Communicate Better, Sell More

Any salesperson worth his or her commission knows that communication is everything, and that mastery of communication only leads to mastery of your business. Ryan T. Sauers, president and owner of Sauers Consulting Strategies, recently published a book called "Everyone is in Sales," a book dedicated to the study of communication, breaking it down and laying out the different ways people listen, talk and otherwise drive their communicative behaviors. While not specifically written for salespeople, the book's exploration and framing of different parts of communication is useful for all facets of business, from sales to management to marketing.
I've seen Ryan give educational seminars and have previously interviewed him for sales-advice articles I've written. Practical, open-minded and able to mix academics and years of personal experience well, he is one of the best business experts I've worked with, and I have spoken with my fair share.

Last week Ryan was kind enough to speak with me a little about his book and how it's useful for Promo Marketing readers. A truncated block of our conversation is reproduced below.

Promo Marketing: What can salespeople expect to take from reading the book?

Ryan T. Sauers: They can look to understand a new concept I've brought up in the book called adaptive communications. The idea of adaptive communications is built upon academic models and professional models of human communications. It really explains in 1-on-1 dynamics and group dynamics why human beings behave the way that they do. The way they look at the world, the way they prefer information, the way they make decisions based on time, they way they get their energy from the world.

The feedback received thus far from the book has been, "I've never realized I was communicating to this person left-handed and he is right-handed," or, "I was saying things to them and they weren't even listening to me," or whatever the case is. So for salespeople I think that's a huge part of the book. That's the crux of what is called adaptive communications.