The newsletter cites a study from the American Travel Association that every dollar spent on a face to face meeting typically nets $12 in return whilst internal meetings net $4 to $6. Not bad.
Dear Reader, as you may (or may not) have figured out, I am a big proponent of face to face interaction. I am still shocked that many of us use tools (like Outlook etc.) as replacements for communication. Why is it so hard to go and speak with someone internally and externally especially if you're asking for money?
Yes, the ATA is probably biased- they want you to travel to boost their members. But traveling to see a client is key. You connect around a table, you can address issues they may have had in the past, you can fight the competition and most importantly, you can work to seal the deal. I don't know about you, but that seems pretty sweet.
A second article on Mediapost caught my eye. Called "Woe the Digital Sale: I can Hear You Calling But..." An (obviously) frustrated Rep. writes to their mail bag asking if anyone actually answers their phone anymore.
As Managers, we demand calls, calls, calls. It's all in the volume of closed calls and the proposed revenue. Three times the goal. Right.
For the next hour, my reps. are going to crank out calls. 15-20 an hour. Out of that, we should have some prospects in the pipeline. Let's get started. I check in with rep. one:
"How'd it go?"
"Okay I think, I left a lot of messages and hope someone will call back."
Rep. Two
"Ditto."
Rep. Three
"The same."
See a pattern? Now, as a Manager, you ask if they are doing enough. So, you schedule calls with them. The same thing happens. Message, Message, Message. It becomes a routine. But then comes that one time- someone picks up. You hardly know what to do. Training kicks in and you can hear an obviously frustrated person who thought you were their food order try their hardest to get rid of you. Damn.
Communication has evolved at lightening speed over the last few years. In many ways, too fast for the human mind to comprehend. New tools crop up everyday. I can remember in the mid-90's when I was in college using AOL Instant Messenger. I thought it was the coolest thing, I didn't have to dial anyone and can ignore or reply on my own terms. Now, things have evolved further and with it, the decline of communication.
The Mediapost article looks at communication between agency rep. and sales rep. Whatever your industry, the same things are probably happening. No one picks up the phone, email is king and face to face meetings work the best. But, you need to speak with someone to make the meeting. I have no magic bullet for this. I ask my Reps. to do the best mixture of both. Our goal is what is paramount. I would prefer a closed call (which now seems quaint). However, a proposal is a proposal even if it is conducted via email. As a Manager, I make sure the message the Reps. are putting out align with the needs of the team and are coherent.
Find your groove. Sit with your reps. and find out how they're communicating. Try and work on a mix. Remember, email is a tool. So see how they are using it and work it in to the sales plan. The most successful people I have seen use a mix of calls and emails. As Manager, monitor their activity (and I don't mean be intrusive), screen their client correspondences, make sure their message is yours. When it comes to the calls, do the same (more on that later). Make sure they are asking for face to face meetings whenever possible (if the deal is large enough) and pitching the right products and services for that client.
In the end, your team will thank you- you will be leveraging the 21st century with the 20th and hopefully, building your pipeline and closing some deals....
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