Your deals are dying because you won't get on a plane. Sure, virtual is efficient. Five meetings instead of one. No TSA. No Sbarro. But efficient isn't effective when your $300K renewal is circling the drain. Daryl Seager was running a session for Sales Assembly yesterday on Building Confidence & Trust With Your Customers, and a CSM in the crowd chimed in with a story: They were navigating challenges with a client. Emails were getting tense. Zoom calls felt adversarial. Then they finally got in a room together. "Their whole demeanor changed. It disarmed them completely." That's it. That's the whole insight. Daryl then asked: How many of you have met clients in person? About half said no. Then: Did it improve the relationship? Every single person who said yes talked about how it completely changed the dynamic. Not incrementally. Completely. Because humans aren't wired for Zoom intimacy. We're wired for reading a room. For the conversation that happens walking to the elevator. For vulnerability that only shows up when you're sitting across from someone. Your VP is gonna tell you to "maximize efficiency." Coolio. Go maximize yourself into a 75% renewal rate because your clients think you're a support bot with a calendar link. That $1,200 flight and eight hours of your time might save a $300K renewal. Or close a deal that's been "90% there" for three months. Or repair a relationship that your AE torched by overpromising. The orgs that will win in the future are the ones who still remember that people do business with people. Not with Brady Bunch squares on a screen. But sure, keep telling yourself that virtual is "just as good." Your competitors who are actually showing up will appreciate the market share.
In a world where you can buy virtually everything online or in a marketplace the only thing that differentiates you is….. YOU. #relationshipsmatter
I flew to Pennsylvania for an account that I worked on growing for 5 years. At the time, it was a 378k with a 38% margin. The meeting lasted 20 minutes. And it was very awkward, which aligned with the company's culture. It was different from what we were used to. The following year, they became a $ 4.5 million account. The market shifted, but they had more trust in me because I showed up. It is also why I loved tradeshows. That face-to-face is magical.
No substitie for F2F, even for a $20k new logo signup for a SMB or small mid-sized. The pandemic is over. The road is calling.
It is amusing to me that some organizations and bosses want to talk about 'return to office' because it helps build relationships and maximizes time together. However, when you try to book a flight to see a prospect or client, the entire narrative shifts, and those same leaders revert to scheduling meetings with Teams or Zoom. COVID definitely changed how business is done. Virtual meetings have their time and place. But, when a deal is picking up momentum, or your $500K renewal is at risk, nothing beats face-to-face interaction. If you aren't in front of your prospect or customer, your competition is.
Breaking bread together is as old as the Bible for a reason.
THIS ... so right. And I almost skipped it after seeing Sbarro.
The crazy part is, almost everyone will agree with you here, Matt Green BUT come next week, they’ll all go right back to Zoom calls. you’ve just got to get on a plane or a train etc. There are no shortcuts… or maybe there are, but I haven’t found them yet
F2F=B2B
ding ding.. oh by the way, your competitors are cutting travel and in person spend..
Vice President of Procurement @ Tropic | Spend Management Enthusiast | Speaker | Advisor | Professor. On a mission to change the perception of Procurement. In tech and beyond.
1d$1200 flight? Bro, not sure where you are headed but I’m flying to Chicago next week on Delta for $315 round trip. The procurement guy in me feels like you need to find cheaper airfare. Also please kindly take this as notice that I’m crashing your little “sales only” dinner you’ve got planned on Thursday….