Instant Custom Signs – Drew Brims' Blog

The Brave New World.

I can’t deny it, parts of me are old-school, well, most of me is just old.  I’m constantly amazed at the way our lives, values and attitudes change with such speed.  Here’s an example.  Our sales representative, Jessica, a young lady who recently began working for us here at IC Signs, was making lots of contacts with old and potential clients.  One new contact offered her the opportunity to quote on a couple of substantial jobs, one in Calgary and one in Montreal. We quoted and we got the business.  Up to this point, we had not met the customer in person.  Everything this client knew about us was derived from information Jessica gave them via email and what they could research on the internet.

Being old school, I asked Jessica to make an appointment so that we could have a “face to face”.  These were two fairly good-sized jobs.  I expressed the need for the client to feel comfortable in doing business with us, allow them the opportunity to meet the leaders of the team to whom they have entrusted their corporate image. As I was about to learn, this is old-school.

In ancient times, the handshake was an expression of peace between two people.  Always right hand to right hand (swords or knives typically held in that hand) which demonstrated that no weapon was being held.  I was always taught to shake hands with a firm, not aggressive, grip and look the other party in the eye.  Each party to this ritual can size up the other and see if the out-held hand is offered in peace and honesty or if there is some underlying malice that the eyes could disclose.  I wanted the customer to know we were upstanding, honest people; ready and able to complete the tasks given.

Okay, said Jessica, I’ll set it up.  Off she went to her keyboard and typed away, asking for a “face to face”.

The answer came back - no time for a meeting. It’s their year-end and they just need us to get the signs done as soon as possible. I was somewhat taken aback.  How could this large corporation entrust their image to a company that they have only met via email and internet research?

Well, we completed the projects and we’ve been paid. The customer is happy. We are happy in the knowledge that we did a good job.  But I still have this nagging feeling that we should have had a meeting to shake hands and look each other in the eye.  This new world order of meeting over the internet and doing business without a face to face meeting to me is like walking a tight-rope without a net (no pun intended).  It’s fascinating and exciting and sometimes a bit scary.

Now, many of our clients place their orders via email.  It happens all the time.  But we’ve met them in the past.  We’ve shaken their hands, looked each other in the eye and we have a track record of supplying good service and excellent products over the years.  In fact, many of our regular clients only ask us for a quote so that they know what number to fill in on the Purchase Order.  Some of them have priced us against our competition and decided that our quality and level of service was worth more than a small difference in price.  But that’s a blog for another day.

What about you? Do you miss those face to face meetings?  Feel free to comment below.  And here at IC Signs, we offer comment luv. If you leave a comment, you will be given the opportunity to provide a link back to your own blog. What could be better than that?

Happy Signing,

Drew

Tags: Advertising, honesty, ICSigns, Instant Custom Signs, relationship, Signage, trust