The class's first assignment was to write a headline for a lead newspaper article. The facts conveyed were:
- The principal of Beverly Hills High School announced today that every faculty member will travel to Sacramento next Thursday to participate in a colloquium in new teaching methods.
- Speakers will include anthropologist Margaret Mead, college president Dr. Robert Hutchins and California Governor Edmund "Pat" Brown.
The
class dug into the assignment, typing away to craft compelling
headlines. Most responses, according to Ephron, reordered the facts and
condensed them into a single sentence, wrote the Heath brothers.
"Governor Pat Brown, Margaret Mead and Robert Hutchins will address the
Beverly Hills High School faculty in Sacramento next Thursday," was a
typical offering.
The teacher looked at the headlines his students developed and then stopped. Made to Stick relates, "Finally he said, the lead to the story is, 'There will be no school next Thursday'."
Ephron
had an epiphany. She realized then that journalism is not simply about
regurgitating facts. Instead it requires figuring out the point. It's
not sufficient to know who, what, when, where, and why if you don't
understand what the facts mean and why they really matter.
Therein
lies the lesson for decorative plumbing and hardware showroom owners,
designers and sales professionals. To connect with customers emotionally
which thereby enables you to become their trusted advisors, you need to
understand the hidden point of their projects. You need to go beyond
the who, what, when, where and why and determine what those facts mean
to your customers and why they are important. What is the motivation for
the project? What does the ideal solution look like? What will your
customer feel when they enter their new space for the first time? Answer
these questions and the odds are you will not have to squabble over
budgets.
No comments:
Post a Comment