Melons in Arles

At the risk of eliciting all types of sympathy, I am currently vacationing in Provence. (I understand that I have a challenging life.) Saturday morning, my wife and I decided to visit the Arles open air market. It was stunning with fruits, vegetables, fish, meat, and chicken in various stalls lining the closed street. The picture accompanying the post is of a spice stall.

The choices were overwhelming, and we were racked with indecision about what, if anything to buy. Then we passed a stall where the purveyor was slicing a green melon and inviting us to take a taste. He was clearly enthusiastic about his product though we could not understand his exact words. (As Steve Martin famously said, “The French. They have a different word for everything.”) However, the melon was delicious and we ended up bringing one back to our AirBNB even though it was huge.

The successful vendor provided me with an important reminder. To actually successfully sell your product you need two things—a great product (the melon was amazing) and a way to be heard over the din. (Slicing the melon and giving a piece away free.)

So make sure your product, be it education or anything else, is outstanding and then shout about it from the rooftops.