Tag Archive for 'Face-to-face'

There is no handshake in “the cloud”

Published
by
Jim Blasingame
on 8:00 am
in Marketing - Branding - Advertising, Online strategy and Sales - Sales Management
. 0 Comments

“In the clouds” is an aviation term pilots use to describe flight conditions. Or you might have heard this term in a parent’s lament about where their teenager’s head is. Recently, it has found a place in the marketplace vernacular.

“Cloud computing” is the availability of incremental processing power that resides on an application provider’s servers, instead of your hard drive. For example, community-building technology resides “in the cloud,” like the social media platforms that have taken popular culture and the marketplace by storm—no pun intended.

But while cloud computing is another example of technology increasing business efficiencies and leverage, like all other high-tech tools, it still has not replicated one of the most elemental components of humanity—the handshake. There is no handshake in the cloud.

Successful businesses have learned how to profit from the speed and efficiencies of e-tools, including cloud computing. And those who initially discounted the notion of successful virtual relationships over the World Wide Web have been proven wrong. By now, most of us have met a prospect, delivered a proposal, closed a deal, delivered as promised, and maintained that relationship—perhaps for years—using nothing more than the virtual connection resources at our fingertips. But sometimes, there just is no substitute for face-to-face. Consider this story:

After a successful four-year relationship between a small business and a Fortune 100 business where all contact had been virtual, the small business owner wanted to deliver a proposal with a new idea for their relationship. The customer said, “Sure, I’ll take a look; just email it like the last one.”

But having never met the customer in-person, plus knowing the importance of this proposal to his business this entrepreneur asked for a meeting. “If you think it’s worth your time and expense, sure,” the customer agreed. The meeting was set, conducted, and the new sale was made, after which the customer said “I’m glad you came to see me. I probably wouldn’t have made this commitment without your presentation.”

This story is true—that was my customer and my sale.

As you leverage and profit from all of the efficient high-tech customer connection tools at the speed of light, don’t forget that the best choice might not always be found in the cloud. In the Age of the Customer it’s still a best practice to invest the time and resources to meet customers face-to-face, shake their hand, look them in the eye, ask them for their business, and especially to thank them.

There is no handshake in the cloud.

Be sure to check out my latest segment from The Small Business Advocate Show below. I talk about how to balance using the power and productivity of cloud computing with getting in face-to-face with customers when the time is right.

Why there is no handshake in “the cloud”

Video: The original social media is face-to-face

Published
by
Jim Blasingame
on 8:00 am
in Communication
. 0 Comments

In this week's video I explain why face-to-face communication can help your small business.

The original social media is face-to-face from Jim Blasingame on Vimeo.

Long before Facebook there was face-to-face

Published
by
Jim Blasingame
on 11:05 am
in Networking and Social Media
. 0 Comments

Since Samuel Morse’s first telegraph in 1844, communication technologies have sought relevance in an increasingly noisy universe. What hath God wrought, indeed.

Almost 170 years later, there is actual management pain from an embarrassment of riches of communication innovations. And this discomfort is especially keen when connecting with customers electronically: Should you call, email, text, or instant message? And when should you use social media?

But from telegraph to Twitter, one constant has retained its relevancy: in-person connection. What is face-to-face contact if not the original social media?

In businesses, social media euphoria must ultimately be tempered with ROI reality. And as useful as each new communication resource proves to be, they are, after all, merely tools to leverage physical efforts, not eliminate the basic human need for interacting in person. Consider this story:

A sales manager (whose gray hair was not premature) noticed the performance of one of his people was off for the third consecutive month. Up to now, he had allowed his better judgment to be swayed by plausible explanations. Now there was a downward trend.

Upon more pointed probing, the manager discovered the reason for loss of production was too much electronic contact and not enough in-person. The rookie was relying heavily on virtual tools and missing face-time opportunities with the customer.

It turns out lack of training and “rubber-meets-the-road” experience left him uncomfortable and unprepared to ask for and conduct meetings, like a proposal presentation. Consequently, he wasn’t benefiting from how the success rate of growing customer relationships can increase when certain critical steps are conducted in person. This manager immediately established a training program that set standards for how and when to integrate all customer connection tools, including face-to-face.

If your company’s sales performance isn’t trending upward, perhaps your salespeople need help getting in front of customers, particularly at critical steps. Like the manager above, you may need to establish specific and measurable standards for when face-to-face meetings should take place.

From phone to Facebook, one connection option whose relevancy has borne witness to all of the others: in-person contact. Let’s remember John Naisbitt’s prophesy from Megatrends: “The more high tech we have, the more high touch we will want.”

Face-to-face is the original social media.

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Be sure to listen to segments from The Small Business Advocate Show® related to social media. I report on how small businesses are doing with their social media strategy, specifically that two-thirds of those polled are successful or expect to be successful.

Is your social media strategy providing a return on investment?

The original social media is face-to-face

Published
by
Jim Blasingame
on 10:56 am
in Networking, Sales - Sales Management and Social Media
. 0 Comments

Ever since Samuel Morse invented the telegraph in 1844, each new communication technology has sought relevance in an increasingly noisy universe.

Today there is actual management pain from an embarrassment of riches of communication options. This discomfort is especially keen when connecting with customers electronically: Should you email or send a text message? How about IM? And when should you use one of the social media options?

But from telegraph to telephones to Twitter, there has been one constant that has retained its relevance and impact: in person connection. As I’ve said before, face-to-face contact is the original social media.

For small businesses, social media adoption has always needed to be tempered by ROI reality. And as useful as each new communication resource proves to be, they are after all, merely tools to leverage our physical efforts, not eliminate the basic human need for interacting in person. Consider this story:

A sales manager (whose gray hair was not premature) noticed the sales volume of one of his rookies was below budget for the third consecutive month. Of course, he had questioned the numbers previously but had allowed his better judgment to be swayed by plausible explanations. Now there was a downward trend.

Upon more pointed probing, the manager discovered the reason for loss of production: too much electronic contact and not enough face-to-face. The rookie was relying too heavily on virtual tools and missing opportunities to meet with customers in person.

It turns out lack of training and rubber-meets-the-road experience left the rookie uncomfortable and unprepared to ask for and conduct face-to-face meetings, like proposal presentations. Consequently, he wasn’t benefiting from how the success rate of growing customer relationships can increase when certain critical steps are conducted in person. This manager immediately developed a training program that established standards for how and when to integrate all customer connection tools, including the face-to-face imperative.

If your sales could use some help trending upward, perhaps your salespeople need training to get in front of prospects and customers, particularly at the critical step of gaining an initial meeting. Like the manager above, you may need to establish specific and measurable standards for when face-to-face meetings should take place.

There is one connection option that has borne witness to all of the others and continues to be as powerful as ever: face-to-face.

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Check out my interviews below with other Braintrust members about face-to-face communication on The Small Business Advocate Show®

Nothing tops face-to-face when communicating with employees - with John Dini

Face-to-face is still the original social media - with Joanne Black

Check out more of Jim’s great content HERE!

Take this week’s poll HERE!

Watch Jim’s videos HERE!


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