Life is full of lessons. If you are smart, you learn from them. My education began when I was five years old. I was thrilled to go to school, but I was also nervous. I didn’t know what to expect. It didn’t take long to learn that if I climbed a tree during recess, I wasn’t asked to come back in. Everyday my mother asked me how school was and I said, “Great!” She asked what I learned and I said, “Nothing.” Then she asked what I did, and I said, “Play in the tree.”
The next thing I know she went to school to speak with my teacher. She asked her if she knew I was in the tree during school, and the teacher responded, “Yes. He will come in when he’s ready to learn.” “NO HE WON’T!” my mother said, “You need to tell him it’s time to learn and he will learn.”
I was taken out of that school and I wasn’t able to start in again until the next year. I had failed kindergarten. The good news is I did learn. Clear communication is essential. It works. If you want someone to register, tell them to register. If they’re supposed to buy something, tell them to buy it. You would be surprised how many businesses are less than successful because they think clear communication is pushy.
There is a big difference between a hard sell and clear communication. Choosing a product or a service can be difficult. It involves both an intellectual and emotional decision. If you know that, you will know how to communicate. Another approach is to sit passively and hope that someone to come to you. If they’re anything like me, they can probably think of better things to do.
********************************************************
THE BOTTOM LINE:
Principal 1: If you fail, learn from it and move on.
Principal 2: If you just build it, they won’t come. That’s why marketing and sales exist. Use them.
Principal 3: You make decisions intellectually. Purchasing adds an emotional element.
