by Steve Adubato, PhD

Consider the case of Joe, who takes his team into a sales meeting with a very specific goal. Like most of us in business, they were looking to close the deal, or at least identify what deal was possible in these challenging and uncertain economic times.

Joe and his team had their talking points, along with the compelling reasons why the other party should enter into this agreement. But as is often the case in the world of business and communication, something happened on the way to getting the deal done.

It became clear within minutes that Joe wasn’t really dealing with one organization and one key decision maker. In fact, just by asking a few open-ended questions about the current environment and culture of the organization, the flood gates opened. More specifically, it became clear that this organization was actually several mini-organizations or silos, each with its own unofficial leader.

Further, these mini-organizations and their leaders apparently weren’t doing a whole lot of candid communication with each other as to the challenges they faced and whether they were all functioning on the same page and going in one direction. They each had their own agenda, which often conflicted with others in the organization.

Finally Joe asked this probing and profound question; “But aren’t you guys all on the same team?” The prospect just looked at him and said; “Well, I think we are on the same team, but Tom and Bill who head up X and Y, will tell you something very different.”

So what does all this mean for those of us out in a competitive marketplace trying to build relationships and bring in much-needed revenue? Simply put, our job is harder than ever before. We must be extraordinary facilitators who identify exactly who and what is involved in an organization making a decision to “sign on the dotted line.”

Great communication also requires that you have the confidence and courage to do what is needed by bringing various stakeholders within an organization together in one room (sometimes reluctantly) and putting some challenging issues and questions on the table. It’s about understanding the complex relationships, personalities, turf battles and egos that go into an organization. It’s about not just communicating effectively one-on-one, but it is about understanding the importance of listening, following up, paraphrasing, clarifying, respectfully challenging, and then making concrete recommendations as to how to move forward.

What we are really talking about is a communication skill set that isn’t taught in most business schools and isn’t even understood by most businesses. Your ultimate goal, once you’ve gathered this very important information, is to find the common ground among these various and often competing mini-organizations. It’s there, but you just have to find it and help all the players involved understand what’s in their interest, even if they don’t see it. This takes tremendous insight, but even better communication.

Great sales isn’t about who the slickest talker is, or who can rattle off a list of products and services being offered. Rather, it is about working consistently and strategically to figure out not only what an organization needs, but who in the organization matters most. Simply put, the sales process is more complex than ever before.

In fact, what we are really talking about is becoming a forensic expert on organizational culture and personalities. It’s like being a detective, looking not just for facts, but for trends and clues and nuance. Look, I don’t make the rules for how the communication game works, I’m just pretty sure of what those rules are.