Face to Face Presentation

Between email, phones, smart phones, and faxes a lot of business is no longer done in person.  Purchase orders are placed online or via email.  Contracts are signed in different locations and counterparts are faxed.  It is becoming less common to have a face to face meeting.  Many business will never meet even their biggest client.  While technology has vastly improved productivity for many businesses and their employees, it has come at the cost of the lost art of face to face communication.

Recently I went to meet with a client and his bankers at a local bank branch.  Most would see this as an awfully intimidating situation that they would avoid at all cost.  However, the meeting was a success.  We built a foundation for a conclusion to a very difficult workout.  Our client owes millions of dollars to creditors and has experienced a 70% reduction in revenue since 2007.  A large potion of the debt is owed to the state taxing authorities and local unions.  Because of the debts with these entities, my client was left with zero possibility of success, selling his business for the highest possible value will be his only option, and he will then be left to settle his personal guarantees.

While the situation is bleak for our client, he will succeed in stripping all of his personally obligated debt in time.  However the true success of that day is we built a relationship with the bank and displayed to them that we are working to find the right value and return for the business given the distressed nature of the business and the severe default of bank payments.  We set the stage to work outside of litigation and towards a resolution that will yield a higher return.

Lesson learned was that although it took a complete day once you include travel, the progress and personal relationship established will greatly help our client as he enters the long path of settlements.  The value of the day cannot be measured but it built creditability and trust between us and our client and the bank.  It was well worth the drive and the time

If you are reading this and you own a business, then I encourage you to not completely abandon the in face meeting.  Calling someone from your iphone does not have the same effect as shaking their hand.  While most of your communication wont change, be aware of situations that call for some personal attention and make that happen.