Don’t Sell Time—Sell Information

$3,000 eh?

I entered Canada through the Toronto airport to speak to a mostly American trade association at their convention there. My client failed to secure my required Canadian work permit and when I went through Customs and Immigration, I had a problem. I answered the questions honestly about the purpose of my visit (I had to…it’s ethical, it’s the law and I was carrying dozens of books they sure would have discovered had they opened my bags—which they did.)

Because I arrived without “papers,” I was questioned at length by a young customs officer prior to purchasing the required documents. Among the questions she asked was, “How much are you being paid for your speech?” I knew my answer would surprise this government employee probably not making $20,000 a year—“$3,000.”

She screamed, “$3,000 for a three hour speech?” I calmly and politely answered, “No, the $3,000 is for my twelve years of higher education and my 25 years of research and work as a marketing expert. Only 10% of the $3,000 is for the speech itself.” She actually smiled and said, “That makes a lot of sense.”

Be careful how you communicate what people are really buying from you—the words you use can increase or kill sales. Are they buying your manual or are they investing in your system which is the result of “x” number of years of educational experience and career expertise?

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