“Don’t watch another man’s pockets.”
That’s something I grew up hearing, and honestly, I take the same approach in business.
It’s not my job to decide how much money somebody has or doesn’t have. It’s not my place to sit there and assume somebody can’t afford something, or assume they’re rich and ready to spend big money. Both ways of thinking are wrong.
First, it’s disrespectful.
Second, it’s bad business.
A lot of people in sales spend too much time trying to calculate another person’s wallet instead of focusing on providing value and solutions. You can ask somebody what their budget is. That’s fair. Or you can simply present the options and let them decide what makes sense for them.
But prejudging people is a dangerous mindset.
“Oh, they probably can’t afford that.”
“Oh, they look like they got money.”
“They probably only want the cheap option.”
All of that is manipulation in a sense because now you’re making decisions for the customer before they even get the opportunity to make them for themselves.
One thing I always appreciated about sales training was being taught not to prejudge people.
I remember hearing a story from one of my sales coaches about selling spoons. He said he would pitch everybody. Didn’t matter how they looked. One day he sold to a man who appeared homeless. Most people probably would’ve ignored him completely.
But the man bought the spoons.
Not only that, he turned around and resold them for profit. He actually became a decent repeat customer.
That story stuck with me because it showed how wrong assumptions can be.
People will surprise you when you stop trying to size them up financially.
That’s why I believe it’s better to educate customers instead of trying to manipulate the sale around what you assume they can afford.
Show them the value.
Explain the differences.
Give them real options.
If somebody wants the budget option, cool. Build them a solid budget option. But explain what comes with it.
If they want premium quality, show them why it costs more:
- better garments
- better print quality
- longer-lasting wear
- packaging
- fulfillment
- branding support
- websites
- online stores
- faster turnaround
- customer experience
Now the customer understands the decision they’re making.
The problem happens when people stop focusing on value and start focusing only on getting the money.
When you only think about the budget, you stop asking:
“What actually serves this customer best?”
Instead, you start thinking:
“How do I close this sale?”
There’s a difference.
Good sales isn’t about squeezing money out of people. It’s about helping people understand what they’re buying, why it matters, and what solution actually fits their goals.