Reminds me of a song, “Let’s get physical”… Not sure I mean exactly the same thing but on a certain level I think I do mean that being personal means physically connecting with others. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m wild about all the electronic ways that we have to connect and communicate with people. I believe that in so many ways, (let me count them, 1. Facebook 2. LinkedIn 3. Twitter 4. Email 5. Video 6. Websites 7. Blogs … I can go on and on) we are able to get personal with others and stay in touch more than ever before. The speed that we can reach people has never been faster. I like that a lot. I like fast, easy, and efficient.
BUT, there is no substitution for REAL PHYSICAL PERSONAL connection. Whether it’s a first time impression or follow up to a short or long time relationship, the opportunity to make the sale, confirm the relationship, or influence a decision maker is always easier in person.
When it comes to communication, much can be lost in translation. In person, you get a lot of feedback. You can see expressions, you can hear tone, and I think that listening is easier in person. With the written word, sometimes people can read between the lines or make up tone in their head that is completely off base. I had a team member who thought I was mad most of the time or really more impatient than I really meant to be because I was firing back quick emails that were short and to the point. I was in a hurry … not mad or impatient.
There are two reasons why this is so on my mind this week. If you read the article last week about Poinsettias in August, you read about a GREAT waitress who was so personal in her invitation to have us return next week. By the way, I’m going to see if my daughter is available on Sunday morning and I think we’ll go again! (I digress – SQUIRREL!)
Anyway, on the way home, after this great service, I thought about the fact that people will use the statement, “It’s just business, it’s not personal.” If this waitress bought into the management model that supports that statement, there’s NO WAY it would matter to her whether or not we come back next week.
I’m a business owner and guess what?
Everything is personal. I’ve had to make very difficult decisions about staff at times, customers, products, events, everything. And while many of those difficult decisions were made because they were good business decisions, I can promise you that they were all very personal. I think your people (internally and externally) need you to be personally involved and engaged in the business. We want them to engage our guests. With that in mind you must know that as leaders our customers and our staff need us to physically be with them on a personal level. I don’t think that means we have to live with their drama or put up with inappropriate work behavior but it does mean that we have to include leadership behavior that says I hear you, I’m listening, I care, and I expect!
It’s personal as a business owner that the business succeeds. Oh brother, I’m preaching again … Since I’m this far in, I hope you’ll accept my personal invitation to join us at our Leadership Summit in OKC Sept 27th, 28th, 29th. If Carla Bishop, our AMAZING Sales Gal and trainer happens to give you a personal call to attend and you book and pay with her, you can save $50. Better yet, why don’t you give her a call and she’ll give you the same $50 off: 214.683.7551.
The second reason this personal connection situation is on my mind this week is because we held an event for a client this week where the local sales person invited community leaders and group planning decision makers into the facility. This is a program that we call the “Outside-In” Sales Method. The initial invitation process is via email but in coaching our client we really emphasize that the success of the program is completely dependent upon personally following up and connecting with those potential attendees. We had decent success with the event but so many people that could have been invited were completely missed because the sales person refused to go out the door or pick up the phone! A kind, sincere invitation to attend this focus-group based event would have gone a long way with potential attendees in this small community.
Well I’ve rambled on long enough so I’ll conclude this week’s article by wishing you a happy Labor Day, a cooler fall, and while I’m writing (pre-hurricane Irene land fall), I’m really hoping the east coast of our great nation is safe and personally taking care of one another.
Please feel free to share your stories of how a personal connection made the difference for you, your business, or your staff. And thank you for reading! Many of you have been so sweet in recent weeks to provide feedback and personally share with me that you’re reading our stuff. Thank you so much! It means everything to me that it means something to you!
