Confession: I didn't do the Sales Funnel Awareness Exercise as assigned. This was the case for several legitimate reasons, including me spending the last three days traveling to and from Grove City Pennsylvania. Four hours of written logging was not feasible, but I was purposefully more aware of what advertisements and other sales attempts I came across. The first thing I noticed was that I am not typically aware of much of the sales messages I come across. Signs in stores, ads on the web and radio, and people talking to me fade into the background of my everyday existence. I like to consider myself a rational and purposeful buyer of stuff, impervious to marketing. But during my extended period of purposeful awareness, I realized that is not altogether true. While I tune out advertisements, they have a subtle and lasting effect on my habits. While I attempt to ignore sales attempts, they influence my perceptions which eventually affect my purchasing decisions and habits.

These realizations put a premium on an aggressively and meticulously planned sales funnel. Consumers are used to conventional ads and sales pushes. I use ad-blocking web software and skip tv and radio ads. Aggressive sales persons put me off. What do I respond to? Starbucks just opened a "rewards" program. I comped myself a hotel room with points this weekend. I filled my car almost exclusively at BJ's. Most of my other expenses went on a points-earning card. Long-term relationships sell.