I'm Too Busy To Talk To You
I recently listened to a presentation by a marketing executive from a very visible, ostensibly easy-to-reach company. At the end of her PowerPoint presentation there was the quintessential how to contact me slide. Her presentation was fine, up until then. She looked up at her how to contact me slide on the presentation screen and began gloating that she's hard to reach; that she doesn't answer phone calls; travels a lot, and receives such an extreme volume of email that if she doesn't recognize the sender she's unlikely to respond.
The response from many in the audience was a nervous grin and a knowing nod, as if they too were so damn busy they didn't have time to communicate either. My reaction, however, was a gagging in my throat, and I think a few others felt the same.
Given the convergence of sales and marketing, I think it's incredibly important to meet customers where they're at. If a client or prospect "reaches out to you," it's a good thing to respond. In other words, they're not going to respect the idea that you're so busy that you don't have time.
The same goes internally. If you're a big, important executive who has an army of people who report to you, take the time to connect with your tribe. It's good for everyone. Employees are an important variable in the success quotient. Umm, they're human.
The convergence of sales and marketing means that marketing has to be more accessible
The lines are blurring. The roles are converging. Times are different in the B2B lead generation world. Be accessible. I'm not suggesting that you be available 24/7. But if you supposedly make yourself available via telephone, email, IM, then be prepared to use those tools when people are trying to contact you.
The CEO of a very well-known company I used to work for once explained to me:
"Greg, I always answer my phone and respond to emails. Why? Not because I know who everyone is. Quite the opposite—because I don't know who everyone is. It could be someone who helps me and my business. Quite often it is. I'm still in control. If I'm through with the telephone conversation I let the person know. Likewise, I'll tell the person via email what to expect as a next step, and sometimes it's 'don't bother following up with me any further.'"
I can tell you, first-hand, that he held true to his communication ideals. He responded to all direct communications. We were in a taxi together, after hours, and his cell phone (a number he provided on his business card!) rang. He didn't know who it was, didn't recognize the number. It turned out to be a reporter from the Wall Street Journal. She was on deadline, needed to crank out an article within the hour, and wanted a quote from my boss. He gave her a snappy quote. It appeared in the WSJ the following day, was read by many thousands of businesspeople and furthered my boss' position (and our company's) as an authority in the marketplace.
