Money is often the easiest thing to change. Lower the price and expect sales to go through the roof. Offer employees a bonus and expect sales to go through the roof, or turnover to diminish or whatever. But usually decisions are based on more than just money and changing the money just because it’s easy isn’t always smart.

Garage Sale
I was reminded of this because we’re having a garage sale (have I mentioned we’re selling our house? www.seiffer.org). Garage sales are business at it’s most basic. And like most business transactions the motivations are more complex than they appear. Sure we want to get as much money as possible. But we also want to get rid of stuff. And for the hassle is it really worth the money at all? (We got about $300 on the first day and another $175 the second.) And the buyers. Yes they want a bargain. But how low is a bargain? How much more will they buy if the price is cheap enough? Don’t they have anything better to do with their time? And do they really need the stuff they buy? A woman bought a stuffed pig that squeaks and oinks and jiggles when you squeeze it – for her dog.

Cement Trowel
A woman walked in and didn’t say a word. She poked around and picked up a trowel – the kind you do cement work with. I can’t remember why I have it or if I ever used it. But it’s a nice, sturdy trowel – not one of those cheap ones. She walked around with it in her hand for about 10 minutes, never saying anything and never picking anything else up. Finally she put the trowel down and left. My wife and I were amused. We had both wanted to say “Just give us a dollar and take it already.” But we knew it wasn’t about the money. If she took it, she’d have to live with it. And put it someplace, And explain to herself (and maybe someone else) why she bought it.

Hand Truck
We sold an old beat up hand truck. Also for a dollar. It was orange. With the wheels almost falling off. The kind where the handle comes out and it lays back on the little wheels and the handle goes in another way and it turns into a cart. Except the little wheels have been lost, and the pin that holds the handle in place is a bent nail. The guy who bought it took one look and said “I’ve always wanted one of these” and paid me a buck. I had to laugh because the thing was in almost the same condition when I bought it at a garage sale umpteen years ago. I looked at it and had exactly the same reaction. I know I paid more than a buck. I bet he would have too. But I just couldn’t bring myself to ask for more.

Takeaways:

• How many decisions in your business aren’t really about the money?
• Decisions your employees make?
• Decisions your customers make?
• Decisions you make?
• The hard part of your job is determining what each decision is really about and dealing with that.