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On this Sales Gravy podcast episode Jeb Blount (Virtual Selling) and Alex Goldfayn (5 Minute Selling) discuss why text messaging is not a substitute for talking with people.

This is Part One in our series on 5 Minute Selling – how to get a massive amount of sales activity done, a few minutes at a time.

Just Texting It In

On this episode Jeb tells the story of a lazy sales rep who lost his business that because he began “texting it in” rather than interacting by phone.

“A year earlier, text became his primary channel. Where we used to talk, now he never called. He was no longer blending texting into his account management process; texting had become his account management process.

If he had an upsell or special offer, he sent it via text. When it was time to restock, he sent a text.

Soon, I started to feel that he was taking me for granted, like he felt he no longer needed to make an effort in order to keep my business.

Sadly, for this account manager, one of his competitors called me. She invested in the relationship. I gave her a little of my business and she did a great job. As the business relationship bloomed, I gave her more and more of my business. Soon she had it all.”

Text Messaging is Not a Substitute for Talking With People

This is the dark side of text messaging. It’s fast and easy, but it is not a substitute for talking with people and investing in relationships.

Interpersonal communication is a combination of words, voice tone, body language, and facial expression.

Since stakeholders cannot associate the words in your text messages with the context of your voice tone and facial expressions, they assign their own meaning, which can lead to miscommunication, or, in Jeb’s case, resentment.

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