How Are You "Celebrating" April Fools Day?

Growing up in North Carolina, we were like most kids on April 1, who would carry out mildly dumb jokes and pranks on our friends and teachers. "You're shoes are untied!" was a classic to use. The other person would naturally look down to see that their shoes were tied just fine, only to get "April Fools!" yelled at them. It was even funnier when the other person had shoes with no laces, like loafers. 

In my opinion, the best jokes were simple and harmless, like the above example. No one got hurt and it was over in a few seconds, so we could move on with the rest of our day, or to the next victim. And the most important rule was that if you were going to dish out a joke, you better be prepared to take one as well. 

However, there were those people who just couldn't take a joke very well. For instance, there was a tightly wound kid (I'll call him Bill) who lived in the dorm room next to me. I spoke to him rarely because I always sensed he had all the attributes of a serial killer. In retrospect, he looked like he could pass for Jeffery Dahmer's brother.  Bill's roommate decided to prank him one day by putting a plastic cup filled with water and shaving cream on top of the door, which he had left slightly open. 

The roommate had explained this plan to us beforehand, with a couple of other guys actually saying stuff like, "I'm not sure about this. Bill's kind of nuts."

As expected, Bill returned from class and opened the door, having water and shaving cream splatter all over him. My roommate and I were sitting in our room when it happened and we each looked at each other with concern. There was giggling in the hallway, but then it suddenly stopped. "Hold on, Bill, it was just a joke!" someone said. 

I looked into the hallway and Bill had a mace, like the old spiked metal ball on a chain from "Braveheart" and was ready to smite someone old school. I locked our door and we hunkered down for an hour or so until someone calmed Bill down.

What has this story got to do with sales? Actually several lessons can be gleaned from this. 

1. Know your client. Everyone is different. I would suspect that most people would have been upset about getting drenched after a long day at work, but the odds of having medieval weaponry would have been slim to none. And I seriously doubt that would have happened in a female dorm.
2. Do your funny business on your time. Sure Bill had just gotten back from a long day of classes, but that doesn't necessarily mean he was "off the clock". We later found out that he had a test to study for that evening, and stopping to clean up and take a shower were taking away from preparing. This was, according to Bill, part of the reason he flipped out so much. 
3. Think through your actions. Bill's roommate knew that Bill would get upset, but no one suspected that he would threaten life and limb. Nor did the roommate know the long term consequences of the prank. I can't remember if Bill ever exacted his revenge, but he did make comments to the effect that his roommate should be scared. For the rest of the semester, Bill's roommate slept with the proverbial "one eye open", which I think was probably worst than having a cup of watery shaving cream poured on him.

Remember that April Fools is a great day for harmless fun, but also keep in mind that if you prank a client it could affect your bottom line. 

Chris Castanes is a professional speaker who helps sales people succeed through workshops and humorous presentations. He's also the author of "You're Going To Be Great At This!", a humorous look at sales. For booking information, click here. He's also the president of Surf Financial Brokers selling life and disability insurance in several states.