Drink your milk!

As a father of a 3-year-old, I can tell you that the one word every toddler hates hearing is: NO

One of the things that I want her to do before reaching preschool in the morning is to finish her milk.

To do this, I’ve resorted to bribes (e.g. No snacks if milk isn’t finished) and scolding (don’t recommend). While they may work, they usually create other problems like reinforcing a negative behaviour. 

One day, I discovered a fix. 

It’s so simple, I wonder why I didn’t do it in the first place (I’ve been doing it in marketing all the time).

I simply tell a story. 

Here’s how I convinced my daughter to finish her milk in under 2 minutes (versus 30 minutes of negotiations): 

I told her a story of the Moonmilk Village. In the village, lived people who loved drinking milk. One day, a milk-loving monster by the name of Mookado appeared, captured the milktain (the chieftain) and its people. But there was a little brave girl, who scared the Mookado away by showing Mookado she could drink faster than him… 

OK, I’m cutting the story short. I know the story sounds silly. 

But it works! 

Every.single.time. 

And here’s the thing. 

As adults, we’re no different! We remember stories, but forget facts. Our defenses get lowered when we are told a story, versus having a salesman pitch us a business proposition. That’s when our shields are all up. 

If you’re not telling stories to spread your business ideas, you’re missing out on an amazing marketing vehicle. Learn to tell stories. 

In fact, this is what I’ll teach in Inbox to Income. Join Daily CMO Pro, to get access to the workshop, including a community where I’ll help you with your marketing.