With the technology boom, connections becoming stronger throughout the bush, this constant pain in our rear ends called COVID-19 and the fact people are more time poor than ever, the question I ask is have we lost the art of face-to-face communication.
I see it on a daily basis, with emails flying everywhere and filling up our inbox that we never seem to get to the bottom of now, people wanting to be texted instead of a phone call or through COVID people just don't want you to come to their house.
All of these factors are relevant, but have we lost the art of communication through these times?
And are we missing a great opportunity to get around a kitchen table and talk freely on what we are doing, strategies, plans for the future and how businesses can benefit each other through collaboration?
I grew up in the stock and station agency world through my father in the '80s and '90s and as a kid sat at many tables, while dad spoke to clients about marketing their stock and their options and he was welcomed in like one of the family.
I started with The Land 20 years ago and my mentor Mike Harvey, drilled it into me from day one, that getting out in person and building relationships was always key to a successful partnership with a client, no matter what business you were in.
The late Craig Montgomery, who many will remember, spent months on the road, making sure he sat down with every client before the bull or ram sale seasons started to discuss the best options for them and bundle a deal together.
I still have the clients that dealt with Craig well over 10 years ago, saying we loved the fact he would come to our home, sit down with us, and take us through what our options were for the year.
Communication channels have evolved, and lives have got busier, but through the internet, social media and mobile phones, people now come and go, look at your business, your profile, your presence online and we don't even know who they are or where they are from.
How do we start to communicate with these people if we don't even know they are there?
I spent last week on the road in northern NSW, seeing studstock clients with The Land's Tamworth based sales rep Andy Saunders, to not only sit down and talk about their marketing for this year, but also to show Andy why it was so important, like I was shown 20 years ago.
It was also a great chance to reconnect with these valuable clients, we probably haven't sat in front of for many years and reinstate that relationship with our business.
Every client we saw was different and had different needs and wants for their marketing in 2022, but every client was grateful we made the effort and really pleased we took time out of "our busy schedule" to focus on what they were doing.
The interesting point was the digital marketing products we showed these clients target these very specific people I have suggested above.
Through the process of face-to-face, ideas are generated, strategies are devised, plans are put in place, action is taken, and thoughts are provoked, while an email, text, messenger alert or a social post is easily forgotten, deleted, swiped, or ignored.
The challenge is making time in your day to sit down with your agent, your bank, your marketing specialist, your auctioneer or even just your family and generate the ideas, strategies, plans and provoke that thought process that will help make better decisions in your business.
Get back around the kitchen table and drive connection with those that help drive your business, both inside and outside the walls of your family home.
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