Getting out from behind the desk

I have just arrived back in Santa Barbara from a whirlwind three day trip to NYC to visit clients and prospects. Having time to meet people face to face has become very rare in this time compressed age we live in. We are a networking company, and focus on helping people improve their relationships with their clients, employees, partners and prospects - yet we rely on GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar, email, Twitter, and our own client Community to stay in touch.

How refreshing, exhilarating and more effective it is to talk face to face. Yet, it is not scalable, especially when there are so many people to interact with. We were able to accomplish two substantial interactions each day, and had ample time to dig deep on issues related to Community that an hour online session doesn't allow for.

When we do online meetings, either presenting or attending, there is a 100% chance for distraction. Other windows, email, Blackberries, IM, people walking into the office, etc - all compete for mindshare. When you are in a live meeting you have a better than 99% chance of having 100% attention - though there is more and more the new aspect of distraction of Blackberries vibrating all over the table during the meetings - but social / business etiquette aside, you can look into people's eyes so much better.

It is estimated that 50-70% of communication is non-verbal. Being able to watch body language, facial expressions, all combine to give greater context to the conversation. I know that the meetings this week and the gains made in the individual relationships are more than 50-70% better as a result of us being there in person.

So, what did I learn? Get out more often. Make it a priority, no matter how much I hate dealing with the TSA, taking off my shoes and refilling my Metro Card at the Subway - being directly connected to the people that are helping us grow our business, that add life to what we do everyday is the most important thing to remember.