Rain Making Problem #28: Are Phone Calls Obsolete?
Twice in recent weeks I have been told that no one makes phone calls anymore. One person, who I will call Lenore, put it this way:
No one uses the phone just to stay in touch with old clients and maintain relationships anymore. The phone is too intrusive, and clients prefer emails, which are more convenient for them. They’re too busy to take calls. Today, the phone is just for when you have something specific and important to talk about.
Is Lenore right in saying that the phone shall nevermore be used for staying in touch, schmoozing and developing relationships when selling professional services? Or is this just the latest in an endless list of excuses to mask call avoidance?
January 27th, 2010 at 7:44 am
Ford,
I would say that unscheduled phone calling to busy people is (just about) obsolete. However, phone calling is not, by any means. Speaking directly has a different quality than an email conversation, and that quality is an important part of developing and maintaining a relationship.
Email is great for many things–including arranging a convenient time for a phone call!
regards, John
January 27th, 2010 at 9:22 am
Hi,
I wouldn’t say they are obsolete. I set aside some time this afternoon to make unscheduled calls to a whole bunch of prospective clients, people whom I had met over the previous few months. These were all people who had either contacted me, or whom I had met at various events, and enquired after my services. Not everybody I called seemed keen to talk, and one or two were rather brusque. However, several of the people I spoke with seemed genuinely pleased to hear from me. One prospect in particular - the CEO of a technology start up (i.e. a very busy fellow) went in to great detail about what had been happening with his company in the time since we had spoken last.
So, I think the phone call is not obsolte, not yet anyway. I will be making time more often for them.
January 27th, 2010 at 10:34 am
Ford,
As you know, I struggle with this, and prefer to use email as a means to arrange a phone call or a meeting. But, at the end of the day, I think the answer is: it depends. For example, for me personally, I do not like receiving calls “out of the blue”, I find them disruptive, and I would much rather have them pre-arranged through an email exchange, I also tend to be slow to listen to my voicemail messages.. But that’s just me. I still have colleagues for whom the phone is the best way to reach them.
In short, I don’t think we can be absolutist regarding phone calls as the pre-eminent means of keeping in contact with our networks. I think it depends largely upon how our networks contacts prefer to process information. At the end of the day, we should probably use whatever works best to get what we all really want: a face to face meeting.
January 27th, 2010 at 10:43 am
Great post.
Electronic communication is great for some things but a phone call has a special quality to it. The greatest difference I see is that it is more difficult and challenging to make spontaneous phone calls. As the other commenters noted, it’s great if you can set-up a time to call.
There also may be a cohort effect as those who are younger may place less value on the phone call versus other Internet-based communication.
January 27th, 2010 at 9:15 pm
My mother’s a really busy person.
But I wouldn’t fancy trying to stay in touch with her via email rather than the phone.
Ian
January 28th, 2010 at 7:24 am
Ian:
Good point - it’s a given that we want to maximize face to face dealings. But I’m wondering whether the current generation of people who grew up with Twitter, Facebook and texting see that as their preferred medium for communicating, at least initially. If these are tomorrow’s business leaders, maybe we have something to learn about how phone calls work in tandem with other channels.
I also think this discussion is influenced by our mothers (see, I wanted to continue the mother theme). I was brought up never to just drop by, but always to call first. I am close to a CEO client, and I always send him a quick note “can I call today, when is good for you?”, and he’ll usually get back within a few minutes. I just think an unplanned phone call would interrupt the flow of his day.
Or am I finding elaborate ways of avoiding calls?
January 28th, 2010 at 9:29 am
It would be good to hear from some readers under 30. What do you think?
Ford Harding
January 28th, 2010 at 11:04 am
I don’t meet the under thirty criteria, so I won’t chime in from that angle.
I don’t remember if it was Ford’s recommendation or one that I read elsewhere, but I’ve gone the extreme step of stopping by clients unannounced if I am in the neighborhood. I have been warmly received (especially if I pick up some cookies to bring in). This even prompted one client to say he’d been meaning to call me, we chatted about his problem, and it turned into a small project.
I think calling is old fashioned the same way sending a handwritten note is old fashioned. But just because they’re old fashioned doesn’t mean people don’t appreciate them. I’m still going to make calls and send notes instead of depending on facebook/linkedin/email to break through the noise of cyber contact. Of course, these are people I know and have relationships with.
January 28th, 2010 at 3:04 pm
Thanks, Mike and others. All of your comments are helpful and welcome. I just thought some younger people might have an additional perspective.
Ford Harding
January 28th, 2010 at 5:53 pm
Andrew,
While my “mother” comment was somewhat lighthearted, you do make a good point about how we’ve been influenced to communicate.
On the interruption front, I would say that since we professionals often find face to face calls/meetings (of a sales nature) uncomfortable - it’s a bit too easy for us to find excuses for not making them. “I don’t want to interrupt” could be one of them in some cases. So I’d err on the side of calling more than I feel comfortable doing so.
And as almost a philosophical point (as long as weren’t not calling so frequently it becomes a nuisance) why don’t we let our clients decide if we’re interrupting them? They’ll either not answer, or if we ask if it’s a good time, they’ll say no.
Ian
PS I hope there are some under 30 readers Ford! I’ll tweet a link to the post - maybe they’ll come that way…
January 29th, 2010 at 11:27 am
Ian:
I agree with your suggestions.
Many thanks for the tweet.
Ford Harding