10 Things My 7 Year Old Knows About Selling

Let me tell you a story. This really happened at my daughter's day care.



My 7 year old and her friends at day-care decided to collect some money for the Haiti earthquake victims fund. So they set out to sell hand made bookmarks. She and the other girls made bookmarks that said "Boys Rock!" and offered it to the boys. The boys would bring some money and hand it over the next day.


The next day she came home and told me this story. "Daddy", she said. You are a marketer. Can you tell me why we couldn't collect any money?


Needless to say, I was flattered and just a little proud that my little one was taking marketing advice from her dad.

So I sat her down and gave her tips on how to market her little - ahem! - operation.

The next day she implemented my suggestions and had collected $12/- in under 5 minutes and much more before the day was done...

Here is what she did not do.

0) When she failed once, she didn't give up. She didnt try the same plan.

And here's what she did.- She got expert advice.


Here is how she collected the money.

1) She started targeting parents rather than her classmates.

2) She changed the product to speak to the parent than the classmates. " My son rocks".

3) She waited until the parent was close to the son or daughter and they had exchanged their hugs before starting her pitch.

4)She used emotion in her pitch by starting with "For the victims of Haiti earthquake, can you please..."


5) She clearly stated that she was looking for $1/- or more.

6) She found a rather large open box to hold the money because they could not find a money jar.

7) She started with $1 in the box; so parents could see that someone had already given.

8) They let each parent pick out their choice of available bookmarks.

9) After the parent had given the money, they made each person write their name on a piece of paper and wrote the amount of their donation against it.

10) When each parent gave, they all sang "Thank you" in chorus and clapped their hands loudly.

11) And when she got home, she gave Daddy a big old hug.


And in this true story, my dear entrepreneur are the 10 Golden Nuggets of Sales Wisdom.

We wouldn't be interested in anything like that...

How many times do we say this without really knowing what we are saying it to?

Do we really know what it might mean to us? Do we take the time to understand what the offering is?

What if it might mean the difference between survival and thriving in a bad economy? What if the person who spoke to you was offering something that was an answer to all your questions?

Don't ever say NO without seeking details. If you pressed for time, ask him to call back later. Or send you an email ..

The Goddess of Wealth may knock only once. Be ready to invite her in!
-- Old Indian Saying.

How small business can build brand loyalty

How can a retail establishment build loyalty?

Stand out.

People like to root for the underdog.  A rebel always get more love. You want the smaller dog in the fight to win.

Take a stance.
Do the unexpected.
Make her visit memorable.
Choose a cause and relentlessly fight for it.
You will see that sooner rather than later, you will build up quite a following.

Once you have a following, remember why you have a following.
Keep doing what your customers came to you for in the first place.  Do what you've been doing.

And, provide exemplary service.

Increase your productivity with lists.

A new year; new beginnings.


First of all, let me wish all my readers a grand new year of greater profits.

Then I exhort you to start a new habit this year. The habit of making lists.

Make a list of everything. First thing you do at work, make a list.
A list of everything you want to accomplish today, this week, this month and this year.
Then prioritize it. Then set a date against each item.
See, now you have goals.
Then start achieving it.

Often, you start with your goals, then your list out your action plan. This works too if you see each item on your list as a mini-goal to accomplish.

Here are a few lists you may want to try.

My business lists.
1) Products I create and market in 2010.
2) Clients I will work with in 2010.
3) Marketing methods I test in 2010.
4) Non-profits I will work with in 2010.
5) Joint-venture partners I work with in 2010.
6) Niche markets I may want to test in 2010.
7)...

My personal lists.
1) New things I want to try with my kid.
2) New habits to develop to stay healthy/improve my health.
3) New practices to adopt to perform better at work.
4)...

Often, a few items on your list can be accomplished simultaneously. Club them together. For example, you are working on your book. When you are doing research for thie book, you can also use the material to write a few articles.

Lists are the best way to tackle your to dos and get to your goals faster.
When you have ordered your list by priority, your brain feels more able and more at easee because you have a system and you are tackling it on priority basis.

When you work off lists, often you need to add new things that may be more important. Keep your list flexible.

Try this for a month. See how much more you are able to achieve.

Deep Janardhanan - The Marketing Outsider is an online  marketer,  traditional  and web-marketing evangelist. He is Chief Idea Man at Noble River Ventures.  http://www.nobleriver.com/services/growth-services . He publishes articles for business and personal development at this site. He uses his blog as a stream of consiousness white board and to satisfy his craving to write.