Don't let the touch screen replace the personal touch

We can email anything to anyone, so we do. We can send sales pitches via SMS or Facebook, and forget that face to face may be more successful. When we do get face to face, there is still a technology barrier between us. At conferences the audience is more likely to be Tweeting or checking emails than really concentrating on the speaker.

Even if a businessman presents to just three people, there could conceivably be 17 pieces of technology, including a projector, between him and his audience. If Google Glass catches on, there could be 20 distractions between you and your customers.

Software developed for marketing is enjoying enormous growth, but the downside is the scattergun effect. You reach more people far more efficiently, but the impact can never be as strong as the personal human touch.

The eagerness to invest in technology tools for marketing is confirmed by researcher Gerry Murray of International Data Corporation (IDC). Murray predicts that marketing software will be worth more than $32.3bn by 2018, an annual growth rate of 12.4%, making this one of the fastest-growing technology niches.

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"Over the five years from 2014 to 2018, organisations cumulatively will spend $130bn on software for marketing," he says. A 2013 report by Dell found that 77% of small businesses rely on technology for their success, and in the last two years, no doubt that figure has grown. Yet an over reliance on technology is dangerous because when it lets you down you have to face the consequences with no data and no flashy tools to cover your embarrassment.

I recently attended a Business Innovation Summit where a charismatic Irishman was demonstrating software for producing graphic reports. He began in the usual way, standing behind the podium, clicking through PowerPoint slides.

Then the power to the projector shut off. A calamity.

After a futile attempt at recovery, he had to carry on without his props. He shrugged his shoulders and asked for questions. Someone from the back yelled out: "tell us how you got started in your business." The presenter lit up. He jumped out from behind his podium and proceeded to tell us his story. His words flowed like honey. He was confident. And we were enthralled. Only when technology let him down did he realise it was ruling him. Once he came out from behind technology and revealed his true self, a new man was born.

After about 12 minutes, the projector came back on. By this time, the excitement had built because we believed and were very interested in the man behind the presentation. Now we yearned to see his graphic reports for real. ?

Technology is going ballistic in business, but at the cost of building real relationships. As an internet entrepreneur who develops automated tools for marketing, I know their value. But I also know their dangers. One technology tactic I back wholeheartedly is FaFing, or Fire And Forgetting. FaFing (pioneered by Majestic3.com) creates automated communications that nurture leads in a highly personal manner.

It works purely because the automation is married to personalisation, allowing highly customised communications to happen in the background with little input from the sales reps.

Every time a new business contact is made, they are added to the database and the FaFing begins. Tom, for example, can pick some old clients that his company has not traded with for some time. He captures their details and FaFs. Immediately, a personalised e-mail from Tom is sent to that prospect. Tom did not write or send it himself, it was written by a copywriter to contain useful and relevant information. A second email a few days later may contain a link to an interesting article or an informative video. This keeps Tom "top of mind" with the prospect.

When the potential client is ready to re-engage, they are familiar with Tom and the relationship has been nurtured. Tom can then quickly take them to the next step of the sales cycle.

I wholeheartedly support this clever and personalised way to bring technology into the sales process. But as a supporting player, not the leading role. Here are three tips for those who believe the personal touch is more important than the personal touch screen:

1. Clear away everything on the table between you and the person you are meeting. Whether it be a laptop or a salt and pepper shaker.

2. Use a real pen and real paper to take notes.

3. Listen to what your audience has to say. Bring in technology only when you absolutely need it.

Some people do not have the confidence or personality to converse well without technology. If this is the case, they should not be spending money on technology. They should rather spend their money courses that teach confidence and personality.

We need to stop hiding behind technology, and remember that real human beings do business with real human beings.