Sometimes I Wish That I Were More Social

Then I wake up. Ain’t gonna’ happen and I’m ok with that. This being said, with the advent of the internet, being social is more important than ever. As someone who has spent his entire life in sales, and was an early proponent of social selling, the internet offers a variety of awesome opportunities!

Unfortunately (or fortunately), I am innately task focused. Perhaps as a product of my upbringing, I’m not a soft and cuddly person. Hence, I struggle with social media. In fact, by and large, I hate social media.

I am a voracious reader and love learning new things. As such, I too spend a lot of time on the internet. I just don’t do it as a means to start conversations with others and I will rarely like or comment because those actions invite replies. Sad but true. It’s a research tool and I devote my time to that pursuit and how it can be used to increase my business and knowledge bases.

I will avoid crowds at all costs and that includes the crowds found on the social sites. It is a disadvantage for me but you learn to live with the cards that you have been dealt. Certainly, I know that I am losing business. This all being said, I do a great job with one-on-one relationships with clients.

I was once very active on Twitter (I forced myself) and ended up deleting my account. A couple of years ago I got back on, but I rarely look at it. I have never liked Facebook. The only social platform that I am marginally social on is LinkedIn because … it’s still largely business. However, even that is changing on LinkedIn and, for me, that ain’t exactly a selling point.

I used to think that only young people were addicted to social media. This limitation seems to no longer apply. My wife quit Facebook a couple of years ago and I can tell you that she has been a lot less stressed due to that decision. I can give you thousands of examples of how social media is destroying our social fabric.

So what does a guy like me do? Focus. I use a sniper rifle vs. a shotgun. I use social media to learn about people and then to target those who meet my ideal client profile. After making a connection I will focus on taking the relationship to real-life, one-on-one which is my preferred role. Shotguns are for marketers. Salespeople need to scope a tighter target. IMHO.

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Craig M. Jamieson

Managing Member at Adaptive Business Services

Craig M. Jamieson is a lifelong B2B salesperson, manager, owner, and a networking enthusiast. Adaptive Business Services provides solutions related to the sales professional. We are a Nimble CRM Solution Partner. Craig also conducts training and workshops primarily in social selling and communication skills. Craig is also the author of "The Small Business' Guide to Social CRM", now available on Amazon!