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Restrictive In-person Selling
The old favorite lives on.
Restrictive In-person Selling (RIPS) means the in-person selling approach should be opted for whenever possible and regardless of Buyer preference. Mainly because in-person selling is the only way to secure the constraints required by the Default Sales Approach. The Logistical Exit Barrier, the Time Reallocation Barrier and the Limited Alternative Constraint all work to constrain the Buyer and force them to submit to the Commodity Buying Experience.
This is the wishful and destructive thinking employed most often by salespeople who refuse to consider change. This thinking exists in spite of the fact that the Buyer has a preference for virtual. It exists in spite of that fact that the Buyer will still need to transfer anything valuable to digital format for archiving and sharing. And it ignores the Buyer is very often working from a remote location themselves.
Meeting in-person introduces a number of In-person Impediments to the Buyer experience which do not exist in virtual selling. All of these In-person Impediments might still be justified, if the In-person Meeting without Intrinsic Value was not the actual fact.
While the majority of traveling salespeople claim their Buyers want to see them in-person, the main benefit to meeting in-person is because the salesperson prefers it that way. So they can enjoy the benefits of the above mentioned constraints on the Buyer. As well as to indulge in the Concierge Service Syndrome.
The Remote Buyer
The debate over remote work is settled in at least one area. That it is the preferred way to work for the vast majority of those who have a choice. Spending two to three hours a day in traffic, or use that time to work more productively, and catch the kids soccer practice? Most Buyers prefer to spend at least a portion of their work week working remotely, especially millennials. And until they are willing to host in-person selling meetings in their living rooms, the only way to reach these Buyers is virtually.
Accelerated Cognition Gap
The in-person meeting imposes the Accelerated Cognition Gap on the Buyer's comprehension of value. The Accelerated Cognition Gap is any experience of Decompressed Value, where the Buyer has to process information outside of their preferred state of Accelerated Cognition. In-person selling forces the Buyer to slow down and take in information in a verbal format without the advantages of Screen Focus, Zero Overhead, and Velocity Consumption.
In-person Meeting without Intrinsic Value
In-person Meeting without Intrinsic Value is when the content of the meeting would be as well or better presented without the constraints on time and constraints on value inherent within an in-person meeting. This meeting has no value to offer to the Buyer by being in-person.
In-Person Biased Salesperson (IPBS)
The In-Person Biased Salesperson (IPBS) problem comes from the fact that the Buyer knows they are speaking to you the salesperson and that you are paid to get them to purchase. You are paid to get them to purchase fast, you are paid to get them to purchase as much as possible and you are paid if you can get them to pay a high price for the purchase. It is one thing to deal with this bias free of constraints of an in-person meeting, but entirely different when facing the Logistical Exit Barrier and the Time Reallocation Barrier as well, which puts pressure on the willingness of the Buyer to meet in-person.
The In-Person Learning Obstacle Problem (IPLOP)
The In-Person Learning Obstacle Problem (IPLOP) is the burden on the Buyer which the Accelerated Cognition Gap delivers to the Learning Experience itself. The In-Person Learning Obstacle Problem (IPLOP) makes it more difficult to learn, because the Buyer is attempting to learn or imagine what the salesperson is telling them on primarily audio input from the salesperson speaking, all in the presence of the visual distraction of the salesperson sitting across from them.
In-Person Inflated Time (IPIT)
In-Person Inflated Time (IPIT) increases the time cost of the meeting simply by being in-person. Issues are often brought up that have little to no bearing on the subject or purpose of the meeting. Social pressure forces consideration given to almost anything anyone in the meeting brings up, putting pressure on the attendees to risk being viewed as abrasive for pressing back to the agenda. Most often, the added commentary is tolerated and the time waste is allowed. The duration of the meeting either increases in order to cover the content for which the meeting was scheduled, or the meeting is kept on schedule and the value of the content shrunk to fit it.
In-Person Collaboration Problem (IPCP)
In-Person Collaboration Problem (IPCP) means that the in-person meeting is confined to the attendees within that meeting, due to the logistical constraints imposed by meeting in-person, making it difficult when to loop in additional colleagues immediately or easily and leverage their feedback during that meeting.
In-Person Itinerary Gobbler (IPIG)
The In-Person Itinerary Gobbler (IPIG) refers to the amount of supporting effort, time and resources necessary to travel to the in-person meeting. The impact on the salesperson's Available Time to Sell is significant as that time goes to support the logistics of travel. This additional time typically consumes three to ten times more time than does the meeting itself.
In-Person Time Burn (IPTB)
The In-Person Inflated Time (IPIT) is the devaluing of time during the meeting itself. The In-Person Time Burn (IPTB) defines the time and effort to schedule, to confirm, then to sign in outside visitors, walk them into the conference room, get started, wrap up, walk out and sign out. In virtual meetings, this In-Person Time Burn (IPTB) of course does not exist.
In-Person Frequency Problem (IPFP)
The In-Person Frequency Problem (IPFP) states that the expense in time and money of hosting in-person meetings puts constraints on the frequency of meeting within any given time period. Finding a need for further discussion a few days after the last meeting means waiting until time can be carved out to hold another in-person meeting.
In-person CRAM (IPCRAM)
The In-Person Crave Ridiculous Amounts of Material (IPCRAM) results from both the In-Person Collaboration Problem (IPCP) and the In-Person Frequency Problem (IPFP), which combine to create incentive to cover as much as possible in the meeting. Since the Buyer has a sunk cost in terms of the In-Person Inflated Time (IPIT), they have an incentive to get as much crammed into this meeting as they possibly can, which can have adverse effects on what they actually retain.
Concierge Service Syndrome
Salespeople traveling by air have their one meeting with the Buyer and are waited on hand and foot for the rest of the three-day travel, all expensed to their employer. Services start at the airport "Thank you for flying Delta", continued on the flight "More coffee?" at the hotel "Welcome to Marriott, how can we make your stay more comfortable?" at the restaurant "How would you like that cooked?" and at the bar "Same again?" The preference for this lifestyle becomes a Syndrome, when it is used to justify delivering an experience the Buyer doesn’t want, and one which holds the company back from increasing sales effectiveness.
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