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What is the main difference between a successful panhandler and a broke businessman?
It is an intriguing question, to say the least. Armed with nothing but my curiosity, I wanted to find out if the panhandlers in my city were nothing but conniving sales people in disguise or truly down on their luck like their signs proclaimed.
I say conniving because of two separate experiences I encountered.
One late afternoon I witnessed a man in his 30s holding up a sign that read, "Homeless. Please help. I'm not fakeing."
Even though he spelled the last word wrong I was not concerned with his grammar, but rather the hidden message he was implying. Was it true that some of the panhandlers in my city were misleading my fellow commuters? Were they really homeless?
The second incident was captured by happenstance. While I was waiting for the left hand turn signal to change to green I glanced in my side mirror and saw something that caught me off guard. A married panhandler couple (the sign said so) changed their facial expressions from somber to carefree as soon as they walked past the last car in line. I could see them laughing about something as they walked back toward the light. Just moments before when they walked by my car their faces were drawn down and heavy with agony.
Were they playing the part of cunning sales people or were they truly in need? A couple days later I witnessed the same change in facial expressions – and I caught them in the act many more times. It was almost as if I had a new game to play when I was stuck at the light where they "worked."
Now, I would like to clarify something before I continue. I am not suggesting in any way that this couple – or any other panhandler in my town – is not in need. Nor am I suggesting that all panhandlers are out to con you out of your money. I am just reporting what I have seen, and trying to make sense of it in the grand scheme of things.
Some panhandlers make more in a year than some college grads
Have you ever wondered how much the panhandlers in your town earn on a given day or week or year? For decades, news anchors, reporters and city councilmen have tried to follow the paper trail. At the other end of the spectrum, some behavioral psychologists have tried to determine what makes a person hand over spare change.
Let's look at the first issue, the issue of earnings. Suffice it to say, a large majority of recent college grads are settling for lower paying jobs outside their chosen field. Retailers, large box chains, restaurants, department stores are just a few of the industries 20-somethings are settling for. Because most colleges do not require students to enroll in a business course (say for example a course on how to become an entrepreneur) graduates have no idea how to start a business of their own as a failsafe. So, they settle for a $ 10 hr. job or struggle to find themselves while they wait tables into their 30s.
Meanwhile, the panhandlers in my neck of the woods are raking in anywhere between $ 20 a day up to $ 60 (not including food and clothing items) with no skill set whatsoever. I know how much they make because I actually asked a few of them. And we've all heard of the window washers that hang out under the bridges in New York's boroughs that make $ 50K per annum.
The reason they make so much is because they have exposed a kink in people's emotional armour. The rule of reciprocity states that one shall return a favor that was done unto he. If you wipe my windows I must repay you – even if I did not ask for it! You see reciprocity playing out in all lines of business every day. "Sign up for my newsletter and I'll give you a FREE gift." "Fill out this survey and you'll get a FREE gift." So on and so on.
Panhandlers do not work corners; they work emotions
People in sales could learn a thing or two just by watching panhandlers work a corner. For instance, have you ever noticed the long hours some panhandlers work? The law of averages dictates that you get whatever you put into something. So … chances are if Mr. Panhandler is on the corner for 8 hours every day he is bound to run into a handful of people who will "feel sorry" for him.
At the end of the day, people are still people. And that means you are dealing with emotions. I admit it … the more I see panhandlers the more I become immune to their plight (kinda like the way I ignore billboards). I am not their customer. But that's not to say there are not people out there who will not continue to give time and time again. Panhandlers know their livelihood depends on touching emotions.
The lesson is this: The more you touch people's emotions the more you will sell. It does not matter if you are selling scented dryer sheets or dry ice. People identify with anger, happiness, sadness, hope, frustration, fear and so on. Find out which emotional hot buttons your product or service "touches" and do what panhandlers do: act upon what you know.
Broke businessmen do not understand people
How can someone who is human not be able to identify with humans? Sounds like an oxymoron. Well, when it comes to sales, the graveyard is littered with ego-centric, ignorant businessmen who think they know everything. Of course, no one knows everything.
Is not it funny how the course of one's life can change in an instant? It begins with a spark, that curious nature of ours that yearns to learn more. Discovery leads to a heightened awareness of our surroundings. Information and knowledge are waiting to be discovered around every turn. Open your eyes and look around. You never know what you may see.
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Source by Hannon Deutsch