Perhaps what unites us all is not having a great comeback for pushy, street salespeople who lead with questions like, “Do you care about clean energy and women’s rights and orphan orangutans and saving the neighborhood and also bees?” Cue: Yes, um, I do care, but I’m late for a meeting and, I actually donated to your organization over the holidays, um I’M NOT A BAD PERSON BYE.

Because no matter how much you respect their mission, their tactic is terrible—no one wants to be guilted into writing their credit card number down on a random, vest-wearing, person’s clipboard.

This is a great example of Thirst Marketing—a term we just made up. Note: We are using the ‘cool teen’ definition of  thirst, meaning overly-eager or desperate.

And when it comes to your messaging, the worst thing you can do is come off needy, greedy, and aggressive.

*AIR HORN* Humor is a great way to combat this tendency. How?

• It gives before you take. When you’re crafting content and campaigns and jokes that will make your audience feel good and laugh, you’re in a selfless mindset. You’re nurturing a relationship and a creating a rapport long before trying to pry open their wallets.

• It communicates confidence in your business and product, which makes the consumer feel more confident about their buying decision.

• When you make fun a core element of your brand voice, you stop focusing so hard on the ultimatums and scarcity tactics and bait and switches, and start naturally talking about your stuff in a way that allows the consumer to connect the dots on their own…without you shoving your clipboard in their face and yelling.

A good way to remember it? Much like respect—or the title of Best Dog Mom—a sale must be earned, not demanded.