In my “Build an Unsinkable Business™” presentation, I teach that a key principle is maintaining human to human communications. This may not take the place of marketing completely, but it has earned a much higher priority due to the unsettling events of 2020.
Depending on your type of business, you may be wondering why your “slick and fancy” marketing, which worked in prior years, has stopped having the expected results now.
“Same old” doesn’t work in a topsy turvy world. Listening to your audience does. 
Recently, I received communications from different people from whom I have bought products or services in the past. I like these folks and have been happy with the purchases. But this year, as we have ALL taken an economic hit because of COVID, and some have suffered heart breaking losses, we must turn our attentions to CARING more than SELLING. The message I typically receive goes something like this,
“Hi Susana, how are you and your family doing? I hope all is well and that everyone is healthy. I want to take this time to let you know that ………” and that’s when they jump into their sales pitch. That is also when I hit delete, without finishing their message.
The disconnect happens because they have fooled me – they have taken the time to send me a personal message – but rather than being a natural conversation, it was really a sales pitch in disguise.
While perhaps in other years that message would not have left that terrible an impression on me, this year, it sounds all wrong. “I’m going to write 2 sentences that demonstrate I am polite, and then I will proceed with selling”.
Now, I know that these people are not intending to do anything wrong and they likely are approaching this communication with all good intentions. But in 2020, it doesn’t sound that way.
So what’s a better option?
I’ll share my own Communications Strategy.
I have a list of people I either have done business with or would like to do business with, or perhaps I just like them for no specific reason. I’ll check my list and see who I have not spoken to recently. I’ll send them a note and ask how they are doing. I’ll reference something we spoke about last time that’s going on in their lives. Their child went off to college – is everything going ok at campus or did they move to virtual? Their spouse was furloughed from their job and was looking for new opportunities. Did they go on any interviews and did they find anything they liked?
I’ll ask if instead of emailing, they would like to connect by phone or zoom, just to catch up. I AM curious (nosy) and I like knowing what’s been happening with folks. I’ll even suggest we “have lunch” together over zoom.
Then when we do have our chat, we have a great real person to person conversation. Do you remember what that’s like? I ask about their family and their hobbies and their business. And yes, they do ask about me so I do share a cute picture of a grandbaby and tell them what I’ve been up to, because they’ve been kind enough to inquire. I’m not offering to sell them anything, there is no call to action.
Just 2 human beings catching up in a world where we can’t go to Panera’s for coffee or to a fave restaurant for lunch.
If business happens, it does so slowly, intentionally and organically. If business doesn’t happen, you still get a great conversation. We may exchange a cool book recommendation, Netflix show, or a new business resource. And we’ve had a nice time away from the daily stress.
Reach out to find out how people are doing, and what’s been happening in their world with no intent to sell – but with FULL intention of CONNECTING.
While we all want to make more money right now, we are all going through strange times so there is a new need for sensitivity.
And if you send me an email asking me how my family is and then ask if I want to buy something in the very next sentence, don’t be surprised if I do not respond at all.