“So much gets lost on email,” John Purdy’s advice for chasing customers

Speaking to people face-to-face is always the best option.

Despite being the Co-Founder of renowned IT company Ergo, John Purdy is a firm believer in not being overly-reliant on email. As he said himself, there is a lot to be said for good old-fashioned face-to-face conversation. John was speaking to host Tadhg Enright on The Architects of Business, in partnership with EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™. While he does stay focused on keeping up with the latest tech advances, there are some things that never change. "My view is if we’re gonna ask the customer for a chunk of cash, it’s always better to do that face to face. Because you can react... you can deal with the scenario," he said. "So much gets lost on email. Email is a very necessary tool, but you know if I’m going to ask somebody for the trust to run their IT for the next 5 years I can’t do that by email," he said. Rather than sitting at his desk by the phone or keyboard, John prefers to meet with them himself. "Get in the car and travel to the customer, or get on an airplane and travel to the customer. Don’t ask for that business over the phone," he said. Quite literally going that extra mile is something he feels is important for his business. Judging by the fact he was an EY Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist in 2014, it's safe to say he's had a few customers who agreed. Subscribe to The Architects of Business for free on iTunes, SoundCloud or watch every episode on YouTube.