We Can Touch the Bottom. They Can't!

There is one very quick way to make me lose every cool point I have.

Put me in water where I can't touch the bottom.

That's it.

I can be perfectly fine one second.

Then my foot reaches down and finds...

Nothing.

And apparently my body immediately decides:

THIS IS HOW WE DIE.

What's Brewing

When I was little, I almost drowned at Grand Valley Lakes.

The strange thing is, I don't remember it.

I've been told about it, so I don't know if hearing the story created the fear or if some little part of my brain actually remembers what happened.

But I have always had a tremendous amount of respect for water.

And by "respect," I mean I need to know where the bottom is.

I can stand in water.

I can sit in water.

I can even be on my knees in water.

As long as my head is above it and I know I can stand up, Brandy is fine.

But let me step off into a hole...

Cool points gone.

A few years ago, we were at Thousand Acre Lake on a jet ski.

I stepped off of it and apparently found the one spot where the bottom decided not to be.

I went under.

Someone had to pull me back over to where I could stand.

I was fine.

Nothing terrible actually happened.

But it completely took the life out of me.

I was DONE.

And it wasn't the first time.

When I was in high school, I went to a pool party at an above ground pool that got deeper toward the middle.

Some of the boys were doing something that created a current, and somehow I got pulled toward the middle.

Suddenly I couldn't touch.

I couldn't swim.

I couldn't get myself back where I needed to be.

I'm sure I looked ridiculous.

I didn't care.

I was terrified.

To this day, boats make me uncomfortable.

Being on a boat by myself? Absolutely not.

Even going on a cruise brought this underlying feeling of panic.

And here's the weird part.

I KNOW all the logical arguments.

People swim every day.

Boats are safe.

Life jackets exist.

I could learn how to swim.

I know.

But fear isn't always logical.

Marketing Bite

Neither are your customers.

We spend a lot of time trying to figure out what customers want.

But sometimes we need to spend more time understanding what they're afraid of.

Maybe they hired a contractor who took their deposit and disappeared.

Maybe they bought a used car once and felt like they got taken advantage of.

Maybe they spent thousands of dollars on advertising and got absolutely nothing from it.

Maybe somebody promised them the moon, took their money and stopped answering the phone.

Then they come to you.

And you're thinking:

But I'm not that person.

You're right.

You're not.

But they're still standing in water where they can't touch the bottom.

You can tell them you're trustworthy.

You can tell them you've been in business for 20 years.

You can tell them you have great reviews.

You can explain all the reasons they shouldn't be afraid.

But fear doesn't always listen to logic.

Sometimes your customer doesn't need another sales pitch.

They need to feel the bottom.

Take Home the Bacon

That might mean explaining what happens next.

Being clear about your pricing.

Showing them who's coming to their house.

Answering the question they're embarrassed to ask.

Giving them proof instead of promises.

Or simply understanding why they're hesitant instead of assuming they're difficult.

That's something I think we forget in marketing.

We're standing on our side of the transaction thinking:

There's nothing to be afraid of.

Of course we think that.

We can touch the bottom.

They can't.

So the next time a customer seems nervous, skeptical or hesitant, don't immediately ask:

How do I convince them?

Ask:

What happened that made them afraid in the first place?

And then figure out how you can make the water feel a little less deep.

As for me?

I'll be over here in the shallow end.

Where I belong.

And where I can keep all my cool points.

Until next breakfast... keep learning, keep serving, and do not forget to take home the bacon.