IF YOU PAID FOR A TWO HOUR CONCERT, YOU SHOULD GET A TWO HOUR CONCERT!

Picture the scene...

You've forked out your hard-earned cash to watch your favourite band at a big concert. Maybe you squeezed a little bit more onto the credit card and paid for gold circle seating too. 

The big day comes - you've been looking forward to a concert full of music and entertainment for months. You clutch your drink in one hand and your phone in the other, full of anticipation and excitement and, finally, your favourite band strolls onto the stage. 

The crowd goes wild. You snap some shots, share them to your social media channels, bounce up and down, maybe have a little bet with your pals about which song they'll end on and whether you'll get to hear the live version of your favourite track. 

Half an hour in, the lead singer announces an interval. It feels a bit premature for you, but you trust they'll be back soon, with more songs. You've paid hundreds for these tickets, so you know it'll be a good show. 

Ten minutes later, the band are back on stage. You nudge your friends, grinning and waiting for the next song. 

But the song doesn't come. 

Instead, the lead singer starts talking about another event - it's a special event - one they know you'll be interested in, because you signed up for this one. They'll be performing that one track you were hoping to hear tonight, plus there'll be some music from a couple of artists they've been coaching towards peak performance. You'll get a special brochure and, if you're really quick, there's a meet and greet for the first ten people who sign up and hand over their credit card details at the back of the auditorium. If you sign up right now, it'll only cost you ￡2,500. Go! Quickly! Run to the back and be one of the lucky ten to get the bonus package. 

There will be no more music tonight. Your ticket got you half an hour's entertainment, then lots of upselling from your favourite band. It doesn't matter how much you paid to be here tonight - it's all about the other gig. And it's a good job you shelled out for this one, or you would have missed out on the golden opportunity being presented. 

HOW WOULD YOU FEEL?

It's fair enough, isn't it? You don't mind paying out to be sold to, do you, rather than actually getting the goods you thought you paid for?

If you reckon this is a disappointing scenario and you're one of the people who keeps harping on about how wonderful it is when speakers sell from the stage, about how much you look forward to being sold to by speakers when you attend events, about how much you enjoy learning from their sales patter or how much you feel cheated if you turn up to the event and the speaker gives you excellent content and doesn't try to upsell you, maybe it's time to have a word with yourself. You might find you've been brainwashed a little bit. Perhaps. Just a teensy tad. 

There is a world of difference between turning up to a free concert on the understanding that part of the payback is hearing a sales pitch - particularly if it's been made clear that the musicians have paid an advertising fee to appear on the stage, or the other scenario, with you paying good money to go to a concert, only to discover you've effectively paid for someone to hurl sales messages at the audience. 

Let's have a bit of clarity, people:

1) If you've paid for something, that should absolutely be delivered and the time you've been allocated should not be eroded by people trying to extract more money from you. 

2) If you're attending an event - paid for or not - and the speakers have paid their way onto the stage and intend to use their time to hit you with sales messages, that should be made clear from the outset. 

It's not about people being uncomfortable being sold to. It's about transparency and fairness. I have no problem being sold to OR selling to someone who wants/needs my products and services, but the selling should be on the seller's time - it shouldn't be something we unwittingly pay for.

If you've paid for a two hour concert, you should get a two hour concert. If the concert organisers want to present you with opportunities, it should be outside of that time. 

Agree? Disagree? Why? Give me some real reasons instead of the usual claptrap excuses.

#UnleashYourAwesome

Taz

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