High touch or high tech?

January 24, 2013 at 11:10 PM
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Selling is a person-to-person business. It's been said that buyers already know everything they need to know about you, your company and your products and solutions before you ever exchange a word with them.

This suggests that buyers don't really need us anymore—that the profession of sales has become so automated that salespeople are irrelevant. But this couldn't be further from the truth. We still have a role to play—and it's a very important one. In fact, buyers might just need us now more than ever.

Sales: powered by people since the beginning of time. World-class salespeople know and care about their clients. We understand our clients' most pressing business issues and hurdles. We know about their industry developments and their competitive landscape. We help our clients connect the dots and put them in touch with resources that strengthen their businesses. We provide a level of understanding and human interaction that isn't delivered through a "click here" button.

High touch is the next big thing. In the January 2013 issue of Condé Nast Traveler magazine, hotelier André Balazs shares some of his favorite innovations from the past quarter century as well as some that will change the world in the next 25 years. He says, "Travel will become our most-prized luxury. Travel takes more than money. It takes the most precious commodity: time. In the future, the greatest indulgence will not be a Ferrari, it will be a week in Kathmandu."

And, he says, personalized customer service will become more and more important. "The more technologically focused the world becomes, the less people will want to check in via iPad and have their pillow preferences stored in a computer. Instead, wouldn't it be great if you could arrive at a hotel and have someone greet you by name? He'd take you up to your room, where you'd find your clothes all pressed and hanging in the closet? This simple, old-fashioned service is the most pleasant luxury."

Get personal. The more technology-driven this world becomes, the more we appreciate the personal touch: real recognition, in-person face time and actually getting to talk to and work with people. John Naisbitt, author of High Tech, High Touch: Technology and Our Search for Meaning, explains that the more high tech the world becomes, the more we crave high touch.

Yes, there are certain things we'd rather do for ourselves with the help of our trusty computers, but at the end of the day, we also want to do business with people. As our world and culture change, so will sales—and that's OK. What won't change is that people need interaction. So step up and make a difference in your clients' lives by being a resource, a cheerleader, a sounding board. It's the wave of the future…of sales.

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Joanne Black is a professional sales speaker, sales webinar leader, and author of "No More Cold Calling: The Breakthrough System That Will Leave Your Competition in the Dust" from Warner Business Books. Visit www.nomorecoldcalling.com. © Copyright 2011 Joanne S. Black. All rights reserved.

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