Phantom Poop Sales and Marketing Tips

I have a rather strange (even by my standards) sales and marketing tip today. But, if you take it to heart, I think you’ll find selling your products and services a whole lot easier… and even “routine.”

Anyway, here’s the story:

It tends to rain a LOT in my neck of the woods. And for the longest time, when taking my dog out during long rain stretches, if she didn’t do her “duty” quick, it got really frustrating. Usually, she’d take her time sniffing and looking for a spot until, at last, she’d squat like she was going to do her thing… only to suddenly stop and stand back up again.

Not just once… but several times for 15 or 20 minutes:

Sniff, squat, stand back up.

Sniff, squat, stand back up.

I call ’em “phantom poops” and, as you can imagine, it can get REALLY annoying out in the cold rain.

And you know what?

This exact same thing happens ALL the time in business, too.

Customers have their credit cards out and are seemingly ready to pull the trigger… ready to buy… only to stop at the last minute and decide NOT to buy until later (or maybe not at all).

It can be extremely frustrating.

Especially if you’ve been trying to land a big client or contract. And if you don’t know how to deal with this, you’ll end up walking around in the rain with people for days and weeks as they sniff around for a good spot, with no guarantee they’ll ever “go.”

Hey, I admit I do the same thing.

I often read and re-read sales letters, email and call with questions, and sometimes “sniff” around for months until I buy. This is especially true before I hire a service provider or buy a high ticket product.

It’s perfectly natural and understandable.

So what’s the solution?

Well, after a few months of my dog pulling this stunt, it dawned on me to simply not take her outside in the rain unless she’s really and TRULY ready to “do the doo.”

That way, she goes IMMEDIATELY.

No dawdling. No hemming and hawing. No sniffing around or “phantom pooping.” She goes out, does her thing, and that’s that. End of story.

And that’s how I approach business, too.

In fact, I once heard Dan Kennedy (I think it was him) say he doesn’t get on the phone with anyone who isn’t already 80% “sold.”

And I’ve done just that ever since with lots of success.

In fact, if you simply ONLY started focusing on those ready to buy, instead of trying to sell those who aren’t ready to buy yet, you’ll find your sales go up, your stress go down, and your entire business getting a lot more fun.

Simple?

Absolutely.

And that’s the reason why it works so well.