Uncategorized

Straight-Talk Sells.  Bullshit Goes Home Empty-Handed.

Straight-Talk Sells. Bullshit Goes Home Empty-Handed.


Say What?

When I saw this sign, my first reaction was, “What idiot wrote that garbage?”

My second reaction was, “What legal department, compliance committee and community service oversight commission had to approve this otherwise straight-forward warning?”

Ah, America.  I love you, but I laugh at you, too.  Sometimes you’re so full of politically correct bullshit that you get in your own way of straight-talk.  The Land of Commercialism?  Jeez!

I’m not picking on my beloved America, per se.  I’m picking on anybody who chooses bullshit over straight-talk, particularly while selling.

 

Who Do You Think You’re Kidding?

I posted this photo on my Facebook profile earlier this week, and I received these comments from friends on both sides of the Atlantic.  Are they cynics like me?  Or did they just become cynical when they read that stupid sign?

  • LOL… “say what?”… for real… 😉
  • The Prevent Male Loss Consortium!  We must stop losing those males.
  • … or maybe it’s the loss of ‘maleness’ they’re preventing.  Yikes!  Gotta’ avoid those fitting rooms.

The sign was in a changing room at a very established department store.  If it matters, I didn’t buy anything.  (Perhaps it doesn’t matter to you, but it should matter to the department store!)

I really can’t blame this sign for that.

Or can I?

Could the fact that everything I tried on seemed a bit “not happening” be the result of the sign reminding me that I was shopping in a stodgy, old department store chain?

Or could the the sign that reminded me I was shopping in a stodgy, old department store chain be the result of everything I tried on seeming a bit “not happening”?

 

Did I Lose You?

Exactly my point!

In selling start-up concepts and independent consulting services, we can’t allow ourselves the luxury of selling by committee.

We can’t turn crispy seven-word sentences into blusterous bullshit.

Be bold.  What do you stand for?

What is it exactly that your ideal customer wants?

How can you fulfill your prospect’s need or desire?

If you want to sell… be direct.

Be daring.

Be edgy, if it’s appropriate.

But don’t talk a lotta’ bullshit, for you will go home empty-handed.

Just go out there and talk straight!

Straight-talk sells!