/new networking_
Something really powerful is happening in the networking space and as zoomed out as we’re all getting, the flood gates are wide open and there is no way they’ll ever close again.
I don’t think any of us realized just how reliant we were on event based marketing. Going to your weekly networking group, conferences, expos, regional meet ups, pro shows, hell, the county fair. When all of that shut down, entire business models shuttered and the Great Pivot began.
I mean, what were we supposed to do? Those of us who were dependent on meeting in person. The nuance of face to face interaction. The ability to read non-verbal communication. The trust that develops. The expediency of being in the same room with a bunch of people.
So we’ve taken to zoom by force. We’ve been forced to turn spare rooms into home offices. We’ve been forced to develop a new etiquette. We’ve been forced to throw virtual conferences and meetups and webinars.
What was the alternative? More emails and phone calls? Well, those too.
I understand the exhaustion that comes from being in virtual meetings all day. I understand being on from the shoulders up. I’m in it. But I’m also seeing a few amazing things happening that will make going back to the real world difficult.
For example, I can’t remember the last time I had to ask for or remember someone’s name. It’s right there in the screen.
I’m meeting a higher quantity of people than I ever have because of weekly zoom calls and I’m having meaningful one to one conversations with them after the meeting.
I can learn anything I want to learn because everyone is compelled to share what they know because no one is listening to them otherwise.
I’m allowed to have kids climbing on my lap and crying. I can show up sick as a dog. I can be a little imperfect because we are all in the same boat and imperfect is authentic.
I love that everyone is more comfortable on screen. At the beginning of the pandemic, I kid you not, I was spending the first ten minutes of every conversation teaching people how to use google meetings and then 20 minutes teaching people about marketing automation and online booking. Now everyone knows how to jump right in and they are comfortable. We can have real human experiences with each other.
This is the future we watched in the movies. We saw Marty McFly get fired in Back to the Future II. We saw Sylvester Stallone get a saucy misdial in Demolition Man. We watched Darth Vader choke someone out on the other side of a video call. We are in the future.
And while I sit from home awaiting the results of a Covid test and I’m heart broken by the loss our world is experiencing, I also know that crises precipitates change.
We are changing the way we do things in a major way and in a lot of cases the adjustments we’ve made will ultimately be the better way. And when we are able to meet in person again, it will be so enriching to finally meet all of our new friends in person.
For your listening pleasure:
If you don’t know much about me yet on the professional side. I work with companies who are trying to automate their marketing funnels and drive more business. My design and tech team and I do this through helping companies design and build a booking site that puts appointments right on their calendar using WP and the Periodic platform. I’m very happy to make new business friends and have whiteboard sessions. Let’s collaborate! Hop on my calendar anytime.
Torlando Hakes | Author | Speaker | Podcaster
Director of Business Development at Periodic
