CGM blog: Content IS king

17 Sep CGM blog: Content IS king

I recently attended a presentation where a marketing expert revealed their tips on how to win business.

Looking around the room, some fairly experienced business people were present so you had to wonder why rudimentary advice such as smiling and shaking someone’s hand when you meet them was treated as some sort of communications golden nugget – with a knowing nod from the speaker.

Then came a somewhat jaundiced view – that apparently less than 10 per cent of the value of communication is what you say. What you wear and how you say it is infinitely more important.

I tire of this sort of advice – repeatedly pedalled by coaches who specialise in telling people how to speak, what to wear or to flog some specific facet of marketing.

They deliberately devalue content – what you say or what you write – because the devil is in the detail and that’s a bit more complicated. Sure, how you say things and your demeanour counts – but nowhere near as much as content.

With your happy go lucky smile, go and meet all of your customers today and tell them you’re putting your prices up by 400 per cent and see how many you still have at 5pm.

Or go to a meeting and tell someone that you’ve just come out of prison after serving 20 years for murder.

Better still, see if no cares what the content will be when the Scottish Independence Referendum results are announced.

Being a smiling assassin doesn’t work. Content is king. How you steer a conversation, structure a presentation or conduct a media interview is not only a skill but the most important part of it.

I’m currently working with a client on a speech to a specific business audience. The aim is to inspire – so the speech will focus on an overall tale of encouragement and personal experience.

At least 50 per cent of our preparation time is getting the content right and structuring it in a way that will enable our client to recall the key elements and go as note free as possible. Delivery  is only part of the picture.

A tale from our Business Media Club. One of our meetings focused on presentation skills and a subsequent discussion moved to telephone conversations (not sales techniques, I hasten to add – but how to gain empathy and understanding).

One of regular club members – Pauline Newcombe, owner of fuel card reseller 3CF,  took some of the tips back to her sales team, who then had their best ever sales week. When she asked why, they said it was down to the ad hoc training she had delivered. They had discovered a new way to connect with people.

The focus was on content, not cheap trick sales, quick wins marketing, fake smiles or back-of-a-fag-packet philosophy devised by business coaches to get their hands on your wallets.

Content was and always will be king.

Chris Green is CGM’s managing director and a former author and broadcaster. CGM provides a range of executive media training courses. For more details visit CGM media training