I was in Istanbul a few years ago...
There was a street full of restaurants with a guy standing outside each one pitching for business -
"Come join us for the best Turkish food in Istanbul."
"Come and sample the finest cuisine in the whole of the city."
"Come and dine now and we'll give you 25% off."
...ad nauseam
Funny how the worst sales techniques are always the most prevalent.
Almost like the majority of people are completely blind to the fact.
To stand out you don't have to do very much.
Just do something different.
The opposite of what your competitors are doing is probably a good starting point...
So, I kept on walking...
And there was this one guy sitting outside his restaurant on a stool.
I looked at him and he acknowledged me with a slight nod.
He seemed familiar.
I wondered why he wasn't pitching me.
He then said -
"You look a bit confused."
He was right.
I was expecting a full on sales pitch.
I asked him why everyone else was trying to pull people in whilst he wasn't.
"I learnt a long time ago that people make their own mind up...so I just sit here watching the world go by.
Some people stop, exhausted from the dozens of pushy restaurant offers. And sometimes I'll get into a chat, by observing something about them, just as we are now. I then ask them this one question...
"Step two paces forward...can you smell that?"
It smelt delicious.
The spices...
The exotic flavours...
It completely stirred my senses.
I couldn't stop salivating.
The man continued...
I then say: "Though I'm not sure you'd enjoy the food here - it's very traditional and aimed purely at locals."
"And they almost always push back, claiming their palette to be worldly, at which point - after some umming & ahing - I back down & casually gesture for them to take a seat..."
"Well...if you're absolutely sure..."
"They assure me they are.
Why else do you think I'm already busy whilst everyone else is quiet? I never follow the crowd...on the contrary...I do the opposite."
And so I took my seat and had the most delicious Turkish meal of my life.
The man was a sales genius.
At the end of the meal he came over & looked at me closer.
He then said...
"Scott? Is that really you?!"
I looked back at this wise old man.
"Oh My God... it's not you?"
Who was he?
