You were right to be careful

A father in Zagazig always buys the largest tub of white cheese on the shelf. It is how a careful man looks after money, and he is proud of it.

There are two ways to sell to him.

The first is to agree. Show him your biggest tub, tell him it is the best value, and he will feel understood. Most selling works like this. You find what someone already believes and show them you are the thing they were looking for. It is easy and it is useful, but nobody changes.

The second is harder. Suppose the large tub turns sour before the family finishes it, and a third of it goes in the bin. Suppose the smaller one, at a higher price per gram, actually costs the household less. Now you are asking him to change his mind.

Tell him he has been wrong and he will defend himself, and he will be right to. A man does not drop a habit he believes makes him a good father.

So you leave the heart of it alone. He wants to waste nothing. He wants to be the one in the house who gets it right. Neither of those has to move. Only the conclusion does. Careful with money, for cheese that will not keep, means the smaller tub.

That is the difference between serving a want and leading someone somewhere new. Leading starts by finding the part of a person that can stay exactly where it is, and building the new choice on top of it.

Very few people want to hear that they were wrong. Most are glad to hear they were right, and missing one fact.