TENNIS AND TECHNOLOGY

It’s unusual to be in New York and to be hearing so much about the UK.  It’s also unusual for me to take an interest in sport.  But for Andy Murray to become the first British man to win the U.S. Open in 76 years is an amazing achievement.  Congratulations Andy.

Also in the news this week is the launch of the new iPhone 5.  Regular readers of this blog (as well as knowing that I don’t talk about sport) will know of my love affair with the iPhone.  So far I have resisted the urge to buy a brand new, shiny aluminium iPhone 5, and I think one of the reasons is that it can apparently deliver information to me twice as fast as my current phone, which I’m not sure is what I want.

I think we all find that the constant mass of messages from everyone and his dog is a bit distracting and it’s very easy to get bogged down in ‘reactive’ mode.

Some recent research says small enterprises are losing sales and damaging their reputation by bombarding potential customers with their ‘relentless’ use of social media.  Between you and me, I still do-very occasionally –  in the middle of the night find that I am reading emails, whilst my beautiful wife sleeps peacefully!  Last week I had to pretend I  was having bad stomach pains. I felt like a child when Michele called out ‘have you got that damn phone with you?!’ ‘No I haven’t’ I lied in a weak voice. To my horror, the phone began to ring. Busted!

The survey of 1,000 companies by Business Network International found that some small firms have social media profiles and accounts but no content in them. Others bombard prospective customers with promotional messages.  A third group doesn’t engage in social media at all.

I believe it’s important to remember that the way we  do sales successfully is no different than it was before social media, or even before the Internet.  It’s about getting the right message to the right person using the right medium.  That medium might be a letter, a brochure, an event, or a phone call.  It’s not necessarily Facebook!  It may not even be an email since email is a much better way of maintaining contact with people you already have a relationship with, rather than prospecting for new customers. 

I have to say that I am always wary of  missing a golden nugget amongst all the dross.  A client of ours  recently received an email out of the blue which resulted in an $8 million deal. And great for us because we got the translation work! The only problem is that because of this successful outcome, it makes one feel obligated every day of our lives to wade through it all.  Is this a good or a bad thing? Your comments please!

So I think I’m staying with my present phone.   Might just pop down to the Apple store and have a look at the new one though.......

Have a wonderful weekend,

Larry