Managing Conversations

Newspaper ad departments know that conversational skills and social prowess are crucial to closing a sale. Positive social interactions are the foundation of any company, as they build good rapport between sales reps and clients, relationships between co-workers, as well as positive manager-employee relationships. Behind any good working relationship is an open flow of communication. If clients, employees and managers feel comfortable enough to air their grievances or discuss when things are going well, companies will begin to see it reflected in their public image. Although you may know the importance of social interactions, the next step is managing the conversations between staff and clients and within the office as well in order to play a more involved role in your brand image. Below we break down the communication between these three relationships and how you should be managing and maintaining them.

Sales Reps and Clients

Of course, putting time and effort into conversations with clients is essential in building positive relationships and ultimately selling ads. A sales rep that is too pushy or fails to listen could very well leave a potential client with a bad taste in their mouth. While you should be reaching out to new customers and repairing damaged client relationships, you shouldn’t be solely invested in conversations with these types of customers. It’s crucial to manage communication with your satisfied clients as well, because even if they are happy with your services, they may not be talking about that positive experience with their friends, family, etc. — and that’s a missed opportunity for your ad department. Go above and beyond on sales calls. Check up on existing clients to ask for their feedback, and don’t forget to use social media! It’s a quick and easy way to show you care for your clients.

Co-workers

Good managers know that open communication builds positive relationships between co-workers, and those relationships are key in creating a functioning and effective work environment. However, they may not realize that these relationships, similar to sales rep-client relationships, also build a company’s image. As customers will go to friends and social networks to announce their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with a company’s product or service, employees will do the same if they are having a bad experience at work. If that negative depiction of your department persists, eventually that’s what it will be known for. So, in order for business growth, make sure your employees are satisfied in their work and are having positive relationships with their fellow workers. If not, make sure you have outlets for employee complaints and conflict resolution.

Managers and Employees

Similarly, conversations between managers and their staff need to be managed too. If employees feel stifled by their managers and don’t have a place to offer constructive criticism or improve that relationship, they will turn to other individuals and vehicles to vent their frustrations. In order to prevent the image of a company with unhappy employees and a manager that doesn’t listen, make sure your staff feel they can speak openly with their manager about their experiences, positive and negative, as well as offering plenty of opportunities to give their feedback. These conversations, if managed properly, will build a positive image for your company and ensure revenue generation.