Why should you bother learning how to have structured business conversations?

The answer to this is simple! This is exactly what you're going to spend most of your time doing in business.

It is also the key skill that will determine your level of success or failure in business, so it's a good idea to learn how to have structured business conversations.

In the past we have referred to business conversations as encounters to 1. promote our products or services to customers 2. fundraising and capital acquisition to develop a business idea, and 3. looking for business associates and maintaining relationships with stakeholders.

Most of us assume that in our businesses we are going to spend most of our time on the “technical” side of the business.

The tailor assumes that he'll spend most of his time tailoring and sewing. The inverter panel installer assumes he'll spend most of his time with batteries, panels, and wiring. The wedding photographer assumes that she'll spend most of her time shooting and editing photos.

The truth is that most of us will spend our days driving to meetings and deliveries, figuring out client requirements, dealing with unhappy clients, or chasing down new clients.

These things require an ability to carry out a well structured business conversation.

Most of our time in business will be spent doing these NOT technical and unsexy things.

These non technical, non sexy, and non glamourous things are those which will further our business growth.

All these activities are made better when we know how to have structured business conversations.

Let us now explore scenarios where structured business conversations can help in 1. client meetings and deliveries 2. figuring out what the client wants 3. dealing with unhappy clients, and 4. chasing down new clients.

More on that in the next post.