For the most part we’ve mastered face-to-face sales and customer service. But what about specific skills needed for our faceless connections? Harnessing the power and avoiding the pitfalls of faceless communication starts without – without eye contact, facial expressions, hand gestures, body language or any of the cues and clues we have relied on for millennia to make meaning meaningful.
The power of faceless communication is evident to anyone who has ever sent an e-mail, dialed the phone or left a voice message: It's fast, easy, convenient and inexpensive.
The associated pitfalls are equally obvious. Rather than use technology to build business and forge strong customer relationships, we fire off messages and engage in faceless behaviors that are abrupt, rude, dismissive and downright inconsiderate. As a result, connections that were fast, easy, convenient and inexpensive turn into mistakes, misunderstanding, misinterpretations, missed deadlines, mixed messages, misdirected information and misconstrued meaning. A massive drain on company revenues, productivity and morale is often the outcome.
To hone the organization's faceless communication skills and harness the world without begin with a few simple steps.
1. Instill your "faceless" logo. In the face-to-face realm a company's logo is easily identified. In the faceless world corporate logos are invisible. How you greet and treat people is the real sign of your company's commitment to its customers.
2. Be consistent: From the bottom rung to the top brass, every person in the company has the ability to convey the company's faceless "image" to the outside world. The faceless image needs to be reliable.
3. Formal/Friendly/Familiar: The words you choose paint a picture of your organization, its leadership style and expectations. Choose the approach that best reflects your company's values.
4. Read Connecting in the Faceless World. If you want to learn more - and there is much more to learn - I strongly suggest that you purchase a copy of my latest book. It's all there - and more.