The age of “fake it til you make it” is over.

My 21-month-old toddler got a new snack cup recently. His old one was opaque, totally solid. You couldn’t see how much he ate, or how much was left.

This new one is clear, see-through.

Last night we gave him the new snack cup full of Cheerios, a classic toddler favorite. 10 minutes later he walks up to my wife, who is relaxing on the couch with a book.

He puts the doe eyes on and, in the cutest, tiniest voice says,

“More?”

My wife bursts out laughing. I look over and immediately see what she’s laughing at. The cup is at least half full. There are fistfuls of Cheerios still in it.

“Milo!” she exclaims playfully. “There’s still tons of Cheerios in there. I can see them, you goose!”

He lifts up the cup, looks at it, realizes it’s see-through, and lets out a mischievous giggle. Then he toddles off, shoving a handful of Cheerios into his mouth and humming to himself.

The world is increasingly transparent

Your audience, clients, customers, are smarter than they’ve ever been. They can tell when they’re being hustled or conned. 

If you’re selling something – a product, service, or idea – that you can’t back up, that you’re not fully qualified to deliver, you will be found out.

And unlike a mother’s unconditional love, your audience will not laugh. They will not find it cute.

They will not forgive, and they will not forget.

Folks like me get really excited talking about all the ways to market and package your idea to make sure it connects and sells. But lost in all our excitement over the puzzle of effective messaging, we tend to gloss over something:

Your product, service, or idea MUST be solid. You must know what you’re doing.

Get good first. Put in the reps. Make great stuff.

Then sell.