It’s one of the most frustrating things to come across, and you’re guilty of it too. You say you will, but in reality you don’t ACT on what you say you will act on. How many times have you heard your friend or even yourself say, “I should really work out, but I’ll do that tomorrow.” Then tomorrow comes and you’re on the couch binge watching Netflix.

This is ingrained in our psyches, and it develops through time. This is one of the biggest hurdles to overcome when you’re selling a product or service. And we’re all in sales in one way or another. Whether you’re selling yourself in a job interview or selling a physical product. The customer / client / interviewer will say something when they really won’t follow through. People are guarded, and they build up walls.

A couple real life examples

1) In my wife and I’s online dress shop (EverRose.com) we carry a few Fair Trade products (on top of trying to carry as many conflict free items as possible) from India where women are paid a living wage to design, and produce amazing looking dresses. We decided to carry this particular line of dresses because in our research we found this was a particular issue with our fans. They wanted Fair Trade dresses, at least that’s what they said. In fact, not a single one has been purchased. Maybe the design isn’t appealing or maybe the price is too high (they usually run $5-10 more). Whatever it is, there’s also a bit of psychology at play. Sometimes you just aren’t who you THINK you are.

2) I publish a couple small community magazines, and one of my tasks is to encourage companies to advertise and connect with this niche market. Rejection comes along quite a bit, and the most often thing I hear is, “Send me something.” I continue to ask for the specifics on what they’d like to see. I then send them what they requested, and guess what – 90% won’t even take a look at it. How do I know? I follow up. Maybe my pitch is off or maybe there’s not enough time in the world, but when you say to send you something, you better take a look at it. Again, there’s a bunch of psychology at play here.

You say these things because you don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings, or you don’t have a good enough excuse at the time to turn someone down. That’s one of the reasons I enjoy dealing with US business men and women. Business is more black & white, and decisions are made quickly. In Canada – especially in the smaller communities – emotion plays too much in business decisions involving money changing hands. What can I say – us Canadians are too nice, almost to a fault.

Instead of the possibility of hurting someone’s feelings – you’d rather stretch out a decision, waste a bunch of time, and not even take the 2-minutes to look at something from someone who’s trying to help grow your business. Once you’re aware of this – stop doing it. I answer every sales persons email, and phone call whether I’m interested or not. I value other people who are just trying to make a buck, and the last thing I want to do is waste their or my time. On top of that – I may find something I didn’t know about that could be extremely useful to my business.

Actions speak louder than words

In business – while research is a great tool – you also have to be ready to move with what your customers / clients are actually doing. In the dress world – my wife and I have found our best sellers are more form fitting dresses opposed to A-line dresses. Therefore, we’re stocking more form fitting dresses, and getting more sales.

In the consulting world – I’ve moved away from big business, and I’ve started working more with entrepreneurs where English is their second language. In doing what I do – I’ve found this to be the best market for me at this time, and it’s where I can provide the most value.

However, you’ll never know these things unless you act. You can spend thousands on research, and surveys, but you’ll never REALLY know what’s going on unless you do. You have to remember people will not act the way they say the will. They will act the way they act. Saying and doing are completely different things.

Love you (and I’m not just saying that),

Jordan ‘The Guy with the Bow Tie’ Rycroft