The Cost Of Miscommunication

Imagine if you could communicate in a way that your message always gets through no matter who you're communicating with.

How is your communication affecting your bottom line in business?

A 2011 study in Holmes Report, reported that $37 Billion dollars was the total estimated cost of employee misunderstanding. This included actions or errors of omission by employees who misunderstood or were misinformed about company policy, procedures, job function, or a combination of all three. 

The study was done on companies with 100,000 employees, among 400 corporations in the US and the UK. The average cost per company was $62.4 million per year. This was in 2011, so I would guess that those numbers are probably even higher today. 

They also found that $26,000 was the accumulative cost per worker, per year due to productivity losses resulting from communication barriers. 

Now, if you're a solopreneur as I know that many of you are, you might be thinking "those are big companies. I'm a small business, those numbers don't apply to me." Well, think again. 

The #1 reason for a sale to fall through, is miscommunication. Either not understanding what the client is looking for and/or not being able to clearly communicate the value of what you can offer. Your sales are predicated on your ability to communicate the value of what you offer, and to link it to the need or want of the client. 

Sales are made or lost based on communication. Not because they don't want what you're selling, not because you don't have a great product or service, but simply because you're not communicating in a way that connects they're want/need to the value of your product or service. 

Miscommunication is also the #1 reason why a client might leave you.  

All relationships are based on communication. Your relationship with your clients is no different. If you can't effectively communicate expectations with your client, so that they know what kind of results are achievable, you may lose that client. And if you also can't understand what the client is communicating to you, you might lose that client. 

There was some research done a couple of years ago (unfortunately, I can't locate it right now) that showed that the #1 reason a client leaves their coach is because they feel that the coach doesn't understand them. 

If you have employees, business partners or a team you work with, miscommunication might be costing you in these relationships. What is the cost of dissolving a partnership? Of onboarding an employee or team member? How about your interpersonal relationships? If you have ever gone through a breakup or divorce, or a fight with your spouse, you know how deeply that can effect your ability to focus and earn money. 

Communication plays a major role in how much money you have in your business. How much you're earning and how much you are losing. 

How communication affects small business:

• Sales; communicating value to your prospects.
• Client retention; managing client expectations.
• Business partnerships.
• Onboarding costs of rehiring, and bringing on team members.
• Interpersonal relationships; struggles in a relationship impacts focus and ability to earn money. 

If you want to make more money over the next year, and if you're looking ahead to your 2023 revenue goals, then learning how to communicate is a vital part of the process. 

And you weren't taught this in school. None of us were. 

If you want to learn how to communicate effectively. To communicate in a way that your message is always received, and that people are open and receptive to what you have to say, then you aught to learn NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming).

NLP is the study of excellence in communication.

And if you want to be an excellent communicator, learn NLP.