The other day in class, we watched an interesting Ted Talks. It was an accomplished young man who was a Ph.D, managed to write books and get his name out there without the help of social media. Interesting thought in today's world. But let's think about this a little. Isn't that what the Mary Kay company has been built on? Relationship building -- not likes and followers?
Years ago, I sold insurance. My business built up quickly because I went into businesses, met with owners and introduced myself. It was before the advent of social media. I found a target market and went after it. I never went into a company that said no solicitors. I also cold-called on the telephone. I went through the yellow pages, asked for the manager and introduced myself. I was never pushy and believe me I heard more "NO's" than "YES's". But I was determined to succeed. And succeed I did. I built a company from no accounts to $1.5 million in premium in just two years. You might ask, "Why did I leave if I was so successful?" I will tell you. I had a District Manager who was a bully. He took every opportunity to focus in on certain people and get them to quit. There were three before me. I knew it was my turn. So why didn't I go to human resources? Here's the problem. I was an independent contractor. Who do you turn to? The person above him? He'd been with the company 20 years and I was a newbie. I left the company and he eventually got his comeuppance...he was sent back to sales. I think when two or three top performers leave under his watch, they figured something was happening and they didn't like it. But, I digress.
The bottom line is, do we really need social media to build business relationships? I am beginning to think not. The positive is you know more people but does it really translate into sales? Mary Kay is built on that old fashioned face-to-face (excuse the pun) relationship. People are more loyal to your product when they know you. Additionally, social media has taken a turn, in my humble opinion, for the worse. I see more fighting about politics than I learn about products. And those who advertise products inundate your feeds with it. Forgive me, but I originally signed onto social media to see pictures of old friends, keep up with their lives and have a pleasurable outlet. Today, I find that it is completely overwhelming and anxiety-provoking.
And so, today I want to consider is social media a positive or negative? Yes, we live in the future. However, my experience as a teacher has shown me that children now write papers as if they are texting. They don't understand grammatical rules and can't spell. Is this a teaching problem or a social media problem? Probably a little of both. Additionally, the media pouring into our children's minds makes it difficult for them to focus. Our students cannot sit in class for more than 8 minutes without checking their phone. I know this because I took a poll the other day of how many kids had their phones out 5 or more times in 40 minutes? Almost all of them -- (probably all of them but few were reticent to admit it).
Oh and if that's not enough? This guy on Ted Talks said that the design of social media is based off the same as what Las Vegas built their gambling on...that in fact, it creates an addiction of sorts. I don't know if it's true but it would make sense.
And so, I would ask those that have a business to give it a shot. Try it the "old-fashioned" way. Meeting up with customers face-to-face. Introduce yourself. Share your knowledge on a product. Build your company one person at a time. Business takes time to build... three to five years for it to become solid. In many respects, I'm sorry I caved when put under the pressure by a sales manager who ended up getting demoted anyhow. The positive side is I learned a lot about business and went into a field that I love; teaching. I don't know what the future holds as far as my Mary Kay business but aside from a business page, I am definitely going to work my business the old-fashioned way; by getting to know my customer -- a face...not a number.
www.marykay.com/lisakhuraibet
No comments:
Post a Comment