The rise of the Internet has given businesses a reason to use online messaging apps and services to interact with customers and business partners. These are all well and good but what they lack is a true feeling of interactivity. You may see and hear the person on the other end of the line but there is still a dissonance between the parties which creates a ripple of doubt.
When you are sitting across from another individual you naturally begin forming feelings of trust.
For businesses – having the ability to place a sales associate in front of an interested party is infinitely valuable. The sales representative can muster all of their experience and intelligence and port that knowledge into the physical interaction.
For example:
· Mirroring body language which opens the individual and relieves their tension
· Using direct eye contact to show confidence which keeps their attention
The Infinite Value of Face-to-Face
You may be wondering where all of this is going …
The topic of this post isn’t to dissuade you from using impersonal contact if it’s a logical method to interact with employees and customers. What it is trying to convey is that it’s very valuable that you’re able to sit an individual across from another when you are discussing business matters.
What would you rather have?
· Someone on a Skype call that’s itching to move on if you keep asking questions?
· Someone that’s sitting across from you and truly listening to your feedback and intentions?
Keeping them attentive is a difficult task for a sales associate.
Which is why trust truly is one of the all-important factors in generating sales.
It:
· Allows individuals to understand who you are and what you represent (brand)
· It allows you to show how you will honor your work (consistency)
· You may reveal the inner workings of your business to remove any doubts (transparency)
Sitting face-to-face is a clear-cut way to induce trust with a potential client. It’s very difficult to say ‘no’ to an individual which offers a valuable service/product in a sincere manner.
Keeping It Personal in a Digital World
Online meetings have replaced many personal business meetings as of late but it doesn’t mean it’s there to completely change the way we do personal business.
In fact – it’s still very important to interact with potential clients and customers on a real level which means it’s worth investing in the tools, resources, and strategies to place those sales representatives in the right positions for when the time is right.
Let’s say you want to have a sales rep on location to always have a one-to-one connection with your best customers.
An example would be setting ups sales reps at the Churchill furnished apartments in Boston. By placing them, and other individuals in the business, within close proximity to the valuable customers and potential leads to the company the business essentially creates a working hub where reps can work proficiently without setbacks caused by traveling, scheduling, and outdrawn corporate policies that slow their actions.
The biggest benefit of the coporate housing option is avoiding the long term commitment of standard rentals and the depression of long term hotel stays.
These types of options are available all over major metropolitan areas and should be worth an examination on your behalf.
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The Web has given us an ability to greatly reduce our time interacting with customers and potential consumers. This ability to save time is very enticing to businesses but the reality is that it’s not just about the hourly amount one saves from cutting out the face-to-face.
When you plant an individual in front a customer it helps to build that trust. That trust keeps people returning to your business more frequently than just sharing some form of coupon or message via email which is highly impersonal.
Interacting with them on a real level makes them feel part of the experience. They want to be a part of the community. They want to be an ambassador of the brand. It’s through this that your business will grow beyond expectations but you can’t expect it to be so if you’re removing the human factor in business.
