Am I getting too old or am I too “old school?” It seems that the way most people communicate these days is in 140 or 160 character phrases, as in texting or “tweeting”. I just don’t get it. This to me ends up being a problem as the way many people want to communicate is behind the scenes with the security of a computer screen buffering them from the people they really need to be speaking with

I think in dealing with customers or people you are trying to “sell” your product to, there needs to be a certain level of education and real communication involved. But it seems there isn’t and things get lost in translation. Look at what’s going on in the forums right here. People talk via words in short bursts and there ends up being he feuds because things don’t get communicated correctly. I know this because people email me everyday looking for something and will only email me but don’t properly explain what they really want and don’t give me an opportunity to correctly explain things the way I would if I were having a conversation with them.

The other problem with electronic communication is that it lasts FOREVER! There’s no taking it back. Maybe you emailed, or texted, or tweeted an “ex” one night after “one too many” or were angry and shot off a post or email and wish you could take it back. But with this form of communication, it’s that much harder to clarify your original position.

Here’s what sparked me to write this. I was reading an article the other day that stated this. The Library of Congress will now be acquiring and digitally archiving, every single “tweet” that has been posted since Twitter began in 2006. Wow, think of all the idiotic stuff that’s out there that can’t be taken back, and now the Library of Congress has it FOREVER! Jobs have been lost and companies have not hired people because of stupid stuff on Twitter and Face Book and other social networks.

But now, this is how many people talk or choose to communicate. Let me tell you, if you own a business, you have to break this chain. I continually ask people that email me for information to call me so I can properly explain my product or equipment, or my detail class.

People also have more “balls”, so to speak, when communicating electronically. I can’t tell you how many people ask me for very unreasonable things via email. People want free trials of machines so they can see if they like it before buying it. People want free shipping to foreign countries. People want free detail training via email and ask questions that would take hours to explain if I were writing, but only a few minutes in a phone call. But this is the way it is today, and if you are a consumer, you want everything fast and instant. You need a price? Email somebody for one. At some point the consumer and business owner need to speak if the consumer is serious. I will email somebody a few times, but when it really comes down to selling a job, or products and equipment, I need to actually “talk” to that person. It helps me in the long run.

I would much rather speak to somebody because I know my chances of selling something or convincing them that I am the best at what I do will be better if they can hear me talk about it and give them all the information that I can. This helps my business even though it’s a struggle to get someone to actually talk to you. But if you are trying to convince a customer that you are the best detailer out there, and that your price is worth it, and that you will make the vehicle look so much better than your competition will, demands a verbal conversation. You can’t communicate like you are texting or “tweeting”. It makes you look lazy and gives the impression that you don’t care.

Now as you can see, I don’t have that problem. I don’t have a twitter account, and I hate texting. I write like I speak (in conversation form). And any of you who have ever spoken to me probably know I like to talk (I hope that’s not a bad thing!). But this has helped me immensely. It allows me to sell more expensive products that I know are the best and worth the money. Do you think I can do this if I only choose to “tweet” an answer or give just a few words about my stuff? The detail training manuals that I just wrote for BMW are a couple of hundred pages, and it was very difficult to do and time consuming, but it had to be done that way. There is no way I could have written manuals in “text” or “tweet” speak. It’s very similar if you are trying to sell a job to a potential customer. You have to make them understand the process and make sure they know that you are the right person for the job. This generally can’t be done only via email and certainly not over twitter or by texting. Believe it or not, most people appreciate this “real” type of communication.

I like to actually “talk”. Maybe you can tell by the way I write but it helps me in the long run to get my points across and make sure people understand what I mean and what I am talking about. You don’t short cut your jobs when you know it has to be done right. Why shortcut the communication by only speaking in 140 or 160 characters, or only via email, or forum posts? Technology is a great thing and we are all better off with everything, but in the long run, if you can’t actually communicate with somebody there will be problems. Pick up the phone sometimes and invite your potential customers to do the same.