Dog days are coming

I had the opportunity to travel to Maine this past weekend, stopping along the way in Boston to pick up my son Michael and his girlfriend Lyndsey. Boston is a great city, especially for young people. We walked the Quincy Market area for a while...my wife, Lyndsey, me and Mike who had his miniature Italian greyhound Enzo in tow. Enzo actually belongs to Mike and Lyndsey; a joint venture, dual custody, all that stuff. Cost more than a few bucks, too. You would think a city the size of Boston would have everything you want or need. Not so. Enzo had to be pre-ordered from a breeder in Nebraska who shipped him air-freight to his proud new parents eight weeks after he was born. They "laid him away," if you will, making payments while he grew to travel size.

What's the point of this dog tale?

Enzo, if I didn't mention it, is about as cute and coy as a dog can get. As my son walked the market, holding on to his little pup, he attracted a steady stream of people -- all ages but mostly twenty-something girls and young kids -- who just fell in love with Enzo. Enzo is little but he makes a big impact. Every youngster that came up to him ended their brief visit with a "that's the kind of dog we should get" to mom and dad. If Mike had carried an order form and receipts with him he could have closed ten doggy-deals that afternoon, minimum, in my estimation. The "I don't have the money to buy" objection would likely have never raised its ugly head. Enzo inspires behavior where people find money they don't have to make the purchase. We have all lost sales to a competitor who somehow inspired spending among prospects who couldn't buy from us right now for budget reasons. The competitor -- Enzo in our case -- got their emotions running high. That's just one sales and marketing lesson to walk away with from this afternoon outside Faneuil Hall. There are others.

How can you make your product cute? Irresistible? In a world full of dogs how do you come up with an Enzo? How do you subtly yet powerfully introduce it to the market and let interested buyers easily find you by never staying in one spot but cruising the marketplace, covering all the areas? How do you turn what you do into an emotional catalyst that buyers just have to have?

I don't know, either, off the top of my head but these are the questions we all need to ask about what we sell. I need to examine our statewide ad products that way and you need to look at your publications and digital offerings with the same fresh eyes. Most of all, we need to urge and assist our customers to do the same with their products and services. That's our main job as media sales students. We creatively solve problems.

FCPNY offers training to you and your staff on how to do this. "Making marketers out of your customers" is one class we offer that helps you get better at helping your customers think more about their marketing and position in the marketplace. We are booking fall training visits right now -- drop me a line at tcuskey@fcpny.com or call 315-472-6007 to chat about how we can help you and your staff get better than the other guys.

Be one of the first 100 to call and I'll email you a photo of Enzo.

Thanks for your time today.