How to Get More Customers: Start by Treating People Like Human Beings

One of the biggest lessons I learned becoming the #1 door-to-door salesperson was simple: human beings want to feel valued.

Every business owner wants more customers. Search Google for how to get more customers and you’ll find thousands of strategies. Run Google Ads. Post on social media. Improve your SEO. Send emails. Buy leads. Ask for referrals. Make more calls.

And those things can work.

But before you spend another dollar trying to reach more people, I think businesses need to understand something much more fundamental: there is a human being on the other side of your marketing.

That sounds obvious. But look at the way we market today and I’m not sure it is.

Modern marketing treats people’s attention like cattle

We call people impressions. Clicks. Traffic. Leads. Conversions.

We build funnels and figure out how to move more people through them. And I understand why. Businesses need numbers. We need to know what we’re spending, what we’re generating, and whether our marketing works.

But somewhere along the way, we started treating the numbers like they’re the customer. They’re not.

Behind every impression is a human being.

Someone woke up this morning and got their kids ready for school. Someone is sitting in the doctor’s office worried about what they’re about to hear. Someone is trying to get their daughter to soccer practice on time. Someone had an argument with their spouse last night. Someone is worried about money. Someone just lost somebody they love. Someone is having the best day they’ve had in years.

They’re living a life. Just like you.

Then, in the middle of that life, your advertisement appears.

And what does it usually say? Give me something. Give me your attention. Give me your email. Give me your phone number. Book my appointment. Watch my video. Request my quote. Buy my product.

And when they don’t respond, we don’t usually ask why. We just advertise to them again.

I learned this knocking on people’s doors

Before building ACE, I spent years in door-to-door sales. Eventually, I became the #1 door-to-door salesperson in the company.

And one of the biggest things I learned had very little to do with some magical closing line. Treat people like human beings.

When you’re standing on someone’s doorstep, you can’t pretend there’s not a person on the other side. You see them.

Maybe their kid is screaming in the background. Maybe dinner is on the stove. Maybe the dog is going crazy. Maybe they just got home after working ten hours. Maybe you caught them at a terrible time.

That changes how you communicate. At least it should.

I wasn’t walking up to a “lead.” I was walking up to another person.

And if you actually care enough to listen, you start learning about them. What do they need? What’s frustrating them? What’s important to them? Can what I’m selling actually solve their problem?

And if it can’t, maybe I shouldn’t sell it to them.

That’s sales. And I think modern marketing desperately needs to relearn that lesson.

If you want more customers, stop thinking about “traffic”

Traffic matters. But traffic isn’t the goal. People are the goal.

You can put 100,000 people in front of a message nobody cares about and congratulate yourself on your impressions. Or you can get the right 100 people to genuinely stop and listen.

I’d rather have their attention.

That’s why the first question I would ask if you’re trying to figure out how to get more customers isn’t: how do I reach more people?

It’s: why should someone give me their attention in the first place?

That’s a very different question. And it changes the way you market.

Attention has value

Businesses already know attention is valuable. That’s why we pay Google for it. That’s why we pay Meta for it. That’s why we pay for television commercials, billboards, direct mail, influencers, lead companies, and sponsorships.

We’re spending money because we want access to another human being’s attention.

But think about how strange the transaction is.

The business values the attention. The advertising platform values the attention. The media company values the attention.

Everybody is getting paid because the consumer’s attention has value. Except the consumer. The person who actually owns the attention.

That’s backwards. And that realization eventually became one of the ideas behind ACE.

Give value before asking for value

Most marketing starts by asking the customer to do something for us. I think more businesses should flip that around. Give something first.

If I want five minutes of your time, maybe I should recognize that those five minutes have value. If I want you to watch my video, maybe your attention is worth something. If I want you to sit through my demonstration, maybe your time is worth something. If I want you to answer questions that help my business understand you, maybe that information is worth something.

This is the principle of reciprocity in its simplest form: Give Value. Get Engagement.

And it changes the message you’re sending to the customer.

You’re really saying two things

This became foundational to why we built ACE. When a business puts real value behind asking someone to engage, I believe it’s communicating two things.

1. I value your attention.

You’re telling the person: your time matters to me. I’m not entitled to it simply because I bought an advertisement. I’m asking you to give me something valuable, so I’m willing to give you something valuable in return.

That’s a fundamentally different way to begin a relationship.

2. I believe I can solve your problem.

If I’m willing to put my own money behind getting you to hear what I have to say, I’m making a statement: I believe in what I’m selling.

I believe that if you’re the right customer and you’ll give me the opportunity to explain what we do, there’s a good chance I can help you. I’m willing to put my money where my mouth is.

That’s confidence. Not: please click my ad. But: I value your attention, I believe I can solve your problem, and I’m willing to prove both.

That’s why we built ACE.

How ACE helps businesses get more customers

ACE stands for Actual Consumer Engagement. The concept is simple. A business chooses:

• Who do you want to reach?
• How do you want to reach them?
• What do you want them to do?
• What is that action worth to you?

Then you can put real value behind that action using gift cards.

Maybe you want someone to watch a video and opt in. Maybe you want a prospect to take a survey. Maybe you want a qualified decision-maker to book and attend a demonstration. Maybe you have thousands of old leads sitting in your CRM and want to give them a reason to re-engage. Maybe you’re at a trade show and want the right people to stop and actually hear your pitch.

ACE can be delivered through email, SMS, direct mail, QR codes, events, door-to-door teams, salespeople, and existing databases. You can send one offer or send thousands.

Instead of simply asking, “will you give me your attention?” you’re creating an exchange: “I value your attention. Here’s what it’s worth to me.”

But ACE isn’t the only way to get more customers

I obviously believe in what we built. But the philosophy is bigger than ACE. If you want more customers, start treating people the way you’d want businesses to treat you.

• Listen.
• Solve real problems.
• Respond quickly.
• Make your offer easy to understand.
• Ask your happy customers for referrals.
• Create content that actually answers people’s questions.
• Follow up with people without treating them like a number in an automated sequence.
• Give before you ask.

And most importantly: remember there’s a human being on the other side.

Getting more customers also requires understanding the different ways you can reach those people. SEO, referrals, direct outreach, paid advertising, partnerships, social media, direct mail, and follow-up can all play a role. If paid search is eating your budget, it’s worth looking at the alternatives to Google Ads before you spend more there.

If you’re trying to figure out where to start, we’ve put together a complete Marketing for Small Businesses guide that breaks down the different ways small businesses can reach people and grow.

The businesses that remember the human will win

Marketing is about to become easier to produce than at any point in history. AI can create advertisements. Write emails. Generate videos. Build websites. Personalize outreach. Automate follow-up.

Businesses are going to produce an unbelievable amount of content. Which means consumers are going to receive an unbelievable amount of noise.

I don’t believe the answer is simply making more noise. I think the opportunity is becoming more human.

Treat someone’s attention like it has value. Understand the problem they’re actually trying to solve. Give them a reason to listen. And then deliver on what you promised.

Because at the end of the day, getting more customers isn’t really about getting more clicks, impressions, or leads. It’s about getting more human beings to trust you enough to let you solve a problem for them.

That’s the lesson I learned knocking on doors. And years later, it’s one of the biggest reasons we built ACE.

I value your attention. I believe I can solve your problem. And I’m willing to put my money where my mouth is.

Give Value. Get Engagement.

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