Someone called me to see how I was doing. I know, that doesn't seem so strange but think about it for a few seconds. How often these days do people use the telephone to call you up for nothing other than to see how you are? I'm not talking about a business call or your weekly scheduled call with your mum, I mean the out-of-the-blue call from someone you are not close to.
Just 10 years ago it probably happened quite frequently but these days, there are so many other ways to communicate that people seem to have stopped using the telephone.
The caller in question is a very senior executive at a large media company in London (he's a busy guy). We have done some business together over the last few years and had a beer together at a corporate hospitality event but our relationship has always been a business relationship. Imagine how surprised I was then to receive a call from him asking how I was. That just doesn't happen very often these days does it? Nowadays people twitter or blog or email or text or Facebook. Anything but pick up the phone.
I was expecting some ulterior motive, maybe he needed a favour or request for help but no, he just wanted to see how the job hunt was coming along and if he could help.
I have always liked the chap in question and found him to be a good person to work with in business. He knows his stuff, he does the things he says he will and he always gets the job done. But now I know he actually likes me enough to pick the phone up and see how I am, even though I am not in a position to give him any business right now, means a lot to me. If he is prepared to look out for me when I can't spend money with him, imagine the service I'll get when I return as a customer! That simple phone call has moved our relationship forward no end and built a huge amount of loyalty.
Another angle I take from this is aimed at all those sales people out there using all those new fangled tools to keep in touch with their prospects and clients. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MSM, Messenger, email, blogs and texts are all great but they are all limited. Nothing beats a good old fashioned chat with your contact. Pick up the phone and talk to people, you'd be surprised where a conversation can lead you. Better still, visit people once in a while. You'd be shocked at the difference real face-to-face contact makes vs. the sanitised electronic communications most of us use 99% of the time.
Yet another angle is; what happened to the rest of my 'mates'? Where are you when I need you? Call me!
And finally; I have been hunting for a packing and moving company and I have been receiving email quotes. Only one company has taken the time to follow up with a phone call to check I had received the email and ask if I needed anything else. The caller engaged me in a conversation, wormed a few questions out of me and started a conversation. I built up a bit of trust and she moved her company to the top of my list of potential movers. It works!
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