Last week, one of my coworkers was excited and ready to open up and enjoy her breakfast - an avocado and egg sandwich. She offered me a bite, but I didn't want to eat any of her breakfast for a variety of reasons that included she was clearly looking forward to eating it, I wasn't all that hungry anyway, and I was busy with a few other things, so I said "no thanks." She continued to casually give me a couple of reasons why I really should try it and so I did. And "boy oh boy" was it a real treat! I had eaten at the restaurant she purchased it from numerous times, because it's right next to our office and didn't really expect the tasty delight that I experienced.

So why am I taking the time to share this with you? Because it reminded me of how important it is to have an opportunity to try or experience something new to know whether it's good or not. It's no different than when we were younger or when we had small children and we or our parents knew the importance of trying to get new foods introduced into our diet. The time trusted wisdom is that it doesn't make good sense to "think" we don't like, need or want something and not "test" it, but give the something new a chance. For a wide range of reasons we need prodding. Think of how you learned to swim or the first time you stepped out onto a diving board. You needed someone to coach you along. You needed proof that getting over the initial fear was going to be worth it for you. You already saw that others were doing it and enjoying it which helped, but you needed to experience it for yourself.

The same reasoning applies for business. This is why there are free tastings at grocery and wine stores; Apple and Best Buy have displays that let you experience products before you buy them and it's why companies like mine and maybe yours offer free or limited trials of service. We all want the same thing, we want to be able to experience something new with the least amount of risk...not wanting to waste time and money. Makes sense. That's why my experience with the breakfast sandwich, consisting of thick nutty wheat toast layered with an inch of freshly cut avocado spiced just right and topped with a perfectly cooked fried egg, was just what I needed to know that a similar breakfast was in my sights.

So I challenge you. As you prospect for new business, what can you do to give people a "taste" of what it will be like with your service or product? And I further challenge you to do it with discounting. If what you have to offer is good, and I'm sure it is, then you should charge a fair price and if your product or service is exceptional, then a premium price is appropriate. Just remember, the customer is the one who decides when and where to spend their dollars. They are smart. Your job is to get them to "just have a little taste" and then decide for themselves if they want more.

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