Can you sell Ice to an Eskimo?
No, it's not rhetorical question. Can you sell someone something they appear in no need of? If you could, how would you go about it.
The oft view of "selling" is one pertaining financial transaction between two parties. In truth, selling permeates many human-human interactions. Be it selling yourself to win someone's much sought graces (can you buy love? I have my take on this but that's for another day); persuading another to buy the merit your arguement; selling product/service etc... all encapsulate selling in some form or another. The common demoninator being the seller presents to the prospective buyer alternate, better, more sensical solution... when money is involved, a solution that'll cost less with greater return. If that would be the case, why then wouldn't a prospective buyer make the switch decision?
Here is why I asked the question Can you sell ice to an Iskamo? And it was spurred by a interesting discussion I had with a co-worker few days back. Is there a point where a party would be absolutely content to feel in no need for improvement? Could you ever save enough money? Better services than you currently have? Better car than you currently drive, if for less money? I thought about this and it occured to me that it's like a game of one-upmanship. Someone will always come along claiming to have something better, cheaper than currently available. It's never ending cycle driven human nature's innate sense competition and innovation.
You can indeed sell ice to an Eskimo. Ostensibly, an Eskimo is no need of an ice. But wait! What if you got better ice than he has, one that is say cleaner. Do you think this is all idle speculation? Consider this reality. Bottled water. According to reliable studies (EPA) comparing bottled water and tap water found no major differences, safety or quality wise. So your tap water is as safe and sound as bottled water based on hard facts. And yet people continue to buy bottled in droves on the unfounded believe that they're cleaner than tap water. Here you have people buying for upwards of $1 or $1.50 for a bottle of water from the shelf when they can get the same water from the tap. And they don't even have to leave their homes. This touches on another facet about selling. What you want to sell doesn't actually have to be better and cheaper than what your potential customer already has. As bottled water shows, you can sell a mere idea and reap untold benefits. Bottled water industry hasn't had it better than these days. Kuddos to their advertising people, did first grade job.
PS. THis is my inaugural post. Blogging is nascent experience for me and I'm trying to get a handle on the rudimentaries of blogging. Must say it's turning up to be a little bit more demanding than I anticipated.
The oft view of "selling" is one pertaining financial transaction between two parties. In truth, selling permeates many human-human interactions. Be it selling yourself to win someone's much sought graces (can you buy love? I have my take on this but that's for another day); persuading another to buy the merit your arguement; selling product/service etc... all encapsulate selling in some form or another. The common demoninator being the seller presents to the prospective buyer alternate, better, more sensical solution... when money is involved, a solution that'll cost less with greater return. If that would be the case, why then wouldn't a prospective buyer make the switch decision?
Here is why I asked the question Can you sell ice to an Iskamo? And it was spurred by a interesting discussion I had with a co-worker few days back. Is there a point where a party would be absolutely content to feel in no need for improvement? Could you ever save enough money? Better services than you currently have? Better car than you currently drive, if for less money? I thought about this and it occured to me that it's like a game of one-upmanship. Someone will always come along claiming to have something better, cheaper than currently available. It's never ending cycle driven human nature's innate sense competition and innovation.
You can indeed sell ice to an Eskimo. Ostensibly, an Eskimo is no need of an ice. But wait! What if you got better ice than he has, one that is say cleaner. Do you think this is all idle speculation? Consider this reality. Bottled water. According to reliable studies (EPA) comparing bottled water and tap water found no major differences, safety or quality wise. So your tap water is as safe and sound as bottled water based on hard facts. And yet people continue to buy bottled in droves on the unfounded believe that they're cleaner than tap water. Here you have people buying for upwards of $1 or $1.50 for a bottle of water from the shelf when they can get the same water from the tap. And they don't even have to leave their homes. This touches on another facet about selling. What you want to sell doesn't actually have to be better and cheaper than what your potential customer already has. As bottled water shows, you can sell a mere idea and reap untold benefits. Bottled water industry hasn't had it better than these days. Kuddos to their advertising people, did first grade job.
