Before the pandemic, there were so many ways to communicate with customers: phone calls, voicemails, texts, in-person visits, video conferencing, emails, and direct mail. What are we really losing due to social distancing and working from home?
Only one out of seven – the in-person visits.
Some people may argue, “What’s the point of using direct mail? If I send something, they won't care.” Well, that may be true, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use a person’s home address these days. Besides, where else would they be receiving their mail right now? What’s more, if you happen to send something by mail, do you think it’s more impressive arriving in a priority mail envelope at their doorstep or the mail room of a Fortune 500 company?
Frankly, direct mail might be a great way to send stuff to people now. It’s the same with texts. Smartphones are now the quickest way to reach almost anyone given that most execs have abandoned their landline for their smartphone.
These are definite gains. Although you aren’t in-person, you're getting more direct human interaction. In fact, you can still be “face-to-face” via Teams and Zoom, just not “belly-to-belly” in the same room. You have faster response times. You have more time to prep. Think about all the wasted time you’ve avoided from not commuting or driving to/from customer sites. That means more time for you to sell.
By the way, since you're selling over the phone or on a computer, your territory has exponentially increased. You now have access to multiple time zones. You used to take planes in order to get face time with a prospect. Now you can sell in several different time zones in the same day.
So, my advice? Use that extra time wisely. You’ve got Google, LinkedIn, annual reports, press releases, earning calls, and trade organization journals to jumpstart your research. For more specific info, I would recommend studying our Segment GuidesTM, which compiles sound bites on 24 different market segments. Moreover, all of this can be done from the comfort of your own home office, using nothing more than a laptop or other internet-connected device.
