Too often we don't really understand the obstacles we face.

The video below is loosely based on a real event. Once you get past the humor, it makes a serious point: Our faith in our own abilities, our confidence, can be the source of our own demise.

Almost every week some senior level person is telling me they don't need or want anything to do with social media or search engine optimization of their website. "My customers know who we are and don't use the web much..." Oh, oh, red flag!

No one wants to be wrong so I don't challenge their assumptions. I know the more I try to convince them they're wrong the more entrenched they'll become; experience has taught me this. So I ask them questions.

• Have you ever bought anything online?
• Did you ever buy a book from Amazon?
• Do you or your wife bank online or check your investments online?
• Has anyone you know ever looked at mortgage or insurance rates via the web?
• I use Proflowers to send flowers to my wife on Mother's day, Birthdays and other dates. I can pre-schedule the whole year in just a few minutes. Have you heard of Proflowers or 1-800-flowers?
• When something happens in the world where's the first place you go for more information?
• Are you or the people you know on LinkedIn?
• Why do you not trust your own real-world experiences?
• Why do you think your customers are so different than you? 

I may not ask that many questions or be that blunt. The reason is I seldom have to, my clients are smart so they get the point quickly. One client told me later that my asking those questions completely changed his mind. Up to that point he really didn't think his company needed more of a web presence or be involved in social media.

Here are my questions for you:

• Are you open to new information?
• Do you know how much time you spend online?
• Do you think your customers are very different than you?
• Can your company be found easily through the search engines?
• Have you joined the social media conversation? Or better yet, if you belong to any industry organization, even the Chamber of Commerce, then why won't you joined the online conversation?

Enjoy the video!

Steve
800-707-9150