Are you scared of what people think of you?
This is one area where my daughter Jubilee is such an example to me (…and if you haven’t noticed, she gives me a lot to write about).
Having grown up in an Indian orphanage, when she came home, she had almost zero life experience. Granted, she was way more of a survivor than most of us have had to be, but other than knowing how to survive, everything was new to her.
Let me tell you a quick story.
Jubilee loves it when I wear a housecoat (or bathrobe or whatever your vocabulary of choice is). Mine are all thick and fluffy and fuzzy and she loves cuddling in them. One evening I introduced her to one I don't wear very often...one with leopard print.
She was really excited. Since this was while she still learning basic English, it understandably took her a while to say “leopard.” But she got it within a few hours. However, leopards are unusual, uncommon animals.
At the time, a regular question in the evening was “will you wear your housecoat please?” (If she were asking Shawn, like a seasoned expert, she would pivot and ask him, “will you wear your robe?” She's unbelievably clever like that.)
The evening after I introduced the new one, the typical question arose, “will you wear your [garbled word] housecoat?” Neither Shawn nor I could understand the garbled word, so I did some probing. It turns out, she asked, “will you wear your flamingo housecoat?”
I almost lost it (for several reasons).
I don't have a flamingo housecoat, but Jubilee knew she was looking for the word for an unusual animal. Since she was still learning English, the only one she could think of was “flamingo.” So that did the trick. (My guess is she was not super familiar with what those look like either.)
I’m convinced that Jubilee’s light-up-the-world smile, her charming personality (and attitude), her savvy street skills, her ability to pivot quickly, her convincing confidence, and her propensity to push past fear and do hard things will make her a sales force to be reckoned with. (That’s assuming she even wants to go that direction…she’s got a lot of potential for other things as well).
Meanwhile, she’s teaching me a lot.
Your Action Item (What this Means for You):
- Just like Jubilee is savvy enough to use "housecoat" or "robe" depending on who she's talking to, you need to use the words your customers use. How quickly can you pivot to do that? Use these words in conversations, use them in marketing materials. Use them anywhere a customer might be. This is a quick way to build up the know, like, and trust factor.
- Do you let your fear of what others might think or lack of knowledge keep you from trying something new? Jubilee didn’t let her unfamiliarity with the word keep her from trying it out. (Granted, the risk was low, but it’s still a valid point.)
I’m regularly amazed that this girl will not let her lack of knowledge keep her from trying. Which is a lesson I need to learn. Too often I let fear get in the way — fear of what others may think, fear of mistakes, fear of cost, fear of damaged pride...all those fears that don't honor the Lord. There is also a business benefit to having “faith [not fear] like a child” as it says in Matthew 18.
If you need to reach those clients with marketing materials using the words they use, book a Design Day and we'll help you get started.
