How to sell

When we sell something we don’t sell the facts, the dimensions or the attributes.

We sell emotion, feelings, association and potential.

It sounds basic but often overlooked. Sporting codes get it wrong all the time. The A-League have been obsessed with attendance figures for a while now.

For now, numbers are irrelevant. The focus has to be on making the experience unforgettable.

Then the people who do show up will bring their friends next time and the numbers magically grow.

When writing a press release, copy or advertisement don’t start with the facts, start with the story.

Speed

Work too slow and you fall behind.

Work too fast and you burn out.

A tricky balance, it seems.

The only variable we can change is to work better. It shouldn’t always be about making more or even being more productive.

Let’s do more, but only more of the stuff that matters and will make the most difference for the people that matter.

Faster

In the wild, natural selection dictates that only the fittest and strongest survive.

In sport, the fastest, most agile athletes become legends for generations.

In life, it’s not the loudest, biggest or oldest who succeed.

It’s the graceful, the brave and the kind who are never forgotten.

It only takes one.

When it comes to that decisive moment – when what you are about to do changes things for the better – many are too scared to press ‘go’.

There’s a voice that lives inside that cares more about opinion, rumour, reputation and laughter than doing great work. Ignore it. Ignore it now.

If you respond to a crisis, you don’t wait. Pretend your facebook page is being inundated with unhappy customers. Can you afford to wait? To ignore the viral dissent? Of course not.

Silence is deadly. And silence is akin to a crisis in the world of communication.

So say something, make something, change something or do something that someone will appreciate.

The one (it only takes one) who responds with ‘thank you’, will be worth more than the hundreds who say ‘you should’ve waited‘.