PS. THis is my inaugural post. Blogging is nascent experience for me and I'm trying to get a handle on the rudimentaries of blogging. Must say it's turning up to be a little bit more demanding than I anticipated.
posted by Doubting Thomas | 6:45 PM
11 Comments:
Guess Bloggin can be a bit demanding. Welcome to the Blogosphere!
Hey, good 1st post.
Welcome to the blogging community.
Thanks for the warm welcome, both of you.
I feel targeted. I am one of those people that buys bottled water. Why? because I am a lazy sod and prefer my water flavored. If you are talking in the US, anyone can make money here selling something as dumb as a bottle cap opener. Its the sheer size of the market that makes it possible. Even if you get away by selling the convinience for $5 a pop you will be infinitely well off than your average age worker. Need I even mention that since this is a capitalist nation, at its very core is its materialistic nature.
PS Welcome to blogging doubting thomas.
great debut piece!
Welcome, Thomas.
Sleepdepraved
To a certain extent, I can empathise with you. I have a mother who is just like you. She's habitual user of bottled water, buying (wasting money!) oodles of 'em every couple of weeks. Her case is further accentuated by her superstitious fears. She thinks tap water is unsave almost by default irrespective of all the data I show her to the contrary, all from reputable sources. Not wanting to look foolishly unpersuasive, she'll profusely cite (for the umpteenth time) the Ecola outbreak we had in Ontario several years back. After which I just give up.
You're right selling is mostly about a game of numbers. The other part is, of course, advertising or packaging the product in such way to get potential customer's attention briefly. According to the Law of Averages, if you speak to enough people at least certain percentage of them will buy from you. Increase the number of people you pitch to and you increase your sales. Basic game of numbers that most salespeople know and viciously exploit. By the way, this applies to just about everything else in life. Not just in sales.
But that still doesn't answer why people buy what they don't seem to need. Or in the case of Cigarettes, what's downright harmful to their health. I think at least for 1 full generation it's been common knowledge that smoking is inimical to your health. And yet more and more people smoke (population growth accounted). Why? What got you hooked on smoking? Most will answer, "smoking seemed cool!" That's playing with people's emotions. I once read somewhere (came to know it based on first-hand experiences) that people first and foremost buy based on emotions and only after the completion of the sale do they rationalise their decision to purchase. So, Sleepdepraved, you should hang your head in shame that you've been bamboozled, taken for a ride by slick con artists to sell you a pie-in-the-sky illusion.
^^^Don't make me choke on my water boi. I ain't hanging my head for nothing. I called it like it is. I buy the water cause its flavoured and I'm just lazy. To get me do be ashamed you would have to prove that I don't know why I buy the product. Nice try fella.
Sleepdepraved
You get off on technicality on this one. I mean, how oxymoronic is flavored water? What in God's world is 'flavored water?' Water is water is water. Once you change the 'flavor', you change it's content, you no longer got water but something else. For example, add salt to water and you change it's density. Which has serious consequence in reaction with other substances. And laziness is not defense. I'm indolent sod but I never eat my lunch while driving. I've seen mothers change diapers behind the wheel.
^^^Erm, all I wanted was to get off that bothersome hook sxb. Here is the thing though, by your own deduction you just, in essense, said I buy something other than "water".
So, how about you a follow-up post?
This blog is giving me headaches. I post an article but I can't read it. 20 minutes later it magically reappears. So I repost albiet slightly modified. Now I got the same post twice. Arggg!
sleepdepraved,
Glaringly you don't drink water if all you drink is flavored bottled water. Prolly accounts for why you're sleep depraved, you don't get enough water into your body. Besides, because you like the flavor of bottled water is not in of itself good enough reason to drink 'em. For example, would you substitute chocolate milk for regular milk? I wouldn't for the simple reason regular milk is demonstrably healthier (less fat). Admitted it, you got no leg to stand on.
BTW, I'm going to post another blog entry soon. The topic will be: The dissonance between what women say and what women do.
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