Will the way we do business change forever ?

For years we felt that it was necessary to go across to the client or prospects office, meet in person and shake hands before we could cut a deal. Last month I sold ? 1 L worth of consulting to a HR Head who found me from my website. Has the way we do biz changed forever ?

Many of us have used Zoom and Skype for years. But only to interact with coworkers in other cities, or sometimes as a platform for coaching assignments when working with coachees in far flung locations like Bristol, the Netherlands or the East Coast of America.

Paying a courtesy call on an existing client with whom one had an ongoing work relationship, or meeting up with a prospect was always done in person. One met, shook hands, drank green tea or black coffee, munched on a couple of cookies and then got down to business. Including the preliminaries and the farewell you could write off an hour easily for both participants. Include the travel time, and it could go up to a day. But we were reconciled to it. It was after all the way we were brought up to conduct our business affairs. The handshake, the frank look in the eye, often mattered more than the ink on the contract which was subsequently drawn up, vetted, signed, sealed and stored away for prosterity.

The present lockdown has disrupted that way of doing business. We are all now totally comfortable with using zoom and skype even with our local clients. When we all are locked down, there is no stigma, no sense of being slighted when you do not make the in-person call.

The question is, will this be just a temporary aberration, or has the way in which we do contracting fundamentally changed for good ? I guess this will to a large extent depend on how long the lockdown continues. Should it lift soon, there is a strong chance that we will revert to the old ways. Should it drag on till winter or beyond, I am sure it would have a more lasting impact.

If this were to happen, can you imagine the impact ? Airlines, already reeling with their craft on the ground would not get their corporate clients which probably account for around half of all domestic air travel, and the bulk of all international business class travel. Companies can reduce the size of their sales force, and yet be more productive in their business development efforts. Conferences and training programmes can be as effective when conducted virtually as when they are done in person.

The advantages for a service provider to do virtual meetings with prospects and clients is huge. Maybe you would still make the trip across to the clients office : but can the frequency come down from quarterly to annually ? Will clients be willing to trade-off the ego trip of being met in person with the distinct advantages in reduction in pollution with less road and air travel ?

Man is after all a creature of habit. Can we change our habits and embrace the use of technology in lieu of in-person meetings ?

Time will tell. But I will be interested in hearing your views right now. Do drop a comment.