There is a homeless lady in my neighborhood who will show you her hand-drawn pictures for $2. This strategy fascinates me. I mean, I appreciate her creativity in trying to entice me, but so far she hasn’t made the sale.

Perhaps I’m afraid of what she might have drawn – do I really want to see it? I mean, I’m curious by nature, but most days I wonder if I really want to engage with her about this. I’m sure she will want to talk with me and share the special story of each one. How long will that take? How many do I get to see for $2? Would I be able to walk away?  Should I just give her the $2 and walk away without looking or interacting with her? It seems like a serious commitment.

After successfully avoiding several requests to “show you my pictures for $2,” I realize how similar this is to the way marketers treat their customers today. We assume that people are interested in what we have and they care enough to commit their time to engage with us.

But maybe people just want to see what we’ve got and move on without having to commit.

Is engagement more important than sales these days? Does engagement drive sales? According to a recent article in Women Entrepreneur, that relationship is questionable.  “40 percent of companies are using social media to market their products, but half of those can’t show the impact of these efforts on their business.” Perhaps that is why there is a lot of talk about social media/engagement but very little action.

So for now, I’ll save my $2 for cheap seats at The Byrd, where the pictures are pre-screened.