This may sound crazy, but have you ever observed another person’s thinking? (Or perhaps the lack there of…..) I do this on a regular basis, actually on a constant basis. I am fascinated by human behavior and social interaction. So with that being said, I can’t tell you how many times I have witnessed foolishness on an epic scale. Lack of common curtesy is the biggest offense I see everyday. And it seems to be socially accepted. No one stands out from the herd and says, “C’mon, ‘Mr. I’m-wearing-a-$3000.00-power-suit-so-I-can’t-hold-the-door-for-anyone. The elderly women in the wheelchair behind you doesn’t even have the strength to open the door and there is no handicapped button to push to have it open automatically and you, “Mr. Powersuit,” just let the door fall shut behind you in this woman’s face.” Seriously? When did this become ok? Had I not been across the parking lot at that particular moment I would have let lose on this jerk, timing was not in my favor that day.

Or how about the sales person who can’t even acknowledge someones presence when they walk into that store to shop??? Countless times I have been out shopping and watched the sales people gather in a whispered huddle in some far reaching corner instead of tending to the store and greeting the people that keep them employed. Or off in a corner trying to recover from the previous nights escapades. I’m not bitchy, honestly I’m not, I do think however that if a person applies for a job, accepts that job and shows up to work at that job then perhaps they should actually DO that job. 

Ya, like this person. There really is a lot to be said about interpersonal skills when it comes to sales. If you want to sell then you better learn how to be kind. How? Well some examples include: Saying “hello” when a customer walks in the door. Asking, “Are you looking for something in particular?” And offering, “Can I help you find something?” These are all great ways to start……..

What else don’t people think about? THE OTHER DRIVERS ON THE ROAD!! For the love of all that is holy people, come on, use your bloody blinker! It is not complicated. If you can’t learn to flip a tiny switch to let others know what your intentions are when you are barreling down the road at 70 mph in a 2000 pound weapon then DON’T F’N DRIVE!!!! And stop being hateful when people are trying to get over. Really, do you need to speed up so they are trapped in their lane? Is this some ingrained territorial thing? Are you metaphorically pissing on your specified area so all others need to fight or flee? 

And what’s with all the hand gestures? Don’t you think it would be best if you placed both hands on the wheel and focused on all the traffic that is surrounding you instead of the person you feel usurped your authority by their mere existence on your freaking roadway? Of course riding up the rear of the person in front of you is always a favorite…..ya, that never gets old. Where do you have to be so quickly that all who drive need to scatter at the sight of you and part the road as if it were the Red Sea? Maybe you should leave your damn house earlier so that you would have time to get to where you are going without endangering the lives of your fellow human beings!

Whew,…Ok I got it out, I feel better. Just a couple of things to ponder in your spare time.

Seriously? This concept has always boo-rattled me, especially in marketing or sales. Personally I’m a point ‘A’ to point ‘Z’ kinda chick. I like to know that I have covered everything inside and out, all the bases, every avenue and performed a thorough inspection of every nook and cranny. Whether it is an idea, or an invention, or a personal convenience, there is always an easy way from ‘A’ to ‘B’, it’s getting through the rest of the alphabet that tends to kick the crap out of us.

Let’s look at it this way for just a minute; ‘A’ represents a starting point, an idea. ‘A’ is always in the mind, it is the thought that triggers other thoughts and gets us motivated to take action. ‘B’ is the easiest next step. Here is where you take the idea out of your head and begin putting it into action. You write it down, or record your idea to capture the details while they are still fresh so  you can play it back later, or you call your friend to run the idea past him or her. Easy! Now for the rest of the alphabet. This consists of writing an outline of your idea and/or a business plan,or course of action. It requires dedication and thought and details carefully plotted out. Not so bad, right?  Next comes research, hours and hours of research. You need to understand all the aspects and ramifications of your idea for it to be solid and useful. Oh, remember that outline and/or business plan, or course of action you wrote up? Ya, well you gotta redo those now, those were just your rough drafts.

On to building! You have your idea, your plan, your research, so now you get to start building. Yippie! This is where more dedication and determination comes into play. Too many people give up at this point because they thought their idea was just so flipping magnificent that as soon as people heard about it they would jump right on that band wagon. Uh, huh. Good for you for being such an idealist! Don’t ever lose that. It is imperative during your journey through the alphabet that you believe in yourself and your idea. Never let the nay sayers creep into your head. But you still have work to do.

Onward! Ok, so you have formed your idea, thought of everything that could possibly go wrong with it, where the loop holes are, filled the gaps, refined it, refined it again, rewrote your outline, business plan, or course of action again, put the finishing touches on it, polished it up and now you are ready to sell it. By now you should be up to point ‘R’ or ‘S’. You should be frustrated, tired, and your head should hurt slightly, this means you are doing it right! Now narrow down your target audience and go find them. Go to where they go, go to where you think your idea fits in, and become one of your target audience. Think, “If someone were to come to me with this idea how could they present it so I would get it?” Selling is tough, it’s really an art form, so you have to know your audience inside and out. What are they looking for?, how will this benefit them?, how do I get there attention?,  and so on. Even more people are lost at this point because selling is tough and you will often fail. But you stuck it out, you retained a positive attitude and never let go of your dream no matter how many times you heard “No.” or “This is never going to work.” Guess what? You’re almost to the end of the alphabet now! Finally, after pouring yourself into your idea and honing it to perfection someone said yes and it’s catching on! Maybe your idea was an actual object, or a better way to do something, or a personal convenience, it doesn’t matter because people are finally grasping the fruits of all your labor.  This my friend is point ‘Y’.

“Point ‘Y’?” you ask as if you want to rip my arms off. Yep, point ‘Y’. I told you I would tell you the easiest way from point ‘A’ to point ‘B’ and I have. For anything that is worth doing, or that is going to last, you need to cover it from beginning to end, or from ‘A’ to ‘Z’. ‘Z’ is the best part of all. It’s where you get to sit back and bask in your own glory and relish the sweet taste of a job well done, ahhhh…Ok breaks over, back to work! ‘Z’ is where you get to build up the relationship with your audience, or clients by now. Trust me you want clients, not customers. Customers visit or use something once, but clients are those loyal individuals who return time after time after time. Even after you have gone through everything from the beginning of the idea to the actual selling of the idea, you need to go one step further to protect and nurture the new relationship you have with those folks who like your idea and want to use it. This isn’t difficult, at least not nearly as difficult as what you have already done. Simply pick up the phone to ask them how they are doing, or ask if they need anything. Better yet go visit them and see your idea in action. By having after sale contact with your clients you can immediately address any issue they may have and work it out right away. It would be terrible if you didn’t contact them and an issue festered until they finally told you to, “Piss off.”

Never believe that there is a magic carpet waiting to ferry you to easy street, that’s just sad. Your positive attitude, diligent effort and belief in your idea is all the magic you need. Don’t be discouraged if one idea fails, you’ve got more, right?