC meeting. They balance this marketing strategy with running separate companies - Meriowitz owns an editing business while Canavor, a former LIBN columnist, works as a communications consultant and features writer.
It can take years to build clientele. Just ask Rich Atkins, who started his company, Port Washington-based Improving Communications, in 2001. In 2006, it finally "kicked into high gear," Atkins said, although it was a struggle until then.
His client list includes LIPA, Scholastic and Hilton, according to ImprovingCommunications.com.
Atkins now travels nationally, speaking to human resources associations, meeting new prospects and lecturing about positive praise and personal effectiveness.
"I can’t say by taking this course, you’ll maximize results," Atkins said. "But I can say you’ll have an increased perception of expertise."
© 2007 Long Island Business News
Download this article for print - PDF
|
NYSS featured in
CALL US: