How Do You Replace A Handshake?

Handshakes. Sigh. I remember the last one I had. It was in late February, at an event. Ironically, I was delivering a Natural Disaster workshop series. I remember being super nervous, as COVID was in the states and I definitely had a heightened sense of awareness of it, as I traveled airport to airport, hotel to hotel during the first portion of the year. It felt so natural and warm, the connection that gets created, when we touch, shake and look each other in the eye. I felt connected. I then immediately excused myself to the restroom, so I could ferociously wash my hands afterwards, feeling guilty, but safe, knowing nothing would survive my scrub down.

Handshakes have been part of our business culture since the beginning of time. History shows, the greatest leaders in the world shaking hands to solidify partnerships, deals, trades, respect and gratitude. Johnny Cash once said that he judges peoples character based on their spirit and handshake. It is so inherently ingrained in our society, it can even be used as evidence in our judicial system. They symbolize honesty, trust, and promise. It is still a key lesson taught to university grads as they entire their professional careers and hence, a lifetime of handshakes. Handshakes start and end a business relationship. Being such an entrenched part of our business culture, it makes me wonder if business will ever be the same without them.

The new world as we know it thus far, shows us that physical touch will be a highly valued part of our culture and adapting to virtual connections will be an absolute necessity for survival.

Technology paved the way for this pandemic many years ago. The virtual world has been training for this moment since the first day MySpace launched. I took the leap of faith 16 years ago, learning that relationships can happen anywhere and without the human touch. Working for someone highly attuned to the human psyche, I learned and experienced that human relationships can actually grow in the absence of physical contact. Your other senses become heightened and you hear people different. You see them better and your experience of them becomes richer. This development has allowed me to build a virtual business, supported by calculated, organized and scheduled face to face interactions.

While you may not ever want or have to go totally digital, if COVID has taught us anything, it has said,

Maintain a Virtual Presence: If a business doesn’t have a virtual presence, are they even a business? For anyone hanging on the fence, I hope this pandemic has made you realize, that survival will only occur with online presence. Even further, having a website and LinkedIn profile are not going to get you by anymore. You need to be present and active, on multiple platforms. Identify the platforms that make the most sense for your industry and business by finding where your target market is hanging out. The benefit of online relationship building vs face to face, is the strategic advantage to curate every word, image and post. To build your character the way you want; without emotions or mistakes blemishing your image. Yet, staying active and as “real” as possible, will build the trust you want to create with your market. Live the life that you are, who your profile says you are. Keep your images current and your posts relevant. Keep up with content creation on your blog and refresh your head shots annually. This should not be a secondary action in your business, consistent electronic marketing is the most important activity you should be doing right now.

Get Intimate: While keeping up with your “curated” image, show your market a deeper version of your brand. People are ready to experience more of whom you are and what your brand is all about. For many, now is the time to reconnect with your clients, especially for those that have been able to bring in layers of employees and managers and step out of day to day operations. A great place to start is to identify your personal positioning that you want to take as we re-enter into the “New World”. What will it mean to your business? What will it be like to do business with you?

Lead Follow up and Check Ins: Do you wait for market triggers that cause your clients to reach out to you? Do you understand the difference between outbound and inbound sales? While you should have never been waiting for your customers and clients coming to you to connect, it will be imminent death if you continue moving forward. People are not just browsing and window shopping anymore. People’s reactions to the COVID pandemic differently, for many, there awareness around face to face interactions will be….well….aware. If you are inconsistent with your outbound communication, see it as an opportunity to build a whole new relationship with your clients or customers.

Channel Mix: Relationship building is enhanced, when using different marketing channels. While Shelter In Place Mandates have limited some ways to reach our market, it has brought back to life others. Postal mail is already showing signs of upward trends and as people stay home, it only makes sense direct mail marketing is going to need to be an active channel for everyone. Things are mixing up all over the place and marketing is no different. Clients will expect you are going to show up where they are now and going to be primarily moving forward. Show up to the party, dressed right and they will continue to be loyal for years to come. .

While business may look and be acting a bit different these days, results don’t need to be. Taking the necessary pivots now, will build for a solid tomorrow.