December 18th, 2013
I was away this weekend with my family and had an opportunity to teach my children a valuable sales and marketing lesson about how to stand out and differentiate yourself. (Hey, what do you expect…I’m a marketing guy)There is an ice cream man - we’ll call him Bob, that we have known for at least 15 years. He sells at least TWICE as much ice cream then every other ice cream man on the beach…and does so EVERY year.
In fact, even though I can buy the same exact treats for the EXACT same price from 20 other guys…my kids won’t let me buy from any other vendor. Why does he sell so much? What makes the difference? Why do families let several ice cream men walk by and wait for Bob even though they all sell the same products.
The Answer: Bob connects with everyone in a way that NO other ice cream man does. His friendly, genuine, sincere interest in the kids and their families is what separates him from everyone else. He asks the kids questions about their life…
…and asks the parents questions about their kids, etc. It is this “connection” that has enabled Bob to create this bond with everyone on the beach. What Bob realizes is that it’s NOT about the ice cream – it’s about the relationship(s).
Every other ice cream man just wants to sell fudgie-wudgies … if only they knew!
