CONNECTIONS

I grew up with wires, LOTS OF WIRES.

Being a musician and an audio-video and computer geek, I still have bins filled with wires. Audio cables with RCA, XLR, TRS, TOSLINK, MIDI, and banana clip connectors. Video cables with BNC, VGA, DVI, S-VIDEO, and HDMI connectors. Computer cables with SCSI, Ethernet, USB, Thunderbolt, Firewire, and many more types of connectors.

And DON'T GET ME STARTED on the bins of adapters I still have for ALL of those.

Nowadays, we embrace wireless connections. WI-FI, Bluetooth, cellular, satellite, infrared, RFID, and others.

Computers still offer a mix of wired and wireless connections. Even cell phones can use a wire to charge and transfer or receive data.

Quality Connections

I don't know about you, but I still find wired connections more reliable. Wireless can be affected by distance and environmental factors. Also, wireless signals can be intercepted or hacked.

Wires are easier to troubleshoot. If something is not working you can replace a wire to see if it fixes the problem. If the connection is different, you can add an adapter to make the connection.

You can adapt a cellular to WI-Fi or Bluetooth, but that has to be built into the device. You can't just connect your Bluetooth earbuds to WI-Fi and listen to your music or make a phone call.

Wireless connections are based on proximity. For example, I have two ways to connect to my phone – my AirPods and a wireless headset. My AirPods are Bluetooth with a range of 30 feet while and my wireless headset has a range of 300 feet. I sometimes forget that limit with my AirPods and walk out of my office, only to lose that connection. My wireless headset allows me to talk on the phone while walking all over my house and property.

Wired connections can lose quality over time. Dust and moisture can impede signal transfer. The good news is you can clean the connection, or even replace the wire if it becomes unreliable or damaged.

You can think of wire as a one-to-one connection, while wireless is more of a one-to-many connection platform.

Business Connections

Just like technology, business needs connections to work. It's always a mix of one-to-many and one-to-one connections. You need both. As with most technology, you need and want the reliability of a direct or wired connection to ensure quality, and as a failsafe when wireless becomes unstable or unavailable.

I equate the more stable business connections as wired, and the more broad and less stable connections as wireless.

Most hard-wired connections are relational. Even if an adapter is used, it still travels from point A to point B and back. Wireless business connections are broad, reaching more people, yet more transactional.

I have covered my thoughts on personal connections across a lot of blog posts and podcast episodes in the past. So I want to look at how those broader tools can help or hinder business.

Broad-Brand WI-FI Connections

Since WI-FI is a one-to-many connection technology, I think you can equate it with both social media and online advertising.

Social media is a bit easier to explain since you have to log in and use a password (just like WI-FI) to create and maintain connections. When you make a connection, that's legit, but when you post content to the platform, the platform chooses who gets to see it. With unconnected people, in most cases, the only way to reach them is through advertising.

Even if you create a business page, and have thousands of fans who are not connected to you personally, the posted content is seen by only 1% or fewer of those fans. You can always buy ads to increase that number, but once again, the platform chooses who sees it even through those ads.

Buying WI-FI Connections

Google is not social media, but it has the same issues. When you create a website or a business listing, Google can index those. When a user searches for a keyword, content, or answers, Google ranks and delivers a synopsis and links where they can click to find more information.

The challenge with Google is that they choose the results for each user differently based on the history and location of the search. The more traffic and authority a website has, the higher the ranking. That means the big guys with more traffic get the prime spots while we small to mid-sized guys can only rank if the searched content is something niche and unique.

Once again, you can buy your way out of the conundrum, but advertising success goes to the highest bidder. Also, Google picks the winners, not us as advertisers.

Both social media and Google are much more effective for small to mid-sized businesses when purchasing ads.

Don't get me wrong. I am not averse to ads or social media. In fact, we use both for my business and my client's businesses. We have had incredible results finding and communicating with clients and prospects using LinkedIn Ads. The difference is in the way LinkedIn targets job descriptions and industries.

In my last article, I discussed how we focus on 68 core repetitive sales. Targeting the right people and creating traffic back to our website's content is the key to maximizing and fixing business-to-business marketing issues.

The Thicker The Wire…

One-to-one connections are made via wire. With electronics, the thicker the wire, the stronger the conductivity of the wire and the connection.

With people and businesses, the same is true. The stronger the relationship (or the wire) and the connection, the more consistent and profitable it can become.

This is why most of our time and energy is spent connecting via wires to build and maintain quality relationships. The more we invest time and money in reaching out to build one-on-one communication, the stronger the bond becomes.

That is why the phone, email, and personal visits are the braided copper wire that keeps relationships strong.

Final Thoughts

Although one wire can make a difference, it's rarely one that completes a system. In the case of a computer or a sound system, it's usually a combination of wired and wireless. My computer has a wireless keyboard and mouse while using wires to connect monitors and peripherals.

Also, most sound systems, computers, and more require electric power to function. Consider your content creation as the source that powers connections. Quality content powers ideas, interests, and conversations when done with your connections in mind.

So cutting the cord may be good for your binge-watching, but may not be the best choice for growing your business.

 

“Communication – the human connection – is the key to personal and career success.”
– Paul J. Meyer

Comment below and share your thoughts, ideas, or questions about your love-hate relationship with sales and marketing! Do you feel your system is working for you? What tips or techniques can you share that worked for you and your business?

To learn more about this and other topics on B2b Sales & Marketing, visit our podcast website at The Bacon Podcast.