Technology has created an age of highly leveraged communication, communication that has achieved increased efficiency and, thereby, increased reach. Leveraging communication is not a new concept. Since the ancient Sumerians introduced cuneiform writing thousands of years ago -- and even before -- humans have seen the value in leveraging communication. Before modern technology, advances in printing and better shipping, roads, canals, and railways were the standard means of increasing reach. Later came the telegraph, the telephone, and the fax machine.
Now, we live in a world of cell phones, satellites, cyberspace, text messaging, and wireless Internet. Each improvement in communication has opened more markets and more easily allowed individuals and businesses to establish and build relationships with one another.
In my early years of prospecting, I came to the realization that one individual can shake only a certain number of hands. There are a fixed number of hours in the day.
You can run only a finite number of appointments and speak with only a finite number of prospects. It made sense for me to leverage my communication by letting paper do some of my talking for me. I personally have had great success encapsulating my sales message into a simple one-page format and putting these one-pagers into the hands of as many prospects as possible. By adding mail to my prospecting mix, I was able to communicate with far more prospects than I could hope to speak with personally. I leveraged my ability to communicate, increased my reach, and was better able to grow my business.
Person-to-person outreach
Even though I have made every effort to leverage my communication, I never want to forget that the highest form of communication is person to person. Many times I have been in situations where a prospect is neutral about what I am selling, but because the prospect is talking to me, they need to make a decision about whether or not remaining neutral is the best course of action.
I have experienced this reality myself as a buyer. Years ago, my business partner and I knew we needed a buy-sell agreement, but we kept putting it off. It was so easy to put the subject on the back burner -- and we did so for several years.
Finally, a friend of ours in the life insurance business had the boldness to ask us when we were going to actually do something about the issue. It took that person-to-person interaction -- one where I couldn't throw away the letter, erase the message, or delete the email -- to make me admit that there was no good reason to continue putting this off. He truly became our agent because he called us to action. In this case, it took a person-to-person encounter to move us forward on the issue.
Since I have come to understand this phenomenon, I have seen it happen time and time again in my day-to-day practice. Many times, I will hang up the phone after speaking with a prospect who has agreed to work with my agency and think to myself, "That person never would have done anything about this subject today if we hadn't spoken."
Striking the right balance
Where leveraged communication falls down is in its ability to remain personal. The key to success is to strike a proper balance. Leveraged communication works best when it is used to qualify prospects or provide general information to them. Once a prospect has become better informed and better qualified, more personal forms of communication should then follow. One example is an informative direct mail piece that prompts a reply from an interested prospect. Once they've completed the mailer and returned it to you, you can follow up with a phone call. From there, you may continue with a face-to-face appointment, thus increasing the personal level of the communication.
Building relationships is key
Ultimately, the models of interaction used in any form of leveraged communication are the same. As the communication is leveraged, it moves from a less personal mode of communicating to a more personal mode as the process unfolds.
Understanding the role of leveraged communication and how it relates to building relationships will help you better formulate your marketing plan so it moves in the right direction. Even in our cyber age, it is important to remember that person-to-person contact is still the highest and most effective form of communication. Set up your marketing mix so the relationship elements are properly aligned with the leverage you are using, and you will have better success at moving your business forward.
Ted Stevenot is author of the book "Prospect Factory" and the workbook "The One-Pager Manual." For more information, visit www.prospectfactory.com.
