I’ll bring cake – the power of face to face.

In the days of the early the internet I would have a road map on my desk and plot where my clients were. The numerous business parks, industrial estates, and Regus offices were all colour coded. I would then plot my trips out of the office packing in three or four client visits in a day. Ringing clients to say that “I would be in Dronfield for the day and wondered, as I was there, if I could come and see them – I’ll bring cake.”

This often resulted in my day starting early and ending late as I found myself 200 miles from home at 5pm on a Thursday.

The discomforts of long hours, in-car picnics, and roadworks were rewarded with seeing the client in person.

This was, and is, an invaluable experience. Not only do you get to put a face to the name, but you have that informal chat where you find out more about each other. Is there a motorcycle helmet in their office? A poster of a football team? Do you notice the awards the company has won? A bicycle team they sponsor? The walk from reception to an office or meeting room affords a perfect opportunity to chat about them. This build rapport and provides you with information you may not.

They get to know a little more about your personality. You become a person rather than another email or voicemail they need to deal with.

During COVID, face to face meetings pretty much stopped. Colleagues and clients began working from home regularly, if not permanently.

One positive was the move from phone calls to more video calls. With people letting us into their homes. If people haven’t blurred their background, we could discuss what was on their bookshelves, what art they have on the walls, the extensive toy collection behind them, etc.

Unfortunately, these meetings tend to be a strict 30 or 60 minutes, following an agenda with diaries booked back-to-back. The informal chat can be lost.

When planning these meeting try to ensure that ‘chat’ takes place. If your agenda is for 25 minutes, can you make it 20 to allow for niceties. Asking where they are in the country, simple questions like what they had for lunch, the weather, how the overcome the challenges of a virtual work environment.

Clients are people too!

As things opened up people realised that have built their lives around the home – dogs, childcare, Pilates classes are all now accommodated into the working day. This means that some are reluctant to have to go into an office to meet up.

Try to be flexible. Allow lots of options to meet up. You don’t need to travel to the centre of a city, you could visit them in a coffee shop near their home (obviously not at the home!).

A trade show provides a mutual (in)convenient place to meet up. Chatting on a stand allows you to see their full range and what they are focussing on. In an environment where they are among their competitors, it is interesting to see how they differentiate themselves. You will notice things they themselves don’t even realise they are doing. It also allows for a few unguarded conversations where you can get some market intelligence and position yourself as an ally.

You could also offer them a respite from their stand. Dragging them away for a sandwich, coffee, or beer.

The adage that people buy people hold true. So, try to inject your personality into the relationship. Face to face interaction fast tracks this.