Attention Always Comes First

The best parenting technique I ever learned turned out to also be a marketing principle: get attention before you give an instruction.

Version one. Haley's playing a computer game. I say "Haley." She looks up, eye contact. I say "Pick up your room now." "Yes Daddy." She might negotiate, but she's heard me.

Version two. I say "Haley, pick up your room" while she's still playing. Nothing. I repeat it louder. "Uh huh," no eye contact, still playing. Forgotten in five seconds.

That first version saved my parenting sanity. Then I realized it's just as true in marketing. Consumers are like kids: same short attention span, bigger sandbox.

Notice the pattern once you look for it. Free newsletters, free estimates, test drives, no-cost seminars, vendors who'll pay to speak at your lunch meeting. Every one exists for a single reason, and it's not generosity. It's to get your eyes on them before they get your wallet. The ask always comes second. Attention always comes first.

One caution: "the count." One, two, three if your kid doesn't act. It works like urgency in marketing ("last day!") but the effect wears out every time you use it. I don't want my parenting, or your urgency tactics, to lose power right when it's needed most.

So... what are you doing to get your customer's attention before you ask them for anything?