Increase Sales with a Personal Touch

During the pandemic in-person meetings became basically non-existent. Everyone became a Zoom or Microsoft Teams expert and all meetings happened virtually.

Fast forward more than two years and many people are still relying on virtual meetings. Obviously, some customers are overwhelmed with their responsibilities and some offices are still restrictive for visitors. However, I also think many salespeople have become very comfortable not having to be on the road visiting customers and prospects.

While much can be done virtually or through email and texts, does the lack of a personal connection hinder the growth and potential for long term relationships with customers?

I asked a few successful salespeople friends (in a variety of industries) for their thoughts on the personal connection and how they keep their prospects and customers engaged. I thought the key observations were worth sharing.

Stand out from the Crowd

First and foremost, everyone said it is vitally important to stand out from the crowd. Since everyone else is communicating mostly through zoom meetings, email or text messages then it’s time to be different. Pick up the phone. Call and check in. But be respectful, ensure they have time for a chat and then ask key questions that will assist you in understanding their needs. Send them a handwritten thank you note in the mail. Ask them out for coffee, lunch or dinner.

Go back to old school techniques. One of my salespeople friends shared her story of starting lunch and learns again about a year ago. Remember those? They invite key customer buyers from similar industries and ask them to invite a colleague that could use their services. They keep the groups small with just 10-15 people. They are prepared with case studies and targeted presentations for the industry. A simple but delicious lunch and great swag bags. They keep it light, fun and under an hour.

Develop an Easy Get Together Formula

They’ve honed their formula and know that each one will be successful. It’s further cementing their existing customer relationships and introducing them to new prospects. They treat it as a very personal approach. And best of all, they close sales. So much so they now schedule them every six weeks with a new group. The most recent was their most successful to date. One customer brought a peer from a different department to the event. The new department loved what they saw and placed orders of more than $100,000 on the spot.

We all know that sales is a numbers game. And, as I’ve mentioned before it typically takes 8-12 impactful connection attempts to make a sale. Most salespeople stop at just three attempts or feel that social media will do the job for them.

Texts and Social Media are not Enough

Unfortunately, many assume these connections can be made with automated emails and social media posts. Everyone agreed that while automated message were once quite effective; not so much anymore. Firewalls, spam filters and just the “delete” button have diminished those connection opportunities considerably. Think about all the email you get, do you read them all?

However, that is not to say that social media doesn’t have a valid place in the sales process.

Of course, they all look to social media to connect strategically with prospects and customers that may not be in their networking spheres. For prospects they want to start the “introduction” connection through the many social media platforms; LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Reddit, Twitter, TikTok. For customers, they want to show they are engaged and are following the company’s accomplishments and trends.

That way they are more familiar with the prospects and customer’s business story.

Make the Most of the First Meeting

I was invited for an introductory meeting with a very large corporation before the pandemic hit. Of course, I had done my homework and felt I knew their story and target needs. The buyer gave me a thirty-minute timeframe. I spent the majority of the time asking questions and confirming my research findings. I also asked pointed questions to uncover some of the pain points they were experiencing with their current vendors as well as learn about some large projects they had on the horizon. About twenty minutes into our time, I told her how I thought we could help and how we were different from their current suppliers. She was so impressed that I didn’t start the meeting with a litany of “what we do” she scheduled a follow up meeting for the next week.

Long story short, they’ve been a loyal customer for more than three years and now that the pandemic closures are over, our projects with them are growing exponentially. We have a basis now for a solid, long-term relationship. We are scheduled to have lunch next week.

Show Your Appreciation

Another area that all agreed upon was showing customers your appreciation for their business. They all felt it was another way they stood out from their competition. Small gifts (depending on the customer and your business), thank you notes, dropping by with coffee and donuts/fruit – without the expectation of a meeting, phone calls (when appropriate) all make a difference.

Serval indicated they restarted their customer appreciation parties. One in particular impressed me. They throw an end of the year party in a local state park. Now, we are in Florida, so this is easier in the winter. They invite the customer and their families to join them for a day of fun and food. They have games for adults and children and lots of socializing. But what I liked most was the that they had a professional photographer there to take each family’s holiday photo with special backgrounds. It was so successful that they are doing it again this year.

I know it is mentioned all the time to “think outside the box” and I think that is a perfect example. Now more than ever we need to stay top of mind and standing out makes a difference. So how are you going to stand out?