Recently during a training on communication with a group of sales professionals we were digging deeply in the science of communication. As I introduced the concept of intention in communication, I could feel the sudden silence that occurred in the virtual Zoom space. My participants started zooming out, I had a feeling that I am losing rapport with them and my senses were telling me there was a general confusion in the group. This was not my intention at all. My intention was to create clarity and understanding among them on the topic, so I started asking questions and adapting my communication, so that I could accomplish my intention. I asked the group what did the concept of intention create in them. One of the participants, with what seemed to me a startling look on his face, asked:  “So, do I always have to set an intention before calling a client?” 

I discovered the power of intention when I was fighting cancer. My only intention then was to get healthy.  With everything I did, with everything I said, with every thought I had and with every action and reaction that I produced, the intention was coming out of me. Gradually I transferred the question “What is my intention?” to my communication and my professional life. For example, before I start a workshop I ask myself the intention question, to uncover what I want to elicit in the audience. What is it that I want to give the participants? What is it that I want them to walk away with? How will I know that I have it, what will I see, hear and feel? 

Similarly, when calling a prospective client, I ask myself: “What is my intention with this call?” In other words, what do I want to achieve at the end of this call? Do I want to create interest for my product? Do I want to meet this person and discover their needs? Do I want to jump to the sale immediately? What is my intention? And then how will I know that I have accomplished my intention, what will I see, hear and feel? 

Setting an intention and knowing your intention with your behavior and actions is going to the heart of the matter. Your conscious mind sets the intention and then your unconscious gathers your resources towards accomplishing it. But for the unconscious to know what resources are needed and to pull them out, it needs to have a direction. You have probably had the experience when you set your mind to something, you decide and then suddenly it feels like the whole universe is on your side making it happen. This is the power of intention. 

Once you have a clear intention set and you know what will it look like, sound like and feel like when you have it, you will be surprised how easily you can achieve results. Because you know precisely what you want, you can be flexible and adapt your behaviour until you get it.

Generally speaking we are scared of intention, because we are afraid of failure. Has it happened to you when you go shopping and someone asks you “Can I help you?” and you answer “I am just looking” – well, this “just looking” is a statement of no intention. We haven’t been thought to have intentions and this is how we go through life, “just looking”.  

So in business, and in life, when you set an intention it means you know what you are doing and where you are going. There’s little doubt that clarity of intention sheds light on the path ahead, even when it is not clearly visible. Communicating clearly your intention to others is imperative for success in business and in life. 

Ask yourself today before you talk to the client: “What is my intention for this call?”

When you write that email “What is my intention with this email?” 

As a leader before you talk to your employees “What is my intention with this conversation?” 

And then ask the follow up question: “How will I know I have it, what will I see, hear and feel?”

So yes, always set an intention before calling a client.