The Grapefruit Confusion: The Cost of False Assumptions

Are False Assumptions Costing Your Business Valuable Sales?

When I was in grade 11, our high school music department held a fundraiser selling grapefruit.

Yes, grapefruit. Don't ask.

Our local community channel (shout out to MSA Cable 3!) caught wind of this initiative and wanted to interview one of the students during their live Thursday night "What's Happening" program. For whatever reason, I was chosen for this honour. Who knows, I probably was the first to raise my hand and volunteer when no one else was jumping at the opportunity.

Be on TV? I'm IN!

Thursday night arrived and I walked into the studio offices where I was welcomed and ushered into the "green" room. My first observation was this room was not green. There was nothing green about it. Why on earth was it called a green room then?

My logical mind was immediately confused at this disconnect. It didn't make any sense to me!

False assumption #1: Their guests knew what a green room was.

After a few minutes in came the show host, Carol Lewis. She welcomed me and we sat and had a lovely chat.

She asked me about our fundraiser, what we were selling, what our goals were, what the funds would be used for, where we were at and so forth.

It was a great chat. She made me feel comfortable and at ease. All was good.

She then left to host the live program while I waited for my turn.

After a bit, I was ushered into the studio and was immediately in awe. How cool was this! Lights! Cameras! The whole nine yards!

A mic was pinned on me; I was positioned and ready for my interview.

The floor manager indicated we were about to go live. THREE! TWO! And the silent "ONE" with a finger pointing to Carol to begin.

Carol started by introducing me and then asked her first question, "So Susan, tell us about this fundraising program, what are you selling?"

I stared at her.

Huh?

No, it wasn't me being camera shy.
No, I didn't get tongue tied.
No, I didn't freeze and have an out-of-body experience.

I was confused.

Why on earth was she asking me that question again?
She already asked that back in the "green" room.
She knows the answer; I told her this already.
What the heck? Is she daft or something?

False assumption #2: Their guests understood the purpose of the green room.

I did eventually answer her, all the while being totally confused as to what was going on.

Mind you, I had no idea what to expect to begin with so not sure why THIS was throwing me for such a loop, but it did!

False assumption #3: Their guests understood the process of what to expect so there were no surprises along the way.

It was an experience I'll never forget. So much so that two years later I ended up working for them!

So what does all this have to do with building and growing a successful business?

It's catching all those assumptions we continually make that are hurting our business, confusing our clients, and costing us valuable sales.

• Stop assuming your prospects know what you do and how you can help them

• Stop assuming they understand the benefits of working with you

• Stop assuming they know what the experience of working with you is like

• Stop assuming they know why you're asking the questions you ask

You get the idea.

Your business is not the centre of your client's universe. You need to have a system and process in place that will guide your client through the entire working process so there are no assumptions made on either part.

Even as I write this, I realize there's room for improvement on my part in this area too!

What about you? What assumptions are you making that are costing you time and money?

To your business success,
Susan Friesen