The new intimacy in sales
First of all, this post of mine is the simplistic view of a sales person and not one of an academically educated epidemiologist or virologist. It is by no means a vote for lockdown or border closures. All of us, myself included, wish for only one thing: to leave Covid-19 behind as soon as possible.
It is rather my subjective impression, that has formed over the past months and my effort to simply get something positive out of this pandemic from a sales perspective.
Like many colleagues in sales, I am restlessly searching for new clients. From my point of view, that is our profession’s biggest challenge and also the most beautiful one.
First and foremost, I see the benefit of the efficient exchange with a potential clients. The video call has become the tried and tested medium for establishing initial contact. In about an hour both parties find out in an highly efficient way whether a new product is of interest or not. I don't know how many kilometers I would have traveled in the past 12 months if there hadn't been a pandemic. How many of these travel kilometers and the associated time would ultimately have been invested wisely if, after an initial meeting, it is discovered that a potential collaboration does not make sense.
I can only take positive things from this fact: Time, money and CO2 saved! Personally, I also expect this form of conversation to become established in the initial contact phase with clients. But of course, partnerships are important, not only on a commercial but also a personal level. That’s why I am already very much looking forward to our first in-person meetings with our new clients.
The second aspect, which I appreciate even more at the moment, is the difference between meeting formally in an office versus being companions in fate when it comes to working from home.
I doubt that I would inmediately mention my barking dogs or children, who come bursting into the room during a video call, to strangers. Today, we are in this together. I like this valuable and also beautiful aspect, which the pandemic has brought with it. Many conversations become more personal as we just share the same fate. "How is the pandemic management going where you live?", "What are the regulations in your country and how do you deal with them?". "Have you already booked an appointment with your hairdresser?" Whining together about government decisions and limited freedom, or laughing together about children and pets suddenly becoming part of business life, it all creates a new form of intimacy.
Please don’t get me wrong, while writing these lines I am fully aware that there are countless people out there whom this unprecedented crisis has brought a lot of pain and suffering. I also wish for a return to our pre-pandemic lives as soon as possible and that the economy may recover quickly.
But maybe as a salesman, I am just drilled to always see the positive. Whenever you put a lot of effort and energy into leads that don’t end up bringing in new business, as a Sales person you always have to keep going. That's part of our DNA.
But I appreciate these current conversations with business partners, which feel more "intimate" than they could ever be in a meeting room. We are all getting closer to each other, even while socially distancing.
So, at this point, a heart-felt thank you to all of you who got used to my cluttered bookshelf in the background and for letting me get a glimpse into your private life. It will remain between the two of us, I promise! ;-)
