There is a Ford Mustang for sale down the street. I've driven by it several times. It's a 1966 . . . or may a 1967. Every once in a while I stop in the middle of the street next to the car and look at the sign. All it says is "For Sale: $4000 obo" and the phone number. This tells me very little of what I need to know about the vehicle. It gives me no reason to call.

Oh, I know I could stop in and talk to the owner. Or I could call, but it's easier to complain. No matter what you are trying to sell, and everyone is selling something, you need to provide the basics of your product or service.

To sell this automobile, why is there nothing on the sign about the year, the motor size, the type of transmission? Those three pieces of information are vital to a buying decision. How could anyone leave out basics like that? Well, actually, it's done all the time.

"The publicity chairman of the Fairington Players resigned today, after finding that she had mimeographed and distributed 5000 flyers advertising their next production -- and omitted the name of the play, the date, the time and the place."
- Bill Gold, Washington Post and Times Herald

I often see flyers, ads in the newspapers, and even commercials on TV and radio where I'm left wondering, "What are they selling?" If you can't give the basics about your product, how can you sell it? Potential buyers remain "potential" buyers until you give them reasons to buy. Real buyers find their way to your door when they are given sales information.

I can see the general condition of the Mustang. I know it needs work inside and out. I expect that. Repairs will be needed, but the basics are what I'm concerned about.

If you withhold information, then you deserve the sales you get . . . and don't get. Meanwhile the Mustang still sits on the street with it's uninformative "for sale" sign. Are you providing needed sales information to your potential buyers?

Don Doman is a published author, video producer, and corporate trainer. He owns the business training site Ideas and Training (http://www.ideasandtraining.com), which he says is the home of the no-hassle "free preview" for business training videos. He also owns Human Resources Radio (http://www.humanresourcesradio.com), which broadcasts HR and business training information, program previews, and training samples from some of the world's great training speakers twenty-four hours a day. You can listen and learn on Human Resources Radio.