Pick Up the Phone to Build Trust With Your Executive Network - Executive Career Brandâ„¢

Pick Up the Phone to Build Trust With Your Executive Network I spoke to my friend and colleague Pete Kistler, CEO of Brand-yourself.com, for the first time last week, although I had been a guest blogger at the Brand-yourself blog for about a year, and then a weekly blog columnist since last December. Neither of us had ever picked up the phone to connect. Meeting in person would have been great, but not geographically feasible. Like many people these days, with networks spanning the country and even the world, we communicated solely through email and other social media. Dont get me wrong. I love the convenience and immediacy of email and Twitter, but I need more than virutal conversation. I know Im not alone in this feeling. People communicate best through face-to-face encounter, second best through verbal exchange.  Social media talk  ranks last, in my opinion. I  need the shot of adrenaline I get from a spontaneous shared laugh that is lacking in an emailed or tweeted LOL. I  need the nuance of verbally sharing in an associates excitement at reaching a milestone or celebrating a major accomplishment. I  need to  fully examining a topic by verbally batting ideas and solutions back and forth in conversation. Without that phone call with Pete, I wouldnt have grasped as easily what he and his accomplished team are offering with the launch of their new online reputation management platform, and how it can help me. I believe that, without hashing out details in conversation, Pete wouldnt have benefitted as much from my expertise and how my experience helping executives with their online identity can help him. We both came to understand how we can bring value to each other, in a variety of ways. I doubt we would have gotten there through emails alone. Note to self:    Improve my ever-expanding personal brand communications plan by better balancing virtual with real-life networking. I WILL regularly checking in with my network by phone. Social networks are  great, but they dont reinforce personal brands or build trust  like reaching out and calling someone.   Related post: How to Build a Powerful Executive Network 00 0