Why Meeting in Person Still Matters for Sales, and Where Business Retreats Fit

During a recent conversation with a large French corporation, they shared a striking observation: they had seen a 40% increase in performance from face-to-face meetings compared with virtual meetings. This was their own reported experience, rather than an independently verified research finding, but it highlights the commercial potential of bringing people together.

For anyone who has built a business through relationships, this will sound familiar. Sitting together, asking questions and allowing a conversation to develop beyond its original agenda can uncover opportunities. Recent research helps explain why personal interaction deserves a central place in business development.

A study published in the Journal of Service Research in June 2026 examined how businesses combine personal meetings with remote sales calls. Researchers David Ergun and Christian Schmitz analysed more than 21,000 interactions across 4,216 customers in two studies involving a leading European B2B manufacturer. Their findings showed that the balance between meeting formats matters commercially.

The right combination could improve performance by up to 27% compared with exclusively face-to-face selling. In other circumstances, relying entirely on remote interactions could harm performance by up to 32%. Product complexity, customer preferences and the salesperson’s knowledge influenced the results. These findings concern existing customer relationships at one manufacturer, so they should not be treated as a universal forecast.

The practical lesson is valuable: businesses need to understand when being physically present makes a difference.

Accor’s research, released in November 2024, adds an international perspective. Its survey of 9,000 business travellers across nine countries found that respondents expected to generate 36% more revenue and close 37% more deals if all their important meetings took place in person. Those figures represent expectations, rather than measured increases, but they demonstrate substantial confidence in personal interaction.

Together, these findings make a persuasive case for giving meaningful personal contact a deliberate place in business strategy.

Think about a typical video meeting. People arrive with an agenda, work through their questions and leave for another appointment. That efficiency is useful. Yet it can limit opportunities to discover something neither side thought to include in the invitation.

A customer might mention an expansion plan over lunch. A potential partner might explain a challenge during a walk. Someone quiet during a presentation may ask the most commercially important question afterwards.

A well-planned retreat creates space for those conversations.

Across two or three days, participants can meet repeatedly without every exchange needing a separate diary booking. A discussion can begin informally, develop during a working session and return to practical details the following morning. There is time to listen, reflect and explore whether an opportunity deserves further attention.

This is particularly relevant when relationships involve several decision-makers. Bringing the right people together allows commercial ambitions, operational concerns and practical questions to be discussed within the same programme. It can reveal where expectations align and where further work is needed.

Shared meals and carefully chosen activities also give participants different ways to connect. For PURE ONE Business, the commercial logic is straightforward: greater understanding can provide a stronger foundation for future collaboration.

However, a beautiful destination alone does not create business.

The strongest retreat programmes begin with clear objectives. Who should attend? Which relationships need developing? What discussions would benefit from uninterrupted time? What would make the investment worthwhile?

A useful programme balances focused sessions with informal interaction. It gives people opportunities to contribute, avoids filling every minute and provides suitable spaces for private conversations. Participants should leave knowing what happens next.

A promising discussion becomes a commercial outcome when someone follows through. Agree responsibilities, arrange follow-up meetings and track proposals, partnerships or sales arising from the event. Evaluate the results against the full investment.

The 2026 research supports a thoughtful combination of personal and remote contact. Our application of that principle is to use retreats for deeper discussion and relationship development, then digital meetings to maintain momentum afterwards.

At PURE ONE Business, we see retreats as an opportunity to bring the right people together with a clear purpose. When meaningful conversations have time to develop, businesses give themselves more opportunities to discover what they could achieve together.

Talk to PURE ONE Business about creating a retreat around your business goals.