RealitySells

The Man In The Orange Vest by Bill Guertin

Originality takes many forms, and can even be found in the mundane, which I learned by accident.  Selling peanuts on a street corner on behalf of a charity can be mundane… or.... well, just read it for yourself. 

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I was young and naive. 

As a newly minted college graduate at 22, I was eager to do just about anything.  My boss at the time was a member of the Kiwanis Club of Kankakeem and Kiwanis Peanut Day is the single biggest club fundraiser of the year, where Kiwanians strap on bright orange safety vests and sell one ounce bags of dry roasted peanuts on the street corners.

On this Friday morning in September, however, Kiwanis was a few volunteers short of what they needed.  My boss went around the office looking for volunteers.  Sure! I said, enthusiastically.  I was always enthusiastic, much to the annoyance of the few old farts in the office.  I was told where to go and who to see, and so I drove to the spot and parked my car.  I saw several volunteers working the corner already, and so I decided to observe for a few minutes, just to see how this was done. 

I saw each volunteer standing on the median waiting for a red light.  When the cars stopped, the orange vests went to work, walking backwards from car to car.  They held up the foil bags of peanuts, and many of the drivers rolled their car windows down and put money in the jar.

I can do this, I thought. 

I met the corner captain, who gave me my own vest, a supply of peanuts, and a fresh money jar.  He pointed to a corner where a volunteer was just leaving. 

Thats your corner now. Its all yours, he said. 

As I made my way to the busy median, I felt that something was missing from their technique.  What could I do to make this more fun?

I tried it their way for several minutes, and I was doing OK.  I was able to convince every fourth car or so that a bag of peanuts was a good idea.  Many people, however, wouldnt even roll down their windows. 

Why were so many people uptight?  Was I really that annoying to them? 

And then it hit me.  They felt imposed upon. 

They couldn’t escape me.  They saw me as a taker, not a giver.  Even though I had peanuts to sell, I was going to cost them money.  Money they didnt want to give me. 

What could I do to make people feel better about giving? 

I decided that it was up to me to deliver more value.  And the only thing I could think of that had more value was finding a way to make each driver smile. 

I began to dance a jig from car to car.  I got down on one knee as cars approached, in a playful plea for a donation.  I moved around quickly, showing how much I wanted to serve every car possible.  I became fun to watch.  I was The Man In The Orange Vest You Cant Possibly Ignore.

And a funny thing happened.  More people gave.

People smiled and actually rolled down their windows.  They dug into their wallets, their purses, and the coins on the floorboards of their cars.  They found ways to participate in my fun.  And they drove off feeling better about having contributed to Kiwanis. 

Fast forward to 2007.  Im 46 years old, and a member of Kiwanis myself.  It’s Peanut Day, and Im on that same street corner 24 years later, working the corner the same way that I did so many years ago.  I realize what Im doing, and I begin to laugh.

People might support a cause… but they’ll PAY to be ENTERTAINED.

Think about it.  Isn’t that true about yourself? 

Successfully Authentic businesses will creatively find a way to make people smile as a result of doing business with them. 

I was making hundreds of sales an hour, and almost every one of them was smiling after they gave me their money.  I found a way to help them enjoy the experience of giving.

What could YOU do to help your customers enjoy the privilege of handing you their money?