Tis the season

One perk of the holiday season is the numerous discounts offered by many businesses.  One negative aspect is the relentless stream of emails asking you to buy.

This has been a tough year financially for a lot of people and businesses and it is easy to fall into a feeling of despondency. But if a salesperson approaches a customer with a vibe of desperation, the customer will run the other way.

This week, I was sent an email from an old contact of mine who I hadn’t spoken to in years. Rather than reestablishing a connection with me, she leapt into her sales pitch for some products that she was selling. With a stranger, it can be good idea to get to the point quickly so they know what you want from them and where the conversation is heading. However, when it comes to people you’ve met, a different approach is needed.

Customers don’t like to feel used. If you take advantage of the holiday season to reconnect with someone because you believe that he/she could be a potential customer, then take the time to get to know them again as a person before you utilize them as a dollar sign.

If you are only reconnecting with me because you’re thinking of my credit card, then I’d rather do business with a perfect stranger. Using the holiday season to reconnect with old contacts is a great idea, but, like all customers, are you treating them as a person or as a dollar sign?