Comments on: Learning to Sell at a Young Age

By: bfeld

bfeld — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:55:50 +0000

Yikes. The joy of Windows Live Writer – I totally missed the hyperlink. Fixed.

By: john_minnih5395

john_minnih5395 — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:55:50 +0000

Rock on Brad.

On behalf of scouts (boy & girl) everywhere, thanks. And thanks for not being a total pushover, because that's not how life works.

Just last night it occurred to me (I'm dense you know) that I've taken on four critical roles in my boys' scouting pack, including the Executive Officer, to ensure that they continue down that path & learn everything they can about "the world" as elementary school students.

We've talked enough that you have a sense of what's important to me. This is at the top of the list.

By: Gio G.

Gio G. — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:55:50 +0000

Brad, you've just published the poor girl's email address ([redacted]@mac.com) in plain view of the spambots! Can you edit the post and contain the damage?

By: steve_bergs2127

steve_bergs2127 — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:55:50 +0000

Nice story, Brad. Is her father someone that you or I would have known while we were at MIT?

Maybe she should look up Bomber while she's in Huntsville.

By: bfeld

bfeld — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:55:50 +0000

Nope – he's at least 5 years older than us. FYI – Bomber is now in Colorado Springs – I see him every now and then – and his daughter is a freshman at MIT!

By: tom

tom — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:55:50 +0000

Startups all over Boulder were hoping you would choose the $2008 package…

By: Joshua Feinberg

Joshua Feinberg — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:55:50 +0000

Yes this is a fantastic lesson is salespersonship.

And using a direct response marketing approach is certainly much safer in this day and age than going door to door.

By selling in bulk, without door-to-door canvassing it's GOT to be more time efficient.

So should the Girl Scouts (and Boy Scouts) for that matter be training scouts in direct response marketing, rather than door-to-door interruption marketing?

Finally, the use of minimizers, specifics, and contrast were brilliantly orchestrated.

Robert Cialdini (Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion) would be proud.

While I'm sure the scout never intended to sell very many $2,008.00 orders, who would just buy one box after that pitch?

And using non-round numbers helps make the pitch more real and memorable, even if the number is the year.

I remember selling pens and chocolate bars in Cub Scouts. And selling newspaper subscriptions as part of my paper route.

However it would've been very helpful to learn some of these finer points at a younger age, rather than waiting until some 15-20 years later.

By: dave_naffzi2081

dave_naffzi2081 — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:55:50 +0000

Learning to sell at a young age can be really powerful. In fact, just getting over the fear of asking for an order is hugely helpful.

I will *always* order cookies, buy lemondade, get my car washed, etc. My only requirement is that the kids (not the parents) make the request.. I think this works out great for everyone involved.

By: PaulSweeney

PaulSweeney — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:55:50 +0000

Ahhh mmmm, just read "Influence" the book that silicon valley seems to be reading these days, and one of the very early examples in the book is of a boyscout who stops the prof in the street, and asks him to buy a $50 ticket to their concert on the Sat. He says, thanks, but no thanks. The boy scout says "well at least you can buy a few packets of these biscuits, they are only a dollar each", so the Prof buys five packs. He goes home and says, but I don't like biscuits, and that causes him to pull in his research team and ask them "why was I compelled to make that purchase". mmmm…..

By: Mary Helen Miller

Mary Helen Miller — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:55:50 +0000

This is A's mom; having met Brad (and lived with A's dad for a long time), I realized why I missed the MIT crowd so much. Of course, the best and the brightest of them seem to be married to Wellesley women!!

While A did not expect Brad to jump at the $2008 proffer, she did try to follow the old saw, "Shoot for the moon; even if you miss, you'll fall among the stars." If there is anyone in Boulder (or the metro area) who needs their Samoa or Thin Mint fix, A. will be happy to oblige.