| |
| |
|
Management Information |
|
|
|
Data Delivers Credibility
Over the past couple of days I've been setting up visitor counters, so people in another organization can accurately count the number of people who visit their event. They got the idea (and the counters) from an association I belong to, and they, too, are learning how data delivers credibility. I'm always impressed by how much respect I get when speaking or writing with specific, solid numbers. For example, when I talk about the number of visitors who came through the gates of my association's event on a specific night, I don't talk about "a lot" or "a few" or "more than the night before." Instead, I can say something like, "2,348 visitors came through last night, compared to 1,852 the evening before." That specificity makes a difference when it comes to credibility, and if I propose a certain course of action based on those numbers, I'm likely to get the support I need from other members of the board. Data, you see, represents very specific information, and often, the more specific you can be, the more credibility you have. Similarly, direct marketing gurus encourage their clients to use specific numbers in headlines, rather than generalizations. That's why effective direct mail, and now online advertising, uses claims like "Learn how one sales rep earned $2,216.78 last week..." rather than "Learn how one sales rep earned more than $2,000 last week..." By being specific, the headline writer converts a boast ("more than $2,000") into a conceivably credible claim. What's implied is that it must be true or the writer wouldn't use that specific figure. You'll find other professionals get credibility in the same way. For example, lawyers get it by citing precedents. Rather than talk to a judge in generalities, good lawyers cite previous case law and decisions by other judges. You also know the clergy gain credibility by citing passages of scripture, along with the chapter and verse numbers. And, how about the medical profession? For example, physicians and others don't speak of "heart attacks;" instead they speak of different kinds of heart disease and conditions. By being specific they gain credibility, credibility that sets them apart from lay people. The concept works for just about anyone, in any profession or occupation. Suppose, for example, you're a sales manager attending a budget meeting, and the general manager wants you to increase your sales by 15% next year, far more than you're likely to achieve. To argue persuasively that the target should be lowered, you might explain that the economy of your city is only expected to grow 2% next year, that your main competitor recently cut prices by an average of 4.5%, and that your company's production will be just 5% greater next year. Now, you've got ammunition when you argue for a lower sales target. In summary: Data, in the form of specific numbers or references, adds credibility to messages. It's a technique used by many professionals, including the clergy, physicians, and sales people. About The Author Robert F. Abbott, the author of A Manager's Guide to Newsletters: Communicating for Results, writes about communication issues in the free online ezine, Abbott's Communication Letter: abbottr@managersguide.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
What Every Manager Should Know About How to Conduct Successful Training Activities Whether you are training preschoolers in the classroom or executives in the board room, here are 15 premises you might want to keep in mind the next time you're designing training activities.1. Passion for Profits Business owners and managers are busier than ever. As their businesses grow and become more complex, they find that they don't have the time to be all things to all people. Collections Management How long does it take your customers, clients or patients to pay you for the products or services you have provided?Have you developed a consistent collection management program?Your answer to the above questions is a leading indicator as to how well you collection management is. Sending an invoice doesn't always result in payment. Sweet Parting Of Ways Why settle for bad feelings when your employee leaves the firm? Human resource managers can help to sweeten the occasion during the exit interview, and get valuable information to help the company in the new knowledge age.More often than not, human resource (HR) managers place more importance on job interviews than on exit interviews. Prepare A Winning CV There is every chance that elements of this article may not be appropriate for everyone in every situation - and that's precisely the point! Every situation is different. No two projects are the same. Effective Meetings: Why Most Meetings are a Waste of Time Whether your company holds one meeting a week or dozens of meetings a day it is essential that this time is used efficiently and effectively. Most meetings are less effective than they could be not because they are poorly managed, but because meeting managers spend all of their time focusing on the one or two hours when people will be gathered around the conference table or video screen. 4 Tips on How to Avoid Communication Lines Breakdown For example, in a small, two-person company, there is often the greatest opportunity for direct conversation and discussion throughout the day. There are only two possibilities for verbal communication and it's usually quick, easy and descriptive. Succession Planning? ... Not on My Watch! At first blush, it would appear there is no shortage of Succession Planning Advocates convinced in theory, the importance and benefits of corporate Succession Planning. In practice, however, real succession planning - or the overt lack thereof - runs juxtaposed to principle. Overcoming Perfectionism Perfectionism can get in the way of building or marketing a successful business. It can prevent us from moving ahead quickly or from taking advantage of business opportunities. Getting Information From Prospects You're at a networking function and you've made that all-important contact. You want to get help from this individual but you know that you need to start working on building a relationship with them first. 5 Creative Evolutionary Leadership Niche Strategies! I have a short story to share with you about an important skill many leaders need to develop, use and perfect.Life is a journey. Help for the Meeting-Weary Manager Most of us have found ourselves working on a team at one time or another. That means we have been asked to attend, and even participate, in lots of meetings. Basic Management Skills Recent studies have shown that industrial supervisors are working at less than 60 % of their potential. Basic management skills training is guaranteed to change all this and at such little costManager in contextMost of my adult life has been spent working as a supervisor or manager on industrial projects throughout the world. Beyond Management Coaching: When Things Are Getting Out of Control Leaders and Managers often ask us, 'What do you do when you have tried to coach and counsel an employee about a performance concern, and the employee has not responded?Unfortunately, we see far too many cases where the leader hasn't, in good faith, tried to coach the employee or to put the leader's concerns into words. Often, leaders look for a quick fix alternative to what is perceived as a difficult and painful confrontation. How Businesses Can Stop Wallowing in Bad Debt and Prevent It in the Future "Become the Squeaky Wheel", a new book just published, explains that getting customers involves more than advertising. Michelle Dunn presents examples of credit procedures and policies to help creditors or business owners collect bad debt and prevent it in the future. Performance Evaluation: How To Create Change STEPS TOWARDS GIVING A GOOD APPRAISAL INTERVIEW: Give specific feedback. Statements such as, "You're doing a good job" and "You'd better shape up" are almost without value unless accompanied by specific feedback on what the employee is to continue doing or to stop doing. Building Bridges of Communication Building a 'bridge of understanding' between parties is fundamental if your business communication is to succeed. If you are a consultant to a client, or a salesperson attempting a closer relationship with your customer, here are five techniques that help achieve just that. Make Change Easy - Get Involved! There are wild variances in how much involvement organisations are brave enough to offer their people in change. From those organisations where they just 'tell' (sometimes by text message even!), to the most enlightened extreme, where they enable wholesale contribution to the change process. Ringing Doorbells Without Howitzers Many operations leaders have been there, done that with re-engineering. And they report, in effect, that the process is like ringing a doorbell with a howitzer shell. Telephone Techniques: Boost Your Productivity With Effective Phoning One of the things that most impacts people's productivity is not being able to focus on completing one task at a time - we are so overloaded with tasks and interruptions that it requires great discipline to avoid spending the entire day responding to other people's agendas. Telephone calls, both making and receiving them, are one of the greatest disruptions to the flow of the day and to our ability to concentrate on the task at hand.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
