I am always surprised at how lack-luster companies with lack-luster products can complain of lack-luster sales.

We all love to be entertained, but the hidden lever in all of us, is that we all love attention. The party advocate will always have more silent appreciation and respect, than the attention whore/break dancer.

How do I know? I’m 36 and I’m an attention whore. I have been known to throw down the worm, if not enough eyes are aimed in my direction at a party. What’s funny is that I’ve always known in social media that people like to be lifted more than they enjoy watching someone lift themselves, because I know how it feels when people say, “look at this guy, he’s nutters! (the ultimate compliment for me)” I am realizing however that if I am still pulling the crap I have been pulling since 6th grade I will soon be the 40 year old attention whore, seeking medical attention on some monday morning for attempting to serve some 22 year old with the Windmill. Even if I pull off a perfect windmill, and impress the kiddos, I will embarrass the woman I arrived with, and be left with nothing but back pain and a co-pay.

The benefits of advocating others:
The advocate…

• provides entertainment (or information through others)
• fills the ultimate need of others (attention)
• keeps his/her clothes clean (gets less scrutiny/criticism)
• is seen as an advocate (duh)
• is seen as a source (of info, entertainment, news, what’s cool, etc)
• is seen as the expert (you are after all an expert right?)

Though you may not get the giggles, screams or accolades, as an advocate you will ultimately get the attention of all those who want attention, which may sound like a draw back, but ultimately when one learns that nearly everyone with an ambition or passion craves attention in one form or another, you’ll get up off the floor brush yourself off, and give people the attention they crave, and leave the break dancing to the kiddos.

Remember ultimately, you are an advocate, because you want to gain attention too. You just want to get it with respect. The best way to make sure that you gain that respect is to not only endorse and generate attention (where it is due) to the great works of others, but to make sure your own skills/product/service, is also worthy of attention. Unless you’re a PR firm, your social networking should always be second to becoming the very best.

*Sigh* I love it when someone inadvertently pisses me off; especially when that someone is somebody I admire. It forces me to keep my raw opinions to myself until better formulated. This is where blog posts come from.

First of all, I’m all about cleaning up our environment. I don’t believe a lot of hype, but I don’t like the idea of defecating in one’s own living room either, so I think the idea of tidying up the planet a bit is a good idea, because we all live here. I am however an unabashed carnivore (blood-type O+), like so many other fine creatures on the top of the food chain. It wasn’t the threat of someone taking the seared flesh of Black Angus off my plate that bothered me though, it was the all too common method of argument that got under my skin.

Now before I continue, let me just state, for the record, that the gentlemen I refer to here is a really great guy, outstanding in fact, and one I’m delighted to be acquainted with. The following criticism is not meant to be aimed at anyone in particular, but a less effective method of argument used by almost everyone at one time or another (myself included) in a general sense.

What I see as the biggest barrier for many initiatives that seek to change the behavior of individuals for the common good is the same one that religious missionaries face: People don’t want to stop doing anything they already do, or give up anything they’ve worked for, or acquired in one way or another. People don’t like to make sacrifices. But somehow this MO has continued in all kinds of initiative expansion for years, using guilt and or threats of some unsavory unknown or distant outcome as the primary motivational tool. Typically the only way someone can be convinced to give something up in exchange for no immediate benefit is if they already feel guilty in some way, or if you can somehow threaten them. But ultimately what surprises me is how empty these threats are. There is little difference between “God wants you to change, or else!” and “Mother Nature needs you to change, or else!” The message is nearly identical in both cases. Whether God sends you to Hell, or Mother Nature quits working, the “sales” model is still threat-based and empty, because it’s based on an assumed outcome in the distant future that isn’t guaranteed anyway.

Guilt and threat are simply terrible motivators. They rank with bruit force, and violence for being unimaginative, and outdated. If you are asking someone to give something up, you are really saying “you’re being a bad person, stop it!” We’re all adults here. Adults don’t like to be treated like 3rd grade students. We may fall for it from time to time, but we resent it if we do.

Humans are creatures of habit, and possession, and neither are easily parted with without an exchange of some kind. If you want to quit smoking for example, you need to replace the habit with something else. It rarely works to just quit any bad habit, unless it is exchanged for another habit, (let’s hope its a good one). Talking of saving the planet from ultimate destruction, is the same apocalyptic threat we’ve heard for eons. You might be able to fool a handful of people, but most of us aren’t falling for that crap anymore, and care only about ourselves, close friends and our own children (the ones that exist not figurative generations hence). We don’t respond well to threats, and we don’t like giving hand outs either.

Here are some generic stripped down pitches that are in use by many well meaning people and organizations.

• I need your money/time
• God needs your money/time
• Mother Nature needs your money/time
• stop what you’re doing, I don’t like it
• stop what you’re doing, god doesn’t like it
• stop what you’re doing, mother nature doesn’t like it

What’s in it for me?? If any company were to try and convince you that you needed to buy their product or pay for their services, so that they could keep their employee’s paid, so that they could feed their families, would you buy what they were “selling?” No way!

When someone sells something to you, don’t kid yourself they are actually just after your money. They are asking you to give something up, something you most likely worked very hard earn and collect. They are just aware of the human need to exchange rather than sacrifice, so they are more successful than people peddling lifestyle and religion.

So, before you try to convince anyone of an ideal, or product, or service of any kind, and if you are asking anyone to part with their time, money, possessions, or habits ask yourself first: “What’s in it for them?” Not what’s in it for future generations, or what’s in it for the rest of the planet, or their spirit when they die. “What’s in it for them now (or really soon)?” When you answer those questions, you will unlock the key to influence. People are interested in themselves, when you learn to appeal to their needs and wants, you can motivate them to do or buy anything.

Sure, there may be long term benefits from large masses of people going “veg” but you won’t get those large masses without a perceived immediate benefit for each individual if they do go “veg.” Find out what that benefit is or could be, and then get back to me. In the meantime I’ll be eating the flesh of tasty beasts.