The “Tell Me More” Project: How to Make Human Connections in a Digital World

The “Tell Me More” Project: How to Make Human Connections in a Digital World

Posted on 15. Jun, 2009 by Elizabeth Potts Weinstein in Blog

::scroll down for updates!::

An open letter to my readers, followers, friends, partners, clients, customers, and pretty much everyone else who I’ve met online or in real life:

Over the years, at the advice of my mentors and many of the guru’s out there I’ve set up various layers of staff between me and you all, really in an effort to get more done.

But I feel very disconnected from you.  Yes, I’ve set out surveys, opened up teleclasses for questions, and spoken to a few people on /facebook, but that’s really not enough for me to get what’s going on with you, and for us to really connect.

This issue became really clear to me after I went to Monster Vegas last weekend, where I connected in person with dozens of other business owners I know via .  It’s amazing how much closer I feel with my friends/network & how many potential powerful projects are already coming out of that night!  Really, engaging with each other in real life, or on the phone, is the only way to develop a lasting connection & take it to the next level.

So … what’s going on in your business?  What struggles are you having right now?  How are you not being served by what’s already out there?  What’s your big idea, purpose, mission, or dream? What’s missing for you in your business (or how it fits into your life) right now?  Tell me more!

If you reply to this email with your direct phone number, I’ll call you back in the next week or two to speak with you.  (If you just want to respond by email, that’s great too!)

The #1 goal of the call is to learn more about you, your business, and your situation.  I probably will only be able to spend 15-20 minutes per call — otherwise I’ll be on the phone forever!  :)

Of course, if I know of a resource that may help you, I’ll share that resource just like I would with a personal friend.  But the point of the call is not any sort of pitch for anything in particular — the point is to hear more about you.

Thank you so much for listening to me over the months/years!  I look forward to listening to you!

Thanks,

Elizabeth

P.S. I’ve also changed the Contact Us forms and reply-to emails so that I personally get your email replies & inquires.

P.P.S.  I’ll let you know how this works out … it’s either a brilliant idea or completely nuts. :)

If you would like to “Tell Me More” just fill out my Contact form on the site — the emails come directly to me — OR make your appointment directly on my calendar (added 6/20/09).

—

Update 6/15/09: After sending out that email to my list (and posting a link and request for the same info on & facebook) I immediately received *dozens and dozens* of responses (and more are coming in every day).  I’m honored and amazed at the deeply personal emails people have sent me (as well as how many people want me to call them back) — people are so *longing* to make real connections with each other!

How am I dealing with all of these emails and phone calls?  I read many of the emails as they come in (just can’t help myself) but I’m only answering emails about once per day, at the end of the day — typically in a few sentences.  My plan on the phone calls (I’m out of town visiting family right now) is to spend 1-4 hours at a time in a marathon of calling people back (if they don’t answer, I’ll put them on the list to call in my next time block) — this will be while my daughter is at Cubes & Crayons (hourly childcare/co-working) or while she’s at gymnastics or music class.  I’m so excited about this project — and I’ll let you know how it goes. :)

Update 6/19/09: Wow.  I have 70+ phone calls to make, and have only had 5 live conversations with people so far.  A few issues — I tend to speak to each person for 30 or 45 minutes instead of 10 or 15 (but people are just so interesting!!!) and there’s a big phone tag problem.  Whenever I do this again, I’ll have each person sign up for a particular day/time.  And I might do this anyway, hum.

But just the few calls I’ve been able to have are already *amazing* – people are doing so many powerful things in their business, and it’s wonderful how I can just give one off-the-cuff idea that helps them in their situation.  I’ve also been able to hook up w/ some great future joint venture partners that I was not aware would make sense … sometimes you have to speak to someone to see the real connection.

So if you asked for me to call you … it may be a week or two to get back to me. :) Thanks for being patient!

Update 6/26/09:  After 2 weeks of calls I’m sure that this will not be a one-time event.
Speaking with people on my list for just 15 minutes is really the most amazing survey I have ever done.  If you ask people “what challenges are you facing” in a survey they will give you answers, but many times the real challenges are the ones they cannot articulate yet.
After speaking with a few dozen people, there are some commonalities, more than just “we’re in a recession so it’s hard to get clients” etc.  Many of you are full of business & project ideas and don’t know which to pick.  Many of you have established businesses that are not your actual passion, and don’t know how to merge the two.  You’re overwhelmed with options and don’t know what to implement in what order.
And you have *amazing* businesses and passions! I’m talking about: starting a cable TV show, teaching financial basics to young adults, using hawaiian culture in personal development, showcasing local non-technological businesses, creating a positive community for divorced women, making handmade wigs, and more!
Still making more calls next week, and there are a few spots still left … sign up on my calendar asap to get your spot!

