Improve FaceTime – Dump the Phone

September 11, 2018

Apple has made the term “FaceTime” synonymous with video communications through your phone. All levels of communication can be done with that small gadget that is never out of your reach. Why meet in person when you can see and hear them through your cell phone?

No question about it, cell phones have vastly improved quick and efficient communication. However, it has not replaced real facetime.

Why is that?

Personal Encounter: Yes, the cell phone (audio and visual) allows you to communicate. However, it does not allow you to build a real relationship. Sitting in someone’s office and going beyond the points of meeting not only helps you better understand the person’s needs, but also can uncover potential opportunities. It also allows you to better learn what makes them tick.

Body Language: What is the other person’s body language telling you? Are they open and inviting, or are they closed up and protective? Reading their body language can give you signals, and warning signs, that a cellphone screen cannot.

Effort: There is no question that it takes more effort to meet with someone face-to-face. Travel, especially out of the region, can be costly. However, this type of effort builds a bond and shows the advertiser how important you are to their business.

In this day and age, few people like flights and hotels. Even fewer, if any, like to drive in traffic. And yes, there are times, and it might be quite often, when business needs to be done with a phone call, e-mail, or text message.

However, if a sales person wants to build a bond that will overcome issues, they have to make the effort to meet the other person-in-person – face-to-face. Is it worth the effort? You can only answer that when you need that little extra benefit. Either there is little differentiation between you or a competitor, or you did not deliver what was expected. Having built that bond may mean the difference between winning and losing.

Don’t let technology get in the way a building a relationship. You never know when you will need it.

-Charlie Sislen, Partner

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