Times have changed and so has our method of communications. How many times have you been asked, “Did you talk to so and so today?” You quickly answer yes–did you really talk to them or did you use text, email, Facebook, etc. to communicate with them? Well in business we must understand a few things:
• A friend is not somebody whose Facebook status you check occasionally
• Your network is not who you are connected to on LinkedIn
• Conversation can’t happen in a blog or post on social media
• Is Twitter where you want to have a discussion with a friend?
Let’s try this: let’s drop the Contact and Management from Contact Relationship Management and let’s just call it Relationship Marketing. Our new system is designed to grow leads into trust; once we have developed trust it completely changes the way we do business. Trust turns work into fun, trust removes any uncomfortable feelings in the sales process and finally, trust helps us to get to YES.
It’s time to stop looking at people as a means of making a sale and rather as someone you can build a relationship with for the outcome you both desire. Become the farmer who feeds his family year-round from the bounty of their labor and not the hunter that goes and gets one meal at a time!
Folks I am very passionate about contact and time management. In my next few articles I will be doing a deep dive into Relationship Marketing and how professionals should be addressing best practices that leads to sales goals.
