The Phone’s Elusive Nature

How many of you have been involved in long-distance relationships in the past? Lots of phone time, text messaging, emails and few face-to-face encounters. Sound familiar? There are many similarities between a long-distance relationship and working within inside sales. There’s a level of distortion that takes place; an elusive disconnect that inevitably happens.

I’ll give you an example: You’ve been trying to reach high-level decision-makers who have been heavily guarded for months. You keep sending them emails, leaving voice mails, talking with their admen and department heads but you can’t get through to them. They don’t respond because they are busy, in high demand and not available. As time goes by, it’s harder to make contact with them, which makes them more desirable to you because they seem so unattainable.

One day, you have the opportunity to meet them face-to-face, whether it’s a trade show or you travel the territory, etc. Something suddenly happens within seconds of that meeting. You realign and readjust your expectations and perceptions and everything you’ve built up to for so long because you suddenly realize they aren’t so unattainable, so desirable or so powerful after all. They’re just regular people and very approachable. Though the phone is an invaluable tool, nothing beats fact time.