https://youtu.be/qUj3hVWdpv0

Imagine if you could remove yourself from all the likes, updates, tweets, retweets, emails, tags, texts, pins and other digital notifications, reminders, and alerts that take hours out of your day?

And what if your customers did the same? If they opted to delete all non-essential communication, would you be among the missing?

This video clip from “Portlandia” is funny, because it is true! (P.S. Portlandia is one of the best shows on television. I ask—nay demand—that you go to Netflix as soon as you finish reading this and binge watch.)

This excessive communication is the reality of the digitally connected world. Our customers are overloaded, overwhelmed, and inundated with messages, updates, reminders, and notifications from every direction—all those “quick” questions and comments that seem harmless enough, but add up to the massive social debt that Carrie Brownstein was experiencing in the video. It’s a blessing and a curse.

What does that mean for the sales pro whose #1 job it is to communicate effectively? Are you becoming just more social noise to your customers? You have to cut through all of that clutter!

I’ve asked the question before. Are you lead nurturing or lead distancing?

There is big difference between the two, and I want to make sure you’re on the right side. Great lead nurturing requires messaging that cuts through the 1 billion red dots on your customer’s phone. Lead nurturing requires communicating across a variety of channels.

Here is the quick list:

• Personalized Email—Even if you have standardized email messages, take five seconds to personalize them.
• Phone Calls—Nothing says “personal” like a human voice.
• Email Newsletter—Give them something worth reading, and they’ll remember you.
• Text Message—Keep them short and to the point. If you need to have a dialogue, use that “Phone” feature.
• Photo Message—Pictures stand out.
• Video Email—Record your message as a video for a more personal digital communication.
• Handwritten Note—A lost art! Handwriting a note says to your customer, “You’re more than a passing thought.”
• Custom Postcard—So easy to do! Take a photo (a property, neighborhood, architectural detail) and convert it to a postcard. With an app like Ink or Postagram, you can create the postcard, write a message, and have it snail-mailed to your customer!

It’s all about context and messaging these days. Do a quick inventory and make sure your lead nurturing includes not some, but all of the methods above. And then sit back and enjoy Portlandia!