Selling Fear

Bad things to sell on

Read something interesting today; a year preview for 2016 that was hopeful, but with science. Or, at least, math. Let me explain, and don't worry, there's marketing and advertising later.

The author cited studies that quantified the standard of living in both the richest and poorest areas of the globe, and noted how in the latter, while the standards were (obviously) much lower, they also resembled, well... the standard of living in, say, America in the early 1960s. So the next time you think about sub-Saharan Africa, where the public image is nothing but bloodshed, famine and charitable solicitations, keep in mind that while things are bad there, they certainly are a lot better than what they used to be.

My apologies if this dulls your charitable ardor. Also, America in the early '60s was a lot harder than remembered, especially if you were in the poor parts of it, and a minority. Anyway, you get my point.

A similar story can be told about bloodshed through combat. Per capita, this just used to be much more likely to kill you; now, about 5% of the earlier rate. World poverty, literacy rates, rights for women, what it's like to be a member of the LGBTQ community, the prevalence of functioning democracies -- all on the upswing, all much less awful than they used to be, all good when looked at not through the ebbs and flows of individual news cycles, but decades. Continued progress must be fought for, but even the most cynical among us have to admit that some progress has been made.

So why does everyone seem so convinced that the times are always getting worse? And not just for those that feel threatened about the improvements made for others?

Well, because humans love us some drama, and good times are very bereft of those. We also have unprecedented communications and connectivity, which means that bad news travels and finds every audience. It's also made the world more or less unfiltered, with the best and worst of humanity all just a click away. But the actual numbers? On the upswing.

And that's where we get back to the work. I've worked on any number of ads in my life -- honestly, probably in the four figure range of individual clients -- thanks to several posts that handled big numbers. Sometimes, those clients had unique selling propositions, great offers, a compelling story to tell. Less often but still relatively common, they had none of these things, and sold more on price, or marketing trickery. And when you had none of that, the last and worst thing to sell on? Fear, uncertainty, and doubt. That if you used a competitor, you would be making a mistake, would never enjoy your purchase because it reminded you of that mistake, and that you would eventually be unhappy, or inefficient, or laid low by the whiff.

It's a terrible thing to sell on, frankly. It always felt wrong in my core, never worked for very long, and didn't make me happy, even when the client was pleased. It was the gig, and work sometimes involves things that you have to do anyway, but I was always glad when the project passed, and I could get back to something that fed, rather than drained, my soul.

I have to think that this isn't an unusual reaction, that the pros who do this kind of work all the time are doing damage to their health, both mental and otherwise. And that better choices exist, both professionally and personally.

I'm blessed to have made some really nice choices in my life this holiday season. My greatest wish is that you have the opportunity to do the same. If not now, soon.

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