You are not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. Not professionally, not personally, not ever. You shouldn’t try. In fact, you shouldn’t even necessarily try to improve the numbers in your audience.
The numbers are already there! You just have to find them.
The world is large. No matter what you do, there are thousands upon thousands of people – if not many more – who will love it. They’ll love you. You don’t need to convert people. You need to find people; you need to filter out the people who are wrong for you.
Most people don’t do this nearly aggressively enough.
When I first got my start in sales, my very brilliant manager pointed at a crowd of people. “In that group are a hundred people. Three of them want what you’re selling and would buy it if they knew about it. Let’s be ultra clear about your job: it’s to find those three people. It’s not to go through the whole group and badger each one into buying until they punch you in the face. It’s to be an efficient detective.”
So someone doesn’t like you? Isn’t picking up what you’re putting down? Cool – ask why, then move on. Don’t argue, don’t dwell. Gather the feedback, incorporate it into your search, and then move efficiently toward your people.
They’re out there, waiting for you. You’re exactly their cup of tea – find them before it gets cold.
The Opportunity Machine 