“It may be that you don’t know how to go about it, or you have tried unsuccessfully to do it, or you are just sick to death of “Web 2.0” hipsters with funny glasses and soul patches or nose jewels daring you to master a dazzling lexicon of odd terms, like wiki, mashup, crowdsourcing, and folksonomy, or telling you that you should be blogging, tweeting, and friending.”

Thanks again for your comments.

Thanks. I look forward to the upcoming article.

By the way, I didn’t say face-to-face, I said one-on-one. This can be done quite easily via Social Media with the added benefit of getting to know a good deal about your contact (and who the leaders are) prior to initiating a conversation (which could be virtual too – including e-mail).

On the telemarketers, I’ll take a call from a good one, but, sadly, most of the people calling me these days don’t speak English as a first language and know nothing beyond a script about the product or service they are selling. How companies think that tactic is going to improve their crediblity and long-term sales growth is beyond me. I’m sure you’re right on your conclusions where local selling is occuring, but does it surprise you that cold-calling isn’t well received? It’s not a cost-effective method for most of my clients, and frankly, am surprised that companies continue with this method.

From conversations with both salespeople and small business owners, here is what I think is happening. I believe that revenue is down for most companies. Those companies (large and small) that only use traditional marketing methods, do the only thing they know to do. They hold a sales meeting and tell their sales people that they are going “back to the basics.” However, because of the poor economy, “we need to double our efforts to get the same results.” Therefore, they expect their salespeople to make more cold calls, specifically by telephone but also in person.

The poor small business owner is so inundated with so many sales people that they can’t even get their work done. So they use voice mail and receptionists to build a protective bubble around them. And the only salespeople they will talk to are those with whom they have an existing relationship and whom they trust.

A relationship built on face to face meetings is always the best but a virtual relationship through social media is far better than no relationship at all. It is a step closer to a face to face meeting.

I am working with a friend to write an article based upon building trust with social media prior to trying to sell something. Look for it in a couple of weeks.

As usually Nanette, you have good insight and add a lot to our discussions. Thanks again for taking the time to comment.

Personally, I’ve always found one-on-one communications (preferably with centers-of-influence that have a vast, influencial audience) to be the best way to cost-effectively market a business. So funny how some see time saved with tactics that negate building relationships as prudent expenses initially – then complain about the results (or, more often, lay blame on the vendors hired).

This is a great guest post, Mike, and I thank you for sharing it. I look forward to next week’s continuation.