Feelings First, Facts Second

No matter what your personality make-up consists of, there’s a universal truth that you have to know:

Feelings First, Facts Second

This is how humans work.  Even those analytical engineering types, believe it or not.

Those engineers and scientists that rely only on facts… they use those facts to confirm how they feel about something, or if their research contradicts what they feel, then their feelings about the evidence will also change.  You just can’t completely separate facts and feelings if you are human.

How does this apply to the business world or the advertising and marketing world?  I’ll tell you a story about a client of mine who is fantastic at what he does and is also very analytical.  He tries to track all his marketing efforts and respond accordingly.

His ad campaign started in December and continued through May.  During the month of May, he was trying to decide if he should continue for another 6 months.  I am actually writing this on Friday morning May 29th which is the absolute deadline for making changes in his advertising starting Monday June 1st.

The facts alone point to a net loss on his advertising investment in dollars spent compared to income received that he has tracked.  If he was a robot, or some form of non-human, the data or facts would tell him to stop now and cut his losses.

But why has he struggled to say yes or no?

Simple answer.

He’s human and his feelings are overriding the simple facts of Return On Investment in his spreadsheet.

By the time this article and podcast goes live, he will have made a decision, based on his Feelings First and Facts Second.

His feelings are telling him that perhaps he is climbing a hill with his advertising investment and perhaps he is almost at the top.  If he stops now, then he rolls backwards and never seems a return on the 6 months of investment.

Or perhaps he is almost at the top of that hill and in a few more weeks he will starting seeing the payoff if he keeps moving forward.

On a side note, we did not remain stagnant during these last 6 months and we have fresh ideas for his summer campaign that he is contemplating.

Feelings First, Facts Second also applies to the way our businesses are coming back to life as I shared in a recent Sound ADvice newsletter. (You can get your own copy free in your inbox nearly every Wednesday by subscribing in the box below.)

Happy, Healthy, Wealthy & Wise…and Safe

Benjamin Franklin is most often credited with the quote, “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise”. One would assume that if you are healthy, wealthy, and wise, you would also be happy, right? But what about being safe?

When good ole Ben fashioned this statement in his Poor Richards Almanack in the mid-1700s, safety at work was not much of an issue.  Fast forward 270 years, add in a pandemic called COVID-19, and suddenly safety and health have become even greater factors in determining whether your employees are happy, which in turn is important in determining the wealth of your company.

Study after study has determined that employees who are motivated regularly are 43% more productive. A study conducted by Lockheed Martin concluded that developing a “safety culture” increased employee productivity by 24% and decreased factory costs by 20%.

As businesses begin to reopen and your employees return to work, how they “feel” will determine their level of productivity.  Taking for granted that everything will return to normal once you flip on the ‘We’re Open” sign will be a mistake.

The one common magnet that draws people to a business is not the product or service, but how the business made them FEEL!  Your employees will ultimately determine your customer satisfaction, but for them to make your customers feel good, they first must feel good.

Motivated employees that feel safe and valued can and will move mountains for a business.

In the 9 Rules to a Happy and Healthy Reopening, Rule #9 is “Be a Leader”. Leaders lead! There are few times in life when true leaders must stand up and lead. This is one of these moments.  Whether in war or business, nearly every soldier and employee want to be led by someone they respect and trust. By implementing the eight other rules to a Happy and Healthy Reopening, you will then confirm that you are the leader of your organization!

If you would like to see all 9 Rules to a Happy and Healthy Reopening, click here .