“Sometimes my voice isn’t heard.” I have often heard this complaint from leaders at all levels — individual contributors, middle managers, and senior level executives. It’s a critical issue. When people don’t feel heard, they often believe they’re not being fully utilized for all they have to offer — and often, they’re not. They have something to give, perhaps in the form of an idea, and the team is missing out on it.

When people aren’t heard, it’s not only a problem for the person experiencing this, but also for the organization as a whole. The consequences tend to snowball. If people don’t feel heard, they may not be completely committing to organizational decisions. The company is therefore missing out on that commitment, and also then losing the opportunity to tap into all the people resources available to them. And, since speaking up is part of how one develops leadership presence and influence, not being heard causes people to feel disrespected and to lose confidence. This loss of confidence causes them to hesitate to try things outside their comfort zone, which is precisely how organizations nurture and grow their leaders. So, both growth and leadership suffer.

For the “unheard” individual, consider two questions:

Question 1 — Are you not being heard because you aren’t speaking up — due to either lack of confidence, lack of opportunity to connect with the right people, or because you are surrounded by a bunch of extraverts who just won’t shut up (or all of the above)?

Question 2 — Are you not being heard because what you’re saying doesn’t seem to be received, considered, or recognized?

Let’s tackle each scenario.

Lack of confidence

Next question: why? Why do you lack confidence? Reassess your qualifications, experience, and education. If you’ve got what it takes, say it. But perhaps to build up your confidence, you might need more practice. So, get more practice. Find opportunities to practice speaking up in low-risk situations. Practice sharing your ideas and opinions — especially if they differ — in an environment that feels somewhat easy. Then work your way up. If you truly believe in what you have to say, then say it. Don’t let the inner critic inside your head get the best of you. The more you speak up, the easier it will get.

Lack of opportunity

If you feel like you don’t have the opportunity to be heard by the right people, work on building rapport with those right people. Building relationships is part of one’s professional development. It’s how things get done. And if you want to be more influential, rapport is the first place to start. Connect with that someone in the lunch line or at the coffee machine, get on a committee that you know that someone is also on, or join that individual’s golf league. Find something you have in common with that person that will allow you to get to know him/her better. Think genuine bonding and rapport.

Surrounded by extraverts 

Get used to it, my friend. The world is full of them. Here’s the funny thing: they’re wondering why you’re so quiet and why you won’t speak up more often. Start saying things like, “Hey, I’d like to jump in here.” Or “I’ve got something I’d like to share.” Whatever it takes to get their attention, say it. And if that doesn’t work, you can try, “Who wants a cookie?” It works with my puppy every time.

Message not received

This is where you need some feedback from others you trust. Could it be that the problem is with how you’re saying it (tone, pace, volume, message clarity)? Recruit some trusted colleagues to provide feedback on your interactions with others. Are you rambling when delivering a thought — saying too much to the point where the crux of your message is diluted? Thinking out loud isn’t the most effective way to deliver an important idea. Save that for brainstorming sessions. Make sure your message is clear and succinct, especially when it’s a higher priority idea or request.

Are you not saying enough? Sharing an idea is not enough. Sharing your idea and explaining why it’s important is critical. Don’t skip the part about how your idea will impact the bottom line, performance, employee engagement, or client relationships. Also, play around with prefacing your ideas with “From my experience…,” “Here’s what I’ve seen…,” “What my work has taught me is…” That will get listeners’ attention every time. If you’re thinking that what you have to say won’t make a difference, recognize this thought for what it is: an assumption. Don’t do it. Your idea just might spark yet a different thought that could be even more amazing than the first. Just put it out there. Some ideas are great, some good, some not so good. That’s what makes great ideas great.

Lastly, if someone else is controlling the conversation in such a way that it appears they are attempting to convince you to their point of view, hear them out. Then say, “that’s one approach. Would you be willing to consider another?”

One definition of leadership is “to influence an outcome.” If you are taking your leadership seriously, you must find the right way, the best way, to make your voice heard. Take some time to consider how you can best do so. Recognize that we may have to come at things multiple times, utilizing different approaches. Keep going. You will make a difference, and both you and the organization will benefit.

Keep speaking, so you can keep leading.  

Cindy Masingill is a partner with Emergent, a leadership training and professional coaching company based in Baldwinsville, offering services and programs to improve the performance of individuals, teams, and organizations. Contact her at Cindy@GetEmergent.com

When people think of a customer relationship management (CRM) tool, they think “sales.” If that’s the case, then you’re doing it wrong.

Yes, this is a technology system where sales managers can manage and analyze all customer/prospect data — a repository for all the information that their sales team needs to be successful and a place where they can see what their salespeople are doing. 

But, most companies don’t use their CRM to its full capability and that’s where they’re missing the boat. I’m talking about the companies that aren’t using CRM in their marketing departments as well.

Is yours one of them? This is understandable as, even at the sales level, there is often a lack of resources to really dig deep into the software or people to babysit all sales reps and ensure they are inputting the right information into the right places. One of the biggest problems facing organizations is the alignment of their sales and marketing teams. The sales team is doing one thing while the marketing team is doing another. While this is an age-old problem in business, there are many things today that can help put these both on the same track. 

Your CRM system is one of those things. It probably has the ability to keep track of your marketing efforts and even house the documents within the system to allow for easy access to a marketer’s dream of messaging consistency.

Let’s talk about marketing and sales alignment and how it can help drive sales — which, let’s be honest, is why we are all in business, after all. 

While we shouldn’t ignore our traditional marketing strategies, it’s important to make sure we try some newer ones as well. Content marketing through blogs, webinars, and white papers will influence the conversations and thought processes potential buyers have at the start of the buying cycle. You want to be seen as an authority. 

Your CRM system can help organize and manage information so your sales team knows what prospects are seeing and engaging with. It becomes an assistant to the sale. It’s no longer the sole responsibility of sales reps to generate leads. It should be a joint venture between marketing and sales. The digital world has allowed marketers to become lead generators. Marketers have the power to influence early dialogue, sometimes even before prospects know they need to buy. 

Having a comprehensive and properly used CRM will allow a real-time glance of the effectiveness of all marketing initiatives and how they travel through the sales funnel, allowing better decisions to be made within the sales and marketing departments. 

If your sales director and marketing director are not meeting and working together regularly, this is a problem. In today’s world, these two people need to ride in tandem to hit your sales goals. If you outsource your marketing to an advertising agency and it has not asked the sales director to be in the strategy and measurement meetings, find another agency. Lastly, if you don’t have a CRM, get one and use it for marketing.       

Jenn Cline is chief operating officer at ABC Creative Group and owner of Nordique Consulting Group, a sales and marketing consulting firm. Contact her at jenn@abcideabased.com