Improve Your Communications With Clients, Prospects, and Puppies

My wife and I were almost free and clear. Just one more year, and our youngest daughter would be entering high school, where we hoped other interests would distract her from her life-long obsession with getting a puppy. Then my wife met a two-pound “Morkie” (Maltese and Yorkie mix) at the pet store. Pogo, as he later came to be known, immediately won her heart. With her once-firm resolve against dog ownership now shattered, the final decision was mine. Would I be the family hero or the goat? I’m guessing you know the answer.

Four weeks into the brave new world of dog ownership, I’ve learned a few things I believe can help anyone trying to communicate any message to any audience. Without further ado, here are three ways to communicate effectively with puppies and people:

Assume Your Audience Knows Little if Anything.

As the classic Far Side cartoon illustrates, you cannot assume people (or dogs) understand what you’re saying. Whether you are trying to explain the merits of diversifying across multiple asset classes to an individual investor or just what the heck a turnkey asset management program is to a financial advisor, keep it simple. Don’t assume people understand industry jargon and buzzwords. Write short sentences. Like this.

Tone and Style Can Be As Important As Content.

If I ask Pogo in a mumbled monotone if he wants a treat, he gives me a puzzled look.  If I ask the same question with a rising inflection and a smile, he does a crazy dance. While it’s unlikely that your audience will ever respond to anything you say or write with a crazy dance, paying more attention to your tone can help you communicate more effectively.

When you’re meeting in person or talking on the phone, posture, facial expressions, and tone will obviously play a big role in how your messages are received. But what can you do to improve the tone of your written communications?

Try writing with the same style you use to speak. For some strange reason, many of us turn into boring history professors when we need to put something in writing. We might be engaging speakers or presenters, but when we need to write a letter to a client, an article for a newsletter, or describe our services in a brochure, we adopt a formal, detached tone that bores our readers (assuming we can hold their attention long enough to read our message).

Try to inject some enthusiasm, humor, or storytelling into your communications. If you struggle to do this on your own, hire someone else to do it for you.

Wash, Rinse, Repeat.

How many times do you have to tell a puppy “don’t bite!” before he gets the message? Apparently, many times. The same holds true for your target audience.

If you’re trying to motivate 401(k) plan participants to rebalance their accounts or financial advisors to invest in your mutual fund, you may need to hit them with the same or similar message many times before it sinks in. You don’t need to come up with a completely new topic each time. For example, if you have a monthly or quarterly newsletter, review past issues to come up with fresh angles on familiar topics.

Repeating common themes will increase the odds of communicating your key messages. Consider the Geico “gecko” and the e*Trade baby ads on TV. While these ads may be funny, you probably would have forgotten all about them if you had not seen them 8,600 times on TV.

Neil Rhein runs Bull’s-eye Financial Communications, where he specializes in creating customized, authentic communications for financial services clients, including mutual fund companies and asset managers, investment advisers, wealth managers, broker-dealers, clearing firms, and retirement plan sponsors and administrators. For more information, visit www.bullseyecommunications.net.