Born To Be a Marketer

I got my first taste of marketing when I was 5 years old and really wanted a dollar after watching the little rascals sing, “we got a dollar, we got a dollar, we got a dollar hey hey, hey hey.”

So, I looked around the room for something to sell, something I could use to get the wonderful dollar that seemed to excite other kids my age so much. I bought into the dream from the Little Rascals, and I just needed a Dollar.

The problem was… All I had was a used pencil. At that age, Pencils were basically a commodity. I was stuck. How was I gonna get that dollar with just a Pencil, just a used pencil that seemed to be so abundant my parents always managed to find one when I had homework to do, which was basically all the time. (Short of a Transmorgiphier and a pet tiger, my only shot was to get creative.

I looked around the room for some inspiration and thats when it hit me. I saw my reflection in the mirror and realized I had the cutest smile in the world. After all, I was an adorable five year old boy, and the only kid that age around me at the time. More importantly, the only kid around with an infectious smile, and a used pencil. Bingo.

I had supply, I had a product, but I still had a demand problem. Where was I to find someone who would exchange a delicious dollar (yes, paper was considered edible at that age.) for a simple smile, and used pencil.

This is actually one of the few benefits of growing up and living on a private girls high school campus. I was surrounded by teenage girls, all of the time, and it turns out, teenage girls love buying stuff, especially cute stuff. Turns out, they also hate work, and doing anything unnecessary.

I had the perfect storm. I had an audience, I had a product, and I had a pitch. A cute, Five year old boy, offering a used pencil for a dollar to a teenage girl with the sales pitch that, “You Don’t Even Need to Sharpen It. No Work, No Hassles, Just a Ready To Use Pencil… For just a measly Dollar. How Could She Possibly Say No?!”

I quickly ran to find my brother, and offered to share with him. We sang and danced, “We Got A Dollar, We Got A Dollar, We Got A Dollar, Hey Hey, Hey Hey.”

Ever since that moment, I knew I was born to Market. Now I have lots of Dollars, but they say the first one to make is the hardest… I don’t know about that, but it was definitely the sweetest.

(Just to clarify I did not exploit anyone, she probably still tells the story about how a cute five year offered her a compelling sales pitch for a used pencil and she gave him a dollar. We pay for experiences and stories, and she had an experience that I would gladly pay a dollar for any day of the week..)