Is It Time To Start Meeting In Person Again?

For the past year we have adapted ourselves and adapted our way of doing business. We’ve sat behind our computers making decisions and deals we wouldn’t have imagined could be done without being together, in-person. We’ve hired executive leaders and team members and even, sadly, let people go by looking at them through the lens of our video cameras. But it is time to rethink this new way of work and it is time to consider the value of being together.

I grew up in sales. For over twenty years I carried a bag or led an organization of people where selling face-to-face was everything. We had rules around how many meetings we had lined up before getting on a plane (minimum of 3) and ruthlessly measured our salespeople on how many face-to-face meetings they conducted in a week. When I launched my executive recruiting firm, Shine Talent, four years ago, I lived on planes. Never would I have considered presenting a C-level candidate to a CEO before meeting them in person. My job is to intimately understand who these executives are, what makes them tick, and how they will lead. In 2019 I would have argued there is no way I could assess that without meeting the candidate in person. Frankly, there were many executives I thought were strong before I met them in person and then I pulled them out of the running after our face-to-face meeting. I think about that quite a bit now and I wonder if they would have made the cut in our new, virtual, interview process.

Studies show that between 70-90% of communication is non-verbal. It has been ingrained in our heads as executive leaders and taught to us through countless coaches, teachers, and trainings. We’ve adapted to video but is video really as effective as an in-person experience? So now the question is, as we saw drastic savings in travel budgets and managed to hold or increase our revenue this past year, how much face-to-face is needed and what are the new rules for in-person meetings? I wonder for Shine Talent what this looks like and I am curious how your business is planning for re-entry into a face-to-face world.

Some things to consider:

• Our calendars are now packed with multiple meetings per day and little space in between. But are these the most impactful meetings? Is the sale getting done or has quantity overtaken quality?
• When we chose to fly, we were selective on where we would go. Does having no geographic barriers accelerate business or are we wasting time with non-qualified targets because a video call is only a :30 window? Have we taken the time to measure how many :30 windows converted or how much time is spent on these calls?
• Inside sales always had an important part in the organization. With your enterprise sales team becoming an inside sales org. this year, are those high-level salaries still needed? What are the new rules of engagement for inside and outside sales and what are the qualifications needed for this new, hybrid, sales leader?
• Who will have the edge? Is your competition planning for re-entry to a face-to-face sales world? Perhaps they have been diligently gathering data and have done extensive cost analysis to understand the impact. I wonder if they have evaluated their team and considered who will remain in the chair and who will be in-person or what the workflow can look like with a new, hybrid, sales approach.

Vaccines are rolling out, travel bookings are on the rise, the world is opening up and smart sales leaders are planning. Don’t get too comfortable in front of your camera because I suspect the world is about to change again.