How Embarrassing Your Kids Can Help You Go Viral

Five or six years ago I started to overhear people say "hashtag ______", referencing the use of hashtags in social media. My daughter, who wasn't quite old enough to drive yet, would have conversations with me like the following.

Me: Can you help clean the house?
Her: I don't have to.
Me: Why not?
Her: Hashtag America!

Well, there's no arguing with that I suppose. But it became quite annoying and a tad too convenient.

I learned years ago that people don't like to be embarrassed, especially in front of their friends. So when my daughter would act a bit sassy in front of her friends, I'd turn the tables and respond with "hashbrown ______". The above conversation would end like follows:

Her: Hashtag America!
Me: Hashbrown chores!
Her: Dad! Don't be such a dork!
Her friends: That's hilarious. Your dad is soooo funny!
Her: I hate you!

You're probably asking yourself what any of this has to do with sales. Hang on, we're almost there.

A week or so went by when my daughter came home from school one day to complain that her friends were starting to use "hashbrown" in lieu of "hashtag". Some of them apparently thought I was a hoot. I had, in a very small way, gone viral. Her friends were quoting me, and since it was clean humor, I would imagine a few of these kids' parents heard it too.

Feeling the wheels turn in my head, I considered this scenario and tried to figure out how to transfer this to my work. If I could get people to laugh at some corny joke and repeat it, I would be "top of mind" for insurance and speaking engagements. I needed a catchphrase or logo or dumb joke that would be work related that could be an epidemic.

For instance, I know one guy who wears a fedora. To be honest, it's nearly cool. And I've seen businesses that have one style of car they drive. After overthinking this for a day or so I found a solution - I'll just stick with using "hashbrown", as in "You need coverage! Hashbrown term life."

Seriously, I think it just may work.

Chris Castanes is a speaker who helps sales people succeed through workshops and humorous presentations. For booking information, click here.

Comments

My Short Post On Social Media

Are you leveraging social media to help your business? Are you posting daily and creating content like the "experts" say to do? Most importantly, are you getting results? I've tried using most of the more popular platforms for my insurance business, as well as my writing and speaking business. To say the results are "mixed" would be generous. This may be because I really haven't invested much into advertising on these platforms. The way I see it, when Facebook, for example, allows me to set up a free page for my business, that is like a "free trial" to see if I can get any interest in my product or service. After nearly 15 years of this trial period, I have garnered little to no business. One can come up with two arguments here. The first is why would you throw money at advertising when you haven't seen any returns. The other side is that "you could have done better if you had quit being a tight ass penny pincher." Fair enough. But ...

How To Prevent (Or Lessen) Momentum Killers

Have you had a great sales run, with the wind at your back as you continue to sell and make money, only to have some event or holiday slow down your momentum? It's happened to all of us. I compare it to running at full speed down a field, and out of nowhere comes a patch of mud and tar, designed specifically to slow you down and make you work harder. An example of this is the holiday season. For some industries, the end of the year is a great time to make those last minute sales and thin out inventories. But for others, it can be horrible. Let's face it, the holidays are about spending money on fun stuff, like electronics and clothes. No one is even thinking about buying insurance, unless they have to. "I can't spend any money on life insurance because I have to buy Christmas gifts," is what I hear each year. (Nice priorities, by the way!) Having been through this for a few years I now plan ahead. Instead of beating my head against a wall trying to get people to...

Keeping Your Pipeline Full

One of the biggest hurdles I've faced in my career has been finding prospects, moving them through the sales process, and turning them into clients, all while constantly being on the hunt for more prospects. It's an endless cycle. (In my industry, it can be even harder to sell something when people ultimately don't want to buy. If your client is a young couple with kids and a mortgage, do you think they would rather spend money on a vacation or a life insurance policy?) Having a good referral system and making networking effective are the best ways to start the process of keeping the pipeline full. Having a center of influence or creating a friendly relationship through networking can save a lot of time and be much less expensive than buying leads. One of the most effective things you can accomplish is to establish a "referral network". This may take some time to get going but if you can find four or five good sources who are willing refer to each other, you can...

You're Going To Be Great At This!

Search This Blog