Just Words or Is It a Dialogue?

Someone asked me if these articles are just a bunch of words, and I, of course, said "Sure, all conversations, articles, blogs, statements, discussions are all a bunch of words." What is important to me is the order in which the words are placed and the way the words are used — the relevance of the engaging conversation is important as well. The IX Mutant Print-for-Profit Muses, which are, in order, Relevance, Interaction, Integration, Engagement, Dialogue, Content, Context, Metrics, and ROI are, to be honest, just words, but so are the many historical, educational or religious documents made famous across history.

Let me be clear: I am not saying my words rank in importance to the Magna Carta, Declaration of Independence, or the Bible. No, what I am saying is that my words — printed or spoken — can be the basis for useful and valuable communication. Based on their content, context, order, and function, the words can become the foundation of a dialogue. Your words as well need to meet the requirements of what is a dialogue!

I define dialogue as "an ongoing conversation between two or more people." In our context, the dialogue involves a proposed business transaction.

A different way of looking at a business transaction dialogue is to see it as a series of chapters for your sales process, with each of these chapters designed and written to build upon each other, extending the dialogue and enhancing the engagement.

I personally believe — and have seen the proof in action— that a relationship with limited, shallow, or non-existent dialogue, is a short-term relationship in which there is no winner. Dialogue needs to have a series of supporting and foundational components that include relevance, content and context.

When you purchase a car you don’t just grab the keys and drive away. It’s the sales process, which by nature is a process of developing dialogue, based on many things including trust, by the salesperson that sells you on the model. How it can perform, options to enrich your purchase of the vehicle of your needs — that is dialogue!

Dialogue also impacts long-term sales and the development of a relationship!

If you have no tie or relevant relationship to the others in your dialogue, you have just a conversation that has no real goal and objectives. "Soft talk" is the way one of my friends defines relevance-free discussions.

In the printing industry, there are many paths to relevance, including skill set, services offered, equipment, profit advocacy, and problem solving, to name just a few. To develop a valid and valued dialogue, you need to catch the attention of those with whom you are attempting to connect. The purpose of this series of articles is to assist the print providers in developing alternative avenues that can be used to develop new business (additional profits) via a planned, scheduled, defined, and measured route. One integral component of the process is dialogue.

Dialogue needs to be defined and concise, and the relevance of the conversation needs to be focused on the "others" in that discussion.

Define Sales Via a Defined Dialogue
A great route to start any dialogue is the sales process. Based on my experience, most sales processes falter because the relevance of the dialogue is weak or because the dialogue is based on incorrect context.

My experience also indicates that many sales efforts are based primarily on price. While price is indeed an important part of the dialogue, other elements, such as problem solving and achieving the project goals and objectives, oftentimes supplant the importance of price.

Relevance and other data-research-based facts — information knowledge — are to me what are most important to print providers’ prospects. Price is and always will be in the game, but price and the concern for price can be overcome.

Goals and Objectives
Dialogues need to be designed or created; they are not spur of the moment interactions developed as needed. Each dialogue needs its own goals and objectives. Those goals and objectives may include a sale, but, in the long run, the extended dialogue must consider the hazards or blocks that are placed in front of any conversation by the prospect. I believe that these blocks can instead be viewed as filters that you can clear through a designed dialogue built upon solid goals and objectives.

All daytime and evening shows like the famous "Tonight Show" all began with establishing (often off camera) a dialogue with the audience. The host has an opening dialogue usually based on the day’s events or other relevant factors. When designing a “dialogue” — yes dialogues need to be designed, wordsmith, honed, quality dialogue are not ill prepared.

I see most sales calls and sales dialogues failing due to the lack of a long-term strategy contained within the sales process. The dialogues I have viewed and examined are not really dialogues; they are just conversations that have no defined, planned, or designed beginning and no defined, planned, or designed end — both of which are important to your prospect.

Consider that somewhere near 46% of all sales calls are never followed up. Why not? Poorly defined dialogue or failures to include tools to develop an extended dialogue are key deterrents to continuing the discussion.

Storytelling
In some ways, establishing dialogue is like telling a story (see my comments above regarding chapters). Stories need a beginning and an end. They need constantly new and exciting hooks (relevance) to keep the reader involved and must have an ending that is enjoyable, provocative, and even unexpected (in this case, ending in profit advocacy, increased responses, higher conversion rates, perhaps), encouraging readers to purchase the author’s next offering or customers to use your firm for their next project.

Establishing a dialogue is in some ways like reading a good crime or mystery novel. A "whodunit" — you think you know, but in the end, it turns out that the main suspect didn’t do it. It was the pizza guy.

Words
Yes, all of my articles are words, but they have been crafted, designed, and developed to allow you to join in the dialogue and to help you turn passing conversations into a long-term, profit-based story. Some words can be more powerful and profitable than others, based on their content and context.

Words Statement Just Closing The — Words profits, additional business Depending, your on content the context, Choose weapons new business, your choice carefully in which the words choice of no profits, your word, no new or additional, and will be you will used, see either.

Need the translation? Email me at thad.kubis@tifmc.org, and I will send you the properly defined and organized closing statement.