You hear me preach constantly about how important it is to manage your time effectively to increase your sales efforts and maximize new revenue opportunities. It’s also no secret that I’m a huge fan of utilizing all of the cool technologies available to us to keep our lives in sync. That said, at some point we need to put down our smartphones and tablets, and stop hiding behind our keyboards and telephones while being tucked away safely in our offices. Without a doubt, the single most successful sales strategy in which to convince our prospects and clients to share their most valuable assets with us – their time and their money – is to meet with them face to face.
Unfortunately, I’m also guilty too often of forgetting that the people we do business with day in and day out are human beings with real lives, real problems and real emotions. Because of today’s technology (and my reliance upon it), the human attributes of my clients are replaced with email addresses, vCards and Twitter handles. There is no question that my ability to reach increasingly mobile professionals via a variety of devices at virtually any minute of any day is extremely useful, but it also it lacks the personal interaction necessary to establish rapport and build solid relationships.
Face to face selling is effective because it allows you to see, hear, and experience what the other person is expressing in real time. You can hear their tonality, read their body language, and intuitively know if you’re on target with providing value in the moment. In-person sales calls also allow you to demonstrate to your clients that you have the ability to listen carefully to what they are saying – ensuring that you’ll clearly and completely understand their needs. Technology is great for hammering out details in quick snippets, but real business should be conducted while sitting across the table from each other and concluded with a firm hand shake. Always remember that in our world of newspaper advertising, people buy people, they don’t buy products. And people do business with people they like.
My primary business resolution for 2013 is to spend less time behind my iGadgets and more time in front of my clients, building mutually beneficial relationships on a foundation of trust, respect and confidence.
Have a terrific week, and Happy New Year!
Dan
If there are specific topics you’d like to see discussed in a future issue of The Sales Cycle, please contact me at 612-278-0223 or dan@mna.org