| We have all heard this sort of negative talk, maybe to a less extreme level, by people at work, family, and friends. Does talking negative win many friends and make others want to be around you or vote for you as a political candidate? With the exception of a few rare exceptions of people that somehow manage to thrive on negative emotions like ticks on dogs the answer is a resounding no.
As we learned in the last Presidential election people want to have hope for something that will benefit them. It is no different than when selling a product at a store. Just attacking a competitor's product does nothing to convince someone to purchase your product. Sure, the consumer might not buy from the competition, but they will also not be likely to buy from you.
As Libertarians, we have the answers that will benefit America. Instead of just complaining how the Democrats and Republicans have failed, we must show how our ideas will actually be of benefit to Americans.
To clarify, the average American is already able to clearly visualize how the Democrats and Republicans have failed us though large budget deficits, attacks on civil liberties, high taxes, and unnecessary small business regulations. Most Americans no longer need to be convinced the Democrats and Republicans don't have the solutions necessary to improve the country. What they want is a solution from us that will help them.
After stopping the negative political talk, the next step is to stop selling issues and start selling benefits to the voters. In sales, a good salesperson will not sell product features. The reason is that most buyers do not care about product features. Instead, they care about how the feature benefits them. For example, you probably wouldn't buy a car because it had an air conditioner. You would buy a car because their air conditioner meant you would have a more comfortable ride to and from work. You wouldn't buy a car because it received better gas millage. You would buy the car because better gas millage saves you money that you can save or spend on other things. Similarly, few are going to vote for Libertarians because we favor a free market approach to retirement. On the other hand, they might be convinced to vote for a Libertarian who allowed them to keep more of their own money and make the personal decision of where they wanted to invest their own money for their own retirement. See, personal responsibility doesn't sound quite as scary as the horrific sci-fi image people create in their mind when you tell them about the invisible hand of the free market.
To sum up, the message of this article is simple. The American people already know how out of touch the Democrats and Republicans are with the country so you can quit talking dirty to the voters and start explaining how your plans will actually benefit them. |
Gold America Group
