Business communications

The ways businesses talk to their trading partners is vital to every business on the planet. Success is often driven by excellent relations: simplicity even more so.

Everybody is interested in news about close friends, and broadcasting news offers some of the best marketing available. Why else do large companies spend so much time on Twitter, Facebook and other social media?

Gaining contacts is the mere exercise of talking to people. This can be something as simple as a chance meeting in a pub, to a full-on marketing campaign.

But bringing an argument to the right conclusion is the major skill. Whether its through voice or through marketing material, persuading people your way is the objective. It's not always easy, and there isn't always an obvious route. Chalestra's services focus on providing answers these problems, and bringing projects to successful closure.

Chalestra knows how vital communicating is: indeed, we have seen some magical results come from good communications. Chalestra helped sell a reinsurance company for an unexpected 1.5x it's worth! That's billions. And billions in profit.

We offer our communications services to every size of company, and no matter what their project is. Some companies have had to survive, some have grown, some wanted more customers. Others had HR issues to deal with, financial relations to work out, suppliers not pulling their weight. The list of things we can help with are endless.

We also have a media design studio that can be used for creating literature, videos and presentations. We're great fans of video news, and video news is ripe for the modern world.

Chalestra has provided, and continues to provide, solutions that win. It is true that it hasn't always won, but some say that if Chalestra can't win: no-one can. In the event that we lose, we commit huge effort to finding out why. We do this because our reputation and status are critical to us. Fortunately, losses are rare.

Our communications service is a world-class service, often critical to Chalestra’s clients. The service helps them precisely demonstrate their mission strategies, strengths and goals. Communication is vital because it creates buy-in to commercial projects, particularly from staff, the public, shareholders and others. In short, it's an enabling gateway.

Business challenges

Most business owners are not prepared to handle challenges to their business. The answer to any business challenge is always a sales pitch of some type. More often, though, people, perhaps in their frustration, resort to personal recriminations. But, then, how many business people have a sales pitch prepared that can be called on a moments notice, “anywhere, anytime, anyhow”?

Sales pitches

Having sales pitches prepared are vital. If you have more than one stream of work, then a sales pitch is required for each. In addition, in that scenario, there should be a sales brief that covers all of the streams: an overview, if you like. Unfortunately, sales pitches are always difficult to remember, particularly when you’re under pressure.

Facing strangers

It’s the easiest thing in the world to make a sale pitch to close friends. Conversely, it’s the hardest thing to pitch to strangers: will they bite your head off? Confidence plays a key role, and becoming confident about your business is key to delivering any kind of success.

Warships go to play. It happens a lot. UK ships go out to sea to play with the Russian fleets, and the American fleets and any other fleet they can find. Why would you send a multi-billion pound warship ‘to play’? It’s actually very important. It helps them develop their skills, their dexterity, and their knowledge. It allows them to find out their weaknesses with little cost. Watch puppies at play, and wonder why they do it.

Playing is equally important in delivering sales pitches. By playing, you will be able to switch tactics if your sale pitch is going down like a lead balloon. People also notice people who play (provided they can be serious too!), which offers the opportunity to develop new leads.

Looking good

The statement that people are never very good at looking good is actually very true. Most people will go with the flow, which is not really harnessing the opportunity. Celebrities, politicians and others spend fortunes on trying to look good. But, in the personal sense, looking good is a matter of perception: looking the best will look awful to some people.

In business, it’s vital. It’s as vital as products looking good. Consumer will always choose the better looking product, if all else is equal. It’s about gaining the first impressions over any competition you might have. Coming second does not win deals.

Presentation, the act of putting your business in front of others, is also a skill. It’s about bringing the power of your offering to bear on your potential customer. Plonking it front of them won’t do, and high drama is often too much. It’s vital to research your audience before you present to them.

You most personal critic

Confidence is knowing you’re doing it right. Many people stand back, take a look at their project, and decide it’s wrong. They may be right. And they may be wrong. One way to find out is after the event, which would be too late in many circumstances. The only way to prove you’re right is by constantly winning deals. If that’s not happening, then you are probably approaching the project wrongly. Anyone who is presenting ought to have a sympathetic audience, or professional support: somebody who knows what they are doing, who can criticise you, and can reliably help you to the finish line.

Chalestra’s job

Chalestra spends a lot of time with international banks and consultants, helping them communicate with both customers and potential customers. We work on the sales pitches, we work on the approach, we work on the language, and on the way they communicate.

And we bring that to SMEs.

Contact Chalestra to help you improve your communications.