#21: The Art of Conversation

Mastering client communication & presentational skills. Understanding the nuances of maintaining transparent, open, and effective communication lines with clients.

Over the past few weeks, we've covered topics such as building a client team, its structure, and client onboarding. Now, let's assume you've assembled your team and onboarded your first customers. The question arises: How do you communicate with them effectively? How do you ensure that your team represents your company at its best? An early lesson I learned in my B2B journey is that presenting results is as crucial as delivering them.

I was tempted to start this newsletter with some universal truths that often come across as clichés: the importance of professionalism, the right mindset, the pivotal role of the client, and fostering the correct attitude, among others. However, Michael’s newsletter has always been about straightforwardness, so it’s better to share practical insights that you can apply immediately.

So, let's keep the introduction simple: start by determining the type of communication you want to establish, the channels you plan to use, how you'll track them, and the purpose of each channel.

In our case, it looks something like this:

1. Client Calls. These are absolutely crucial. Every Account Manager holds weekly, monthly, and occasional/urgent calls with clients. The purpose of these calls is to communicate the most important updates and information, including weekly reports, changes, upsells, negotiations, ideas, and brainstorms.

2. Client Emails. Emails are used primarily for exchanging materials, sending recaps, and laying out ideas before discussing them on the phone.

3. Messengers/Chats. Slack, Google Hangouts, WhatsApp, Microsoft Teams, etc.: These platforms are mostly used by other team members for their daily operational routines. Account Managers use them for minor nuances, pings, and reminders.

4. Offline Meetings. Grabbing a pint of beer in a pub: The best option possible for negotiating any deal :)

Client calls

In today's newsletter, we'll focus heavily on client interactions during calls. When I first started working with clients, this aspect seemed extremely straightforward. "He just isn't the kind of guy I'd want to call up, that's all," as Holden Caulfield said. However, I soon discovered that it entailed more nuances than initially seemed.

Firstly, I often observed poor quality in this area, leaving room for improvement.

Secondly, it took us considerably more time to master the process and establish the right frameworks. We encountered numerous obstacles along the way, but I hope the insights below will help you navigate some of them.

Let's start with the basics.

Conducting calls with clients is a primary responsibility of any Customer Success Manager or Account Management Team. Therefore, it's essential to adhere to common B2B rules and maintain a structured approach to ensure efficient dialogue.

Here's a brief guide we've developed for our AM team:

1. Punctuality is key. Make sure you join the call 5 minutes early to perform a video and sound check, ensuring your tech stack functions smoothly.

2. Keep your camera on throughout the call. Maintaining eye contact with the client is crucial. A camera is always mandatory, but if we're talking about an onboarding call, it becomes so important that it's better to reschedule if unable to use video.

3. Always prepare an agenda for the call and send it to the client beforehand. This helps them understand what to expect and decide whether to invite other team members responsible for specific agenda items.

4. Cultivate a friendly environment. Ensure the client feels comfortable during the call.

5. Highlight key action items during the call and recap them at the end. Follow up with a detailed email immediately after the call to reinforce important points.

Record your meetings

Another important aspect to remember is transcribing your calls. Thankfully, we're not in a Umberto Eco novel, so it's not the 14th century, where Italian monks had to write scripts manually. You can simply use a tool like Fireflies.ai to record and transcribe calls.

There are several reasons for doing this, but I'll highlight just a few:

• It enables you to conduct quality assessments of your team's performance.

• If certain team members were unable to attend a meeting, you can easily share the recording with them. Additionally, AI capabilities segment various aspects of conversations, making it convenient to navigate through the recordings.

• Every conversation held during the call is securely recorded and stored, ensuring that your team has access to the information whenever they need to double-check something.

• Lastly, the tool generates summaries of the recordings and creates outlines, allowing you to use these transcripts for internal or external recaps as needed (see the example below).

Calls basic guidelines

• Start with weekly calls, which serve as checkpoints for both your team and the client. Regular communication helps prevent potential disruptions and fosters a strong personal connection with the client.

• During the weekly call, your team should provide an overview of the project performance, review goals set from the previous week, and assess progress toward those goals. Based on this analysis, establish new goals and plans for the upcoming week.

• Treat weekly calls as 7-day sprints, ensuring you have a clear plan for each week and the month ahead. In our case, we adhere to the following plan:

• Small talk: Dedicate 10–15 minutes of the call to building rapport with the client. This time can also be used to nurture the client relationship and gain insights into their business.

• Weekly overview: Provide a brief summary of our outreach efforts and accomplishments over the past 5 days. Review the weekly report as necessary.

• Feedback collection: Gather feedback on deliverables (such as scheduled appointments, in the case of Belkins) and delve into the client's sales process.

• Future planning: Discuss plans for the upcoming weeks and project performance expectations.

• Q&A session: Engage the client in a Q&A session to ensure their satisfaction with the results achieved. Conclude the call on a positive note.

Urgent & occasional calls

When faced with urgent calls, the first step is to assess their true urgency. Clients with high demands may request daily interactions for minor issues, which can be inefficient. Instead, limit these calls to weekly sessions and address other matters in writing to maintain efficiency.

