How often do we recite these excuses rather than going to see someone in person?

• It takes too much time and I am very busy and have too many other things to do.
• It’s too expensive.
• It’s too long a trip.
• It is not worth it.
• It is just as good over the phone, or by fax or e-mail.

Excuses, excuses, excuses. All to avoid making a personal visit to do business face-to-face. In this age of cell phones, e-mail and our very important and busy schedules, we frequently forget one of the basic principles of doing business successfully–doing it in person.

Personal presentation is so much more powerful and successful than any other form of communication, yet we leave the office as seldom as possible and resort to the more convenient forms of communication that are so readily available to us. We have forgotten that while the technological age has made communication so much easier, nothing will ever replace the power, effectiveness and success of a face-to-face conversation, lunch together, a round of golf or any other personal meeting one can devise.

Allow me to digress. Years ago, I had a business relationship with a distributor who represented my line of manufactured goods. The man owed me a sizable amount of money and agreed to pay me $20,000 per week for a number of months. Every Wednesday I would call to make certain the check was “in the mail” and almost every time he told me, he “couldn’t do it this week, sorry.” I told him I would jump on a plane and be there in a few hours. (He was in Detroit, I was in Massachusetts.) He would always say, “Don’t bother there is nothing I can do for you this week.” I went anyway, and each week I would come home with a check for $20k. This went on until the bill was paid, almost every week. Why? Personal power, my very presence. I never had to hard collect, just going there was adequate. Frequently, we would go out for drinks, sometimes I would stay over and visit with him, but I would always leave with a check. From that point on I have never forgotten the power of personal face time.

Recently, I flew to Florida for a one-hour meeting that expanded into lunch and another few hours of getting to know one another. I was inspecting a small business to determine if I wanted to do business with these people. It was possible that they would become an important provider of a specific service I deem very important. The company is a credit rehabilitation company, credit repair as it is sometimes called, and since so many of my clients require this type of service, I felt it necessary to inspect, interview, meet, talk with and generally get to know the staff, managers, and of course, the owner, as well as discuss details of our possible working relationship. Much was accomplished as we got to know each other, discussed a wide variety of experiences, opinions, personal matters, history and business strategies, including the specifics of our deal and business relationship.

It was wonderful and we accomplished much more then we all intended. We had lunch together and talked about our wives and children, sports, politics, business and more about what we are each all about. The owner was very impressed that I cared enough to come down for personal discussion, taking a day out of my busy schedule, indicating not only the importance of the matter but also my willingness to invest in our meeting and possible business relationship. It was a huge success and never could have been accomplished over the phone. Now we have a personal relationship as well as a developing trust. Lunch was crucial as we relaxed and got to know each other. Afterwards, communicating with his staff, showing them respect and letting them get to know us was also an added huge benefit.

Closing a deal, discussing details, creating relationships, selling, collecting, problem-solving, scheming, planning the mission, whatever it is… if it is important, then it is best served with a personal presentation. I believe anything important is worth my effort to do personally as it works far better and most frequently results in the desired conclusion. It helps convert strictly business relationships to personal relationships and the power of personal contact is incredibly important. In today’s hurried world we seem to ignore this basic truth. We think are too busy, it takes too much of our time and everything else is so much more important. I disagree.