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Landscape contractors gearing up for the more mild days of spring and ready to jump start their businesses were all ears as they attended the keynote session at the Ohio Landscape Association’s WinterGreen Expo & Conference.
"Make Things Happen: How to Build Better Buy-in & Get Ahead" was the message for attendees. Presented by Connie Dieken, a former broadcast news personality and now host of professional workshops in communications, told contractors there are three basics for effective communications: connect, convey and convince.
OLA (www.ohiolandscapers.org) annually hosts the conference and show for landscape contractors. Four education tracks included: management, human resources, technical and re-certification. The Expo included more than 100 suppliers.
Dieken said she frequently came into contact with influential people during her broadcast career and studied them to find out what made them successful persuaders. She offered the following suggestions to illustrate her three basics of communication:
- Tell employees or clients exactly what you’re thinking. Don’t sugar-coat the message or go into such detail that your point is lost
- Be candid, yet not to the point where it’s abrasive. Candor improves performance with specific suggestions or examples
- To clearly convey a message create mental Velcro. Make your message stick and generate quicker outcomes.
- Eyes trump ears. Seeing is believing.
- People are more likely to remember ideas when they are presented three at a time; rather than five or six. Three ideas also gives depth and choices.
- Sound decisive, even if you aren’t.
- People sound more boring than they think. When trying to sell an idea, boost your energy level so you sound more interesting.
- Reveal the logic and reasoning behind your services and programs. This trumps misinformation, quelling any rumors that might otherwise fly.
- Use testimonials when trying to sell services. Just make sure they’re real.