a:27:{s:9:"weblog_id";s:1:"5";s:8:"entry_id";s:2:"14";s:6:"sticky";s:1:"n";s:14:"allow_comments";s:1:"n";s:16:"allow_trackbacks";s:1:"n";s:10:"entry_date";s:19:"2008-03-29 01:43 PM";s:15:"expiration_date";s:0:"";s:23:"comment_expiration_date";s:0:"";s:8:"category";a:1:{i:0;s:2:"12";}s:9:"author_id";s:1:"1";s:10:"new_weblog";s:1:"5";s:6:"status";s:4:"open";s:14:"trackback_urls";s:0:"";s:18:"versioning_enabled";s:1:"y";s:5:"title";s:29:"Electronic Sales? Not So Fast";s:9:"url_title";s:28:"electronic_sales_not_so_fast";s:6:"submit";s:6:"Update";s:11:"field_id_20";s:29:"Electronic Sales? Not So Fast";s:11:"field_ft_20";s:4:"none";s:11:"field_id_25";s:1:"7";s:11:"field_id_21";s:0:"";s:11:"field_ft_21";s:4:"none";s:11:"field_id_22";s:0:"";s:11:"field_ft_22";s:4:"none";s:11:"field_id_23";s:4628:"<p>I\'m not overly old school or anti-technology by any means, so don\'t
write me off before hearing me out. I must say though, there is a trend
taking place that gives a false sense of sales effectiveness. The
emergence of e-commerce, personnel automation and use of e-mail as a
primary communication tool gives the impression that face-to-face human
contact isn\'t necessary any longer. I say, \"You\'re nuts!\"</p>
<p>First, the cell phone began to replace face-to-face contact and now
e-mail has even replaced voice-to-voice communication. The trend is
developing a generation of sales people that have difficulty with
personal meeting scenarios. More and more contractors use their
Blackberries, laptops and fax machines as primary forms of
communication. Now don\'t get me wrong, these are all viable
communication sources in a support role. I just don\'t agree with using
them as your lead form of communication with a client or customer.</p>
<p>How many times have you had an e-mail misinterpreted? Have you ever
been questioned or confronted through e-mail? Ever had an e-mail
forwarded without your consent? Are you faxing all your bids or price
quotes? How about those automated receptionists? Tired of pressing 1
for \"English\"? Lastly, do you enjoy calling Pakistan to find out why
your PS3 is malfunctioning?</p>
<p>Get ready folks. The backlash is coming. I\'m running into
contractors all over the country that are stepping back in time to get
the competitive edge. They\'re delivering their most desirable bids face
to face; calling clients when it isn\'t related to a project just to say
\"Hi\"; getting a true human receptionist to greet their calling
customers; making time to pull away from their computers to get amongst
their customer base. This is the wave of the future. I remember the
day! Yes, the day when this was status quo. You cannot remove the human
element from the sales process. Machines do not invoke loyalty.
Technology neutralizes you as a source and pushes the issue towards
price. Your fax machine cannot handle objections.</p>
<p>Contractors across the country whine about pricing pressure. When
you eliminate your uniqueness, when all bidders are faxing or e-mailing
in quotes and you do business with people who can\'t pick you out in a
police line up, what do you expect? You bring far more to the sales
decision than you think. Have you ever bought a product because of a
relationship? Yup! How about your doctor, lawyer, barber, mechanic or
even restaurateur? Firms pushing for more of a personal touch will
begin to unseat the price hawks driving prices down.</p>
<p>I recently had a conversation with the president of a computer
technologies firm. He couldn\'t understand why he was getting so much
heat for his customer service reps. He wanted me to consider training
them. I was obviously interested and he said he could set up a webinar.
A webinar! Why a webinar? He stated that all his customer service reps
were based in India. No wonder he was getting flack. Who likes calling
overseas to talk to someone reading off a script. Some of you may not
agree with me because you\'ve cut costs so much going to automation.
Hmmmm, how are those profit margins? Any decrease since you went
techno? Lose any long-term customers in the last year? It usually takes
that long before a good client gives up. Nope, all this technology is
wonderful, except it was primarily developed by people who sit in a
cubicle all day and never see the sun shine. Construction, of all
industries, is as outdoors as it gets. Technology can blind you to
weaknesses.</p>
<p>I\'m sure you love your website. Websites do play a role in directing
your customers to your sales effort. The problem is they can\'t sell for
you. You may say, \"We had 10 orders off our site this month!\" Well, how
many people chose not to do business with you after going to your site?
No idea eh? They may not find exactly what they\'re looking for there
and move on. Hey, my job is to make you think and evaluate if you\'re
doing the best you can to reach your client base. How often are your
sales contact people sitting in front of their computers? There\'s face
time right there. If you really want customer loyalty, higher margins,
and new clients, put your sales people\'s faces in front of clients.
Simply because technology progresses does not automatically warrant
dispatch of traditional methodologies. If you incorporate true
face-to-face contact in conjunction with technological support, the
results will be staggering. Take one step back to make two steps
forward or press \"4\" if you\'re losing customers.</p>";s:11:"field_id_24";s:0:"";s:10:"category_0";s:2:"12";}