Get out of the office

People want to do business with people.

Technology has made the majority of salespeople lazy. It has also allowed them to indulge their fears of rejection.

If you want to make a sale then you have to phone and/or meet the prospect.

This may be the 21st Century with all the asssociated 21st Century technologically advanced communications tools but they should not be used to replace the basic skills of face to face communication.

The tools may have advanced in capability but people are still the same. They want to look into the eyes and hear the voice of the person who is selling them a product. Evolution has engrained in us the need to communicate physically and verbally.

Use emails to confirm future meetings and summarize past ones. Use emails to send relevant documentation.

A propsecting phone call will be much more effective than a prospecting email (or heaven forbid, sms). Of course verbal rejection is far more difficult and embarrassing then electronic rejection - a very compelling reason indeed for salespeople to hide behond technology.

The question we as salespeople need to ask ourselves is whether our desire to make a sale outweighs our fear of rejection. Not having to be verbally rejected is not much compensation for not making money.

Use techology. Use it though to enhance rather than replace.