Eating lunch at McDonald’s between giving a presentation on Social Media and meeting a coaching client, I realized everyone that came in was ordering by number… Made me stop and think even about my own social media packages and how I set them up. Do I make it easy to buy like McDonald’s does? Are they easy enough to just order by #1 #2 #3 or do they have to think through the entire process to know what they want. Some ordered ala-carte but most took the EASY way because they didn’t have to think just order a number. The next thing I noticed was if you didn’t order a package, you were asked if you would like to make it a package (called up selling). My next thought went to networking online and offline. First of all no one asked them to upsell till knew what they were interested in.
Online the biggest mistake I see are those in business trying to sell their products or service without knowing if I am even interested and many times on a regular profile on Facebook which is completely against Facebook’s policy… Obviously if I go into McDonalds I am planning on eating… if I “LIKE” your business page on facebook, says I am interested in “Digesting” your information. However, If you are only offering your service or products on every post it would be like going into McDonalds and the cashier asking (without a breath) would you like a Big Mac, would you like a McCafe, would you like fries, would you like nuggets, would you like a shake, I think you get the point……. McDonald’s has worked very hard to build a relationship with their customers through marketing and offering items the CUSTOMERS say they want (including those young customers)… Why do you think Happy Meals are so popular… they don’t have to say BUY -BUY -BUY when they have created a great marketing and advertisement campaign around the TOY. 
This is why they spend so much money on marketing when they have NEW toys being introduced and are wise to make it relevant to a new movie or event creating exactly what their young customers are looking for and they do the marketing for McDonalds by “encouraging” their parents to go to McDonalds….
ONLINE.. take this same lead. Talk about things that are relevant to your business and “encourage” someone to purchase but without saying BUY-BUY-BUY… Be a wise marketer. McDonalds doesn’t need to Market their nuggets when it is coming in the Happy Meal all they have to market is the TOY yet what do they pay for first is the Meal..the “HAPPY” is the Toy. Market yourself by the way you help (give) in your business and build that relationship before you have the right to ask for the sale…
Feel FREE to leave your thoughts and/or experiences in the comment box below….
Karen I love the article and the title. I think about the McDonalds mentality regularly and making it simple needs to be part of our buying process. On the other hand I want to give my customer the most choices which help to make my business more competitive. The trouble is in doing so is that I walk a fine line of losing, boring, or even confusing them if we’re not careful. Specialty stores like mine often offer items not found anywhere else which take longer to explain, harder to wrap your head around, and are often sold a la carte allowing the buyer to customize and even build their own bed, a big niche that’s hard to package.
Doug Belleville
Thanks Doug for the comment.. I agree it is a fine line.