I was doing some bedtime reading a few days ago which summarised one of the ironies of this increasingly digital age.

The article reported research from Harvard Business Review Analytic Services, indicating nearly 80 per cent of 2,300 subscribers surveyed said in-person meetings were still the most effective way to sell business products and services.

Around the same proportion claimed face-to-face meetings were the most useful means of negotiating key contracts and many respondents said talking in this way quickly identified areas that needed clarification and brought negotiations to a close faster.

Superficially, this may seem a bit surprising. Here at Quest, we understand better than most that the internet is transforming the way organisations promote themselves. Potential customers now have a vast source of knowledge and opinions available about products and services, which is only a few clicks away.

This means that effective marketing is now often about providers having continuous dialogue with their market, rather than shouting at it, which is what used to happen. This new interaction is taking place via on-line communities, social networks, forums, review sites and blogs, among other means.

But the paradox is that this digital revolution means face-to-face contact, far from receding in importance, has never been more vital. This is essentially because all this knowledge and choice means success is now not just about products and prices, but shared values and satisfactory overall experiences on the customer journey, including the quality of the relationships established and maintained.

So people like us – and probably people like you too – still need to pay very close attention to things like body language, listening skills, dress sense and all the other means that convey an impression when you meet actual and potential clients face-to-face.

Now where’s that mirror that I once thought I could throw away?