The bakery shows us one piece of each of their three most delicious cakes, each one more delicious than the other. Each one so delicious that we can’t resist. Each one so delicious that we’re dying to try the second one, too.
And when we come back, a week later, to try the third piece, we bring our friends. And the bakery will have enough cake for everyone. And maybe a fourth cake. And the next time, the friends bring their friends.
Too often we try to sell people a whole cake instead of a single piece … just an hour after they had lunch. So it’s no wonder they decline: “Thanks, but no thanks!”
Or maybe they are overwhelmed by the selection, all the more when we start to explain in excessive detail the recipes of all 32 cakes so that by number 25 they no longer recall number 7 (although they actually love cheesecake).
When we’re bursting with pride, we tend to speak far too much and listen far too little. We try to sell as much as possible and risk selling nothing at all. We oversell and overwhelm rather than satisfy and delight.
People don’t need to change their entire diet to eat our cake exclusively, let alone immediately. Let’s rather turn them into fans who come to us permanently and keep bringing new friends.