Last Sunday morning I watched an infomercial, pulled out my credit card and paid 29 dollars for a bottle of shampoo.
What the hell was wrong with me? I’d seen the Wen commercial a hundred times before, how was I suddenly sucked into ordering Chaz Dean’s miracle shampoo. Did I have a brain tumor, was I huffing spray paint?
Well, the box arrived a few days later, I couldn’t wait to wash my hair because I was absolutely certain my hair would be luscious, think, full of body and shine.
One more time, what the hell was I thinking. Yes, the Wen pomegranate smelled great and made my hair feel pretty smooth while I was in the shower but once I got out and my locks dried….it was the same head of abused, medium length, yellow hair I had an hour earlier. Well how bout that. I was expecting to have a glorious mane.
Lexie laughed at me, amazed I’d been sucked into buying a 29 dollar bottle of shampoo that would barely last us two weeks. I wasn’t mad, I was fascinated and kind of excited and inspired. I work in sales and the fact a bunch of hair dressers from California could convince me I HAD to have their product was incredible.
What is it I thought I was buying, I thought about the commercial.. what was I actually trying to buy? Sexy hair, youth, health,luxury and wealth…that’s the stuff I wanted, that’s how they got me to pull out my credit card. I wanted the shampoo would make me be 28 and beautiful again. But it’s just freakin shampoo.
There’s a great lesson in this story though especially if you are in sales or fundraising. You have to keep asking because you never know how things have changed since the last time you asked. If you are trying to raise money for neglected kids you may ask the same people for a donation over and over and finally, on the 34th ask, they write you a check. I might ask a client to advertise a dozen times before they sign the contract. It’s all about tenacity. A brilliant sales coach, Neal Gladner told me this over and over but I never got it until I bought a stupid bottle of shampoo for 29 dollars!
I’m actually ok with my purchase. I don’t have the thick wavy tangle- free auburn hair I was hoping for, but I understand the importance of tenacity in sales…. And I got a free gift! A black comb came free free with my purchase. It’s not a magic comb, it’s made of plastic and has thick teeth, but at least it was free and will probably last longer than the damn shampoo.
If you read this and know my husband. Please don’t tell him. I’ve already canceled the order. Thanks