However, there are times when an urgent call with a client is necessary, especially if there's significant negative performance at stake or if a high-value client has legitimate concerns. In such cases, prioritizing these calls is crucial for effectively addressing and resolving the client's concerns.

Here are some key guidelines for navigating urgent calls and avoiding potential catastrophes:

1. Preparation: Ensure your Account Manager or Customer Success Manager is well-prepared and informed to address the client's issues. Gather all necessary information beforehand and consider involving a team leader if needed.

2. Professionalism: Maintain a positive and respectful demeanor throughout the conversation. Keep your tone calm, even in challenging situations, and listen attentively to the client's concerns.

3. Methodical Approach: Address specific client issues, such as campaign results, methodically. Discuss actions taken, expected outcomes, and reference similar past cases. Focus on providing solutions rather than dwelling on the problem.

4. De-escalation: If a client becomes confrontational, remain polite and try to de-escalate the situation. Suggest keeping the conversation constructive or moving it to email for clarity if necessary. Politely remind them to maintain a respectful tone if their behavior becomes aggressive.

5. Handling Requests: Urgent calls may lead to requests for additional concessions, such as free work extensions or alterations to contract terms. It's important not to agree to these requests impulsively during the call. Acknowledge the client's request and inform them that you will consult with your team lead and management before providing a thoughtful response, possibly via email after careful consideration with your team.

Email correspondence

This aspect is relatively straightforward. You have ample time to craft a well-written email, revising it as many times as necessary to ensure the tone is appropriate. We primarily use emails for the following purposes:

1. To summarize and document everything discussed during phone conversations and to outline the next steps.

2. To send agendas before our weekly and monthly meetings.

3. To obtain approvals and confirmations.

4. To exchange materials and files.

5. To send proposals, plans, addendums, contracts, and roadmaps.

A few things to remember:

• Be concise and straight to the point.

• Ensure the formatting is correct.

• Highlight what's important.

• Ensure clarity regarding the next steps for everyone involved.

While it may seem obvious, having as many templates as possible can save time and prevent the need to craft similar messages from scratch. Ensure your Customer Management System tool allows for storing these templates and is user-friendly for your Account Managers to use daily.

Lastly, we use Fireflies.ai to track call recordings and PlanHat to monitor all client-related communications. Our Team Leads utilize PlanHat for QA purposes and filter emails based on various criteria (e.g., recaps, proposals, onboarding meeting recaps, etc.).

Evaluating someone's calls or emails may seem subjective and depends on your goals. However, it's far simpler than analyzing the history of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, as done by Edward Gibbon in six volumes. So, don't despair; establish clear criteria, minimize ambiguity where possible, and set your top performers as examples. With these steps in place, you're ready to proceed.

Messengers

Avoid using these channels to confirm important arrangements, contracts, or vital information. Doing so risks information getting lost or overlooked, leading to unprofessionalism and potential misunderstandings. Imagine the worst-case scenario where an Account Manager says, "I'm sure they confirmed the extension somewhere in Slack, but I can't find it."

Instead, utilize these platforms for daily communication and updates. For instance, our SDRs use Slack to notify clients about upcoming appointments:

To summarize the key points discussed above, your objective is to achieve the following:

• Have a clear understanding of the communication channels used and their respective purposes.

• Implement effective methods for tracking and storing information, utilizing tools such as Fireflies, PlanHat, or suitable alternatives.

• Establish algorithms and templates for various use cases, storing them in your CMS for easy daily use.

• Ensure your team is adept at adapting to the client's tone and handling different types of situations professionally and effectively.

Outcomes

One might ask, "How does this approach affect my team's results?" It's a pertinent question. Let's revisit the initial premise of this newsletter: the importance of presentation skills alongside deliverables.

Over the years, we've experimented with hiring and developing various individuals. We've often been tempted to hire candidates with strong hard skills (aka industry experience) but lacking in communication abilities, thinking that results are all that matter. However, after analyzing some numbers, we've observed the following:

• Individuals who prioritize refining their pitch, presentation skills, and adherence to best practices experience a 15% higher lifetime value (LTV) rate compared to those who do not.

• Their churn rate tends to be up to 5% lower, even in situations where KPIs are identical.

• They tend to have more upsell opportunities due to their ability to build strong relationships with clients.

• They receive 40% more reviews from clients on platforms like Clutch or G2.

I could recommend books such as "A Dragon Walks into a Meeting" or various courses and materials on communication that are easy to find online. However, it's essential to start with the basics: establishing effective communication frameworks, conducting Quality Assurance, addressing recurring negative communication patterns, and setting high standards.

Furthermore, ensure that communication skills are reflected in your seniority gradation. Senior Account Managers or Customer Success Managers should not only possess strong hard skills but also excel in presenting your company to enterprise clients.

Lastly, patience is key. Many of the strategies discussed require time to be built, implemented, and refined. Be methodical, and results will follow. "All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players." So why not strive to play your part well? ;)

So, we've reached the conclusion of my three-newsletter cycle. Certainly, there are numerous topics left to explore, as we've only scratched the surface of client onboarding, department structure building, and communication basics. Rest assured, you'll hear from me again soon.

Until then, not goodbye, but see you soon!