Update 6/26/09:  After 2 weeks of calls I’m sure that this will not be a one-time event.

Speaking with people on my list for just 15 minutes is really the most amazing survey I have ever done.  If you ask people “what challenges are you facing” in a survey they will give you answers, but many times the real challenges are the ones they cannot articulate yet.

After speaking with a few dozen people, there are some commonalities, more than just “we’re in a recession so it’s hard to get clients” etc.  Many of you are full of business & project ideas and don’t know which to pick.  Many of you have established businesses that are not your actual passion, and don’t know how to merge the two.  You’re overwhelmed with options and don’t know what to implement in what order.

And you have *amazing* businesses and passions! I’m talking about: starting a cable TV show, teaching financial basics to young adults, using hawaiian culture in personal development, showcasing local non-technological businesses, creating a positive community for divorced women, making handmade wigs, and more!

Still making more calls next week, and there are a few spots still left … sign up on my calendar asap to get your spot!

Related posts

Tags: , , , , ,

  • Nice job you've done on your site - are you having fun with it? It's interesting and well worth the time to visit.
  • In difficult times, people want to come together, pull together, and are far more willing to leave the confines of their insulated lives and connect with each other for any reason at all.

    But I think there's a generational issue here. My students at a med school in Arizona spend an extraordinary amount of time on Facebook and Twitter, and they feel very connected. And maybe it's their influence on me, but I feel more connected to them than I could before these tools existed. Better, I feel connected to people from every era of my life, something I could never pull off in non-virtual reality. I know about events in their lives, what they're doing today, thinking about, and can engage with any of them (almost) with very little effort. And because these tools operate outside of real time, I can have more leisure associated with maintaining connections than if I had to find the time that worked for everyone before talking about anything.

    I think younger people (than myself;-) have grown up in a technological world of opportunity, and they gather wherever they can, whether virtual or real, and for them the virtual seems far more real than it does for people in my generation (at least from what I hear)

    Last thing, I think what you did is brilliant, you've inspired me to do something I never even considered before. Thank you!

    best wishes,
    Rick

    <abbr>Dr. K’s last blog post..Difficult Behavior – Negative or Realistic?</abbr>
  • You're welcome Rick! I think the secret is in the combination of in real life (IRL) and online. Online is a great way to keep a relationship fresh and to meet new people, but I've found that to make a real connection it's important to have a live conversation (whether that's on the phone or in person) -- the old fashioned way, lol.
    ~ Elizabeth
  • Yes Wendy, I think we got taught that you have to give up connection to get big, but I think really it's that you have to get creative about the connection, and picky about *how* you will do it so you can actually get work done ... but the most amazing companies are the ones that still provide amazing customer service, starting at the top. :)
  • wendymaynard
    Good for you Elizabeth!

    I can't even begin to tell you how annoyed I've been trying to set up a meeting with someone who makes me go through multiple conversations with a VA to set up an appointment just to ask them some intro questions. I certainly don't mind setting up an initial appointment through an assistant, but I do mind talking to a person who isn't trained very well on the core business areas and can't answer the most basic of questions. I also resent when takes multiple e-mails and/or phone calls just to get the core person to talk with me.

    In fact, they've lost my business because the whole setting up an appointment and trying to get to the decision maker to ask a couple of quick questions has wasted my time. There are enough skilled professionals out there who WILL talk to me that I don't need to go with someone who makes me go through layers and layers to get to them.

    Fundamentally, people want to connect. I'm glad you are honoring that and I think it differentiates you in the Internet Marketing realm. I have various vendors, contractors, and mentors that I work with and I like being able to have that person answer my e-mails or be willing to spend a few minutes on the phone with me.

    It's how I do business with my clients - why should I expect any less from someone I hire? Can you tell the layers and layers are a pet peeve of mine? (-:

    Best, Wendy
blog comments powered by Disqus