How Face to Face Marketing Beats Distance Selling Every Time

Face to Face Marketing & The advantages of selling your product direct to the customer

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Wrestling with relationship problems? Somehow growing apart, but you can’t fathom why? Experiencing a seemingly inexorable communication disconnect? Hmm… You’re not exactly “in crisis” quite yet (or maybe you are?) but you need to do something FAST to save your relationship, or the other party involved may seek fulfilment elsewhere? Or it might even be you who’s perhaps feeling a little unappreciated?

OK, don’t panic. Relationships can usually be salvaged; strengthened; and, in some instances, even miraculously resuscitated, leading to intensified closeness and deepened satisfaction between both parties; at least when it comes to business relationships, that is. And the key to achieving that is to focus upon face-to-face communication – be that face to face marketing in a room or on Zoom, just so long as it’s face to face, no reliance purely on phone chats, email, texting, social media.

How face-to-face marketing ideas are nothing without the T word

Let’s be more specific. When it comes to selling, trust is a big one for buyers. Whatever your face-to-face marketing ideas are, you won’t build a personal relationship with a new customer or rescue a relationship with an existing one if you don’t come across as 100 per cent genuine. First impressions count, of course, and then as you demonstrate and explain your product or service – you’ll probably need to if it’s, like, super-complex – the potential buyer will be looking to see if you’re the real deal: sincere, knowledgeable, truthful, and focused upon providing them with the best option, not the most expensive one. So, turn that TRUST dial up to HIGH, and keep it there throughout.

Face-to-face selling techniques formulated with one ultimate goal …

… that being to convince the potential customer to BUY, yes. But it’s much more than that. It’s highly unlikely that you’ll want them to buy just once, right? Chances are you’ll be looking to develop an ongoing relationship. Winning trust often leads to repeat business. And, who knows, they may even put a few referrals your way.

One of the disadvantages of distance selling, compared with face-to-face selling techniques, is that you may not get the full picture of what the customer wants. Sure, the utilisation of face-to-face selling techniques involves cost and time spent travelling to meetings, but the fact that you’re giving the other party the opportunity to explain their side of the story one-to-one will be appreciated (who doesn’t like a listener?); they’ll also love the convenience of you coming to them – there’s two powerful face-to-face selling techniques right there, and all you’ve done so far is turn up on time, get their name right, and listen! 

And all this listening is to your advantage, too, of course: you can learn much more about what the customer actually wants (and, importantly, what they don’t want), which is something that can often be hard to establish through email or other forms of communication, particularly as there may be other individuals involved at the customer’s end: additional business professionals (office foot soldiers or managers, basically) whose involvement in it all later proves pivotal to achieving the most satisfying result all round; whereas email and phone contact tends to remains strictly one-on-one throughout, doesn’t it?

The cost of all this? OK, the expenses incurred through face-to-face marketing may exceed the monetary value of an initial sale, but if that leads to multiple sales, the first outlay will seem like a drop in the ocean later.

Talking of oceans…

Well, setting pandemic-travel restrictions aside momentarily…

Some overseas face-to-face marketing examples, to get you started

Of all the sales channels available to marketers, face-to-face marketing is arguably the most expensive. You probably have premises rent to find, along with other overheads to cover; and that’s before you’ve even generated enough revenue each month to pay the on-site staffing team. So, is venturing abroad to follow up a sales lead really worth it? There’s the flights, hotel costs, food, and other expenses to consider, and what if once you get all the way to Marseilles, Milan, Moscow, Melbourne or New York, the potential customer thanks you for your time (assuming they haven’t cancelled or rescheduled at the very last minute. Aargh!), but then gently explains that they’ll “pass” on your product or service this time – the one that you’ve just flown three thousand miles to patiently and clearly demonstrate?

That happens, of course. But it’s highly unlikely that you’d start rummaging in your drawers at home for your passport if you weren’t flying abroad following a super-strong lead on a high value product. And, if you’ve got your head screwed on, you’ll have wisely set up meetings with other potential buyers whilst in that overseas place. After all, you wouldn’t drive from Torquay to Tyneside just to visit a single prospect, would you? So, the same applies to overseas face to face marketing examples: as well as seeking to create initial contact and a friendly dialogue with a main target client, get a few other appointments in your diary.

Face to Face Marketing is one of the most powerful tools in the marketers toolbox today