Hi Indy

When I was training salespeople at Walnut Creek Ford in CA I would take salespeople on a little field trip. To diffuse the notion that price is all that matters I would take them to The Nordstrom Store and a Ross Store which was one half block apart and give them a tour. I would tell them that if price is all that matters the Ross Store would be in the Nordstrom building and vice versa. In between was a Macys which we toured, Ross by definition an off price retailer, Nordstrom a luxury store. The Walnut Creek Nordstrom was the second highest volume store in the company, selling in one month what Ross did in a year. Six times what Macys sold, Macys  did not know what they were.

The second lesson was reading a J Peterman catalog. This was to exemplify what I called anecdotal selling. Telling  stories in a memorable fashion to get your point across. When you read a Peterman ad you are in Casablanca with Bogart sipping whiskey in the smoke filled bar in your red checkered shirt. This concept has been around a long time, it is no accident that the important points in the Bible are wrapped in parables. Adults learn differently than young people, adults will remember a story when they will forget facts before you are finished saying them.

You are driving down Hiway 101 in your Mustang GT convertible with the top down, wind blowing your hair, roar of the Five-O roaring out the back. You are cruising through Monterey and the girls in bikinis on rollerblades turn to you and smile.

What am I really saying? It has nothing to do with a Mustang!

Thanks for listening. J R