All of us have heard the phrase, “that is like finding a needle in a haystack.” Well truth be told, how many of us have really been on or even near a haystack? I have to admit, I have.

As a youth, my grandfather, Leo Nollett, had a ranch in the northern Sand Hills just outside of Valentine, Nebraska. Our family used to go there all the time to visit my grandparents. The Spring Creek Ranch was a bit of heaven on earth for a city boy like myself. I have all kinds of stories and memories from my time on the ranch. I was taught many lessons at the side of my grandfather and father as we worked the ranch.

My sister Rita and I often would climb on top of the haystacks in the feed yard. The haystacks were all staged in the feed yard next to the feed lot for proximity sake for feeding the cattle in the winter. From the vantage point of the top of the haystacks, we could survey the area and watch my grandfather operate the tractor as he fed the cattle hay and milo.

I never had a needle with me, but once I did lose a set of keys. A set of keys is nearly impossible to find in a 10 foot tall haystack. My sister and I searched and searched in near panic for the keys because we feared the wrath of my father if we had lost them.

It was a simple mistake on my part as a 8 year old boy, I was not paying attention and let the keys slip out of my pocket and spent hours searching for them. This brings me to my point today of paying attention and being able to find our customers and more importantly having our customers find us.

Not many of us live on or near haystacks anymore but they have been replaced with information haystacks. Each day a couple tons of digital hay is thrown at me and as a business owner or one who is responsible for revenue generation, and just like it was back on the day when I lost a set of keys in a real haystack, I struggle to pay attention through the storm to not only locate but keep the attention of my customers and potential customers.

The trouble is, my customers are faced with the same overwhelming amount of digital hay and this more than doubles the challenge of attention connection between the customer and the company. As much as I am looking to connect with my customers, they too are looking for me. Both parties are lost in the information haystack. So how do I maintain the attention connection long enough to make a prospect a customer and then maintain them?

The answer is simple, stay connected. You get attention by paying attention.

Our society is more connected (and some may argue over connected) than at anytime in the history of mankind, yet I argue we are even the most disconnected people because of information over load. Cell phones, blackberries, ipods, email, text messaging, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc. are all tools to keep us connected but also at the same time contribute to the information overload.

In order to maintain the two way connection with our customers, we must use these technologies combined with the right content, to have meaningful connection and conversation. Its not about selling, its about educating and staying connected.

The companies who stay connected to their prospects and clients will come out on top. If your firm or organization has not implemented a automated drip system or what I have coined as a “Attention Connection System” that utilizes email, text messaging, social media, and blogs, and a smaller foot print of traditional media of print and broadcast, you wont survive. The sheer volume of information and noise created each day will make your communications become lost. Just like the keys I dropped out of my pocket into the haystack on my grandfather’s ranch, you will spend hours searching for your customers and may never find them. the question is, can you stay in business during the search for the lost keys?

Stay tuned over the coming days and post as I walk you through “Attention Connection Systems”. There is a new science on how to leverage Internet focal points in the community and turn them into attention connections that result in sales and success. The “keys in the hay stack” will not be lost if you implement the strategy and technology.