Engagement in a “social distancing” reality

Business Development in the energy business takes on many forms. My role is one of finding new uses / new users for Propane as the energy of choice. Being an engaging person with the heart of salesman, I am faced with a stark reality amidst the COVID19 pandemic. How do I engage in a world that is practicing self-quarantining and “social distancing”?  

When I first heard the phrase “social distancing” I thought … here is another millennial-speak phrase like “customer facing” or “adulting”. As “under 40” as the phrase sounds to me, it is at the core of how we slow the spread of this virus. It is also counter-intuitive to this extroverted, gregarious, and engaging person. 

In addition to being outgoing and congenial, I am a person of intentions. I live by them, write them down, read them daily and I strive to find a prayerful way of making them part of my morning routine and everydayness. My March intention theme is “Perspective”. The goal is to focus on seeing something new, maybe within something I have already seen. To focus on vision or the vuje de.

What is Vuje de? The “blinding flash of the obvious” (I sometimes call it a BFO) or a “wow I could have had a V8” moment. Maybe the something I now see is the great challenge of being me in a world of “social distancing”.

I shift my focus to core beliefs. My challenge of finding different ways to communicate and engage with this new reality. Revisiting Stephen Covey’s “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” with “social distancing” in mind gives me a new perspective on what I can accomplish in the coming days / weeks without travel, meetings, tradeshows, and industry conventions.

Habit #1: Be proactive. Do not get bogged down by what cannot be accomplished. Instead focus on what can be done. Yesterday’s salesman’s tools of a rolodex and bag phone are today’s CRM, LinkedIn connections and smart phone.  Today’s video conferencing tools are abundant; Zoom, GoToMeeting, RingCentral and Face Book live. Yesterday’s cold call … has been replaced by Googling your prospect and sending them a video introduction to your product of service. 

The largest convention in the Propane industry was cancelled. In years past I was very proactive regarding this convention, I had to schedule a time to have clients visit with me on the tradeshow floor. What can be done today without a show? I am committed to finding a way to engage with our industry friends and partners through Webinars, E-learning tools, and with social media channels, like this one. I am also personally reaching out to my industry friends that I will miss.

Being proactive isn’t simply finding a silver lining, it is taking responsibility and owning the outcome. I am making a choice not to blame this pandemic … the results on the other side of this may surprise us all. And while no one knows when this virus will run its course, we can be certain that those of us that focused on learning something and being proactive despite these circumstances will be made a better person because of it.

How are you going to remain proactive in a social distancing world? I would love to hear your thoughts. Next Habit #2 Begin with the end in mind.