3 ways not to sell your business

Professor Harold Hill provides a prime example of how not to sell your business. Learn what you can do instead.

Photo by Katrina Berban on Unsplash

I don’t like to travel, but when I do, I take the train.

Most commonly, I travel from Boston to Philadelphia on the Northeast Regional Rail. At some point during the six-hour trip, I watch The Music Man. It feels fitting because it opens with a scene on a train. 

Every time I watch the movie, I’m struck by Professor Harold Hill. He’s a fine example of how not to sell a business.

Here are three takeaways: 

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1. Making a problem to sell his solution

Sitting on a bench in the park, Harold pries his friend, Marcellus Washburn. “I need some ideas if I’m gonna get your town out of the serious trouble it’s in.”

His friend reacts, “River City ain’t in any trouble.” To which Harold replies, “We’re gonna have to create some. Must create a desperate need in your town for a boys’ band.”

Yeah, okay. Making up a problem to sell your solution is a dick move. 

But companies do it all the time. Think gurus who concoct a problem that didn’t exist to sell a jargon-laden remedy.…