Get human, make eye contact, and be where you are.
When was the last time you walked down the street, made eye contact and smiled at a person you didn’t know? I’ll bet a few things here:
- It’s been awhile since you smiled at someone on the street, and if you did;
- They smiled back.
Chances are, you’re generally distracted. Chances are you’re talking on your phone, texting, or reading email as you walk down the street, so you, and your eyes, and attention aren’t available.
What happened to connecting?
Sales is about connecting—one human being to another. Look people in the eye, smile, and exchange a few words (nice ones, please.).
Make the Sales Connection
Technology connects us to the outside world, but what about connecting to the world right in front of us? Take a look around you. How many people are on their mobile phones talking, walking, reading, surfing, emailing, or texting? How many people multitask on their phones as they walk down the street, across the street, or driving? I wrote about this topic in Does Anyone Have an In-Person Conversation Anymore?
Watch the Video
In the New York Times Opinion Pages, Casey Neistat shares a hilarious video about the rules of “Texting While Walking.” It’s three minutes and eight seconds—funny and brilliant. Watch the video now.
From the article: “Navigating the sidewalks of New York City can be as challenging as any rushing sport, like football or rugby. But when your opponents are walking while text messaging, their field of view is impaired, and this can render a three-block walk to Starbucks somewhere between infuriating and life-threatening.
While there’s little current data about the number of people injured while texting, more than 1,000 pedestrians visited emergency rooms in 2008 after they were injured while using a cellphone to talk or text. That had doubled each year since 2006, according to a study conducted by Ohio State University.”
Read the rest of the article and watch “Texting While Walking.”
Casey Neistat is a New York-based filmmaker. He has made dozens of short films released exclusively on the Internet and is the writer, director, editor and star of the series “The Neistat Brothers” on HBO.
Great blog. The video made me laugh. You make an important point when you say the technology we use may keep us from connecting with those around us.
When a customer can’t see the whites of your eyes, or feel the grip of your handshake, you can’t quickly gain their trust. And trust is the basis of any profitable buyer-seller relationship
The thing is, most consumers like being loyal. In fact, four out of five shoppers prefer not to shop around. And yet, 60% of buyers report switching providers even when they were happy with their current vendor. I say the cause of the disparity is impersonal technology many companies use.
I share some simple, proven strategies for getting customers to sign and stick around in my blog here: http://blog.pgi.com/2012/07/you-cant-have-a-relationship-with-a-faceless-customer/
Hi Todd:
The research you share is terrific. I encourage everyone to click through to your blog. Without trust, we don’t have a sale. Trust must be earned. What better and faster way then to connect with video? (If in-person isn’t a feasible option.)