Roller derby and wrestling, once staples of late night and remnant weekend slots, have become mainstream. It was campy fun back then. It’s big money now. Where big money goes, so goes controversy. This one has lessons for you.

WWE is going to the mat defending itself after being featured in CNN’s expose, "Death Grip: Inside Pro Wrestling." In the days when wrestling was just fun, this story would have been equally laughable–as would be  options for fighting back.

The WWE is seeking transparency on this story, posting both the unedited interview and the edited excerpt used in the broadcast. Does CNN twist words with an edit? Or, do they drill to the essence of the comment. As Fox News might say, we report, you decide.

The bigger point: WWE is doing it right. Daylight is the best disinfectant and transparency is the most disarming defense because it is based in authenticity. Protecting your authenticity increases your messaging magnetism.

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It’s true if you think so. Tattoo this inside your eyelids: even if they’re wrong,
what your customer thinks is true–to them. And, that makes it a stubborn fact for you too.

Want to know what they’re thinking? And why? Ask someone who knows: call a media rep or two and invite their research department for a visit. Ask them about your city. Open your mind to the possibilities that your view of the map may not match your customers’ territory (it probably doesn’t). Dig past the obvious age/education/income stuff. Get down to buying patterns. Where are they playing? What sub-divisions are growing? What’s the most popular vehicle in your town? What’s the internet usage? What percentage of people speak English at home? Spanish?

Rice University Professor Stephen Klineberg has been tracking Houston’s changing landscape for 26 years. In his annual report, he describes this once oil-centric city, which flaunted lack of regulation like a medal of honor, as growingly focused on ecological accountability and shifting social concerns. For instance, a bastion of white Republicans, Harris county is now slightly more Democrat and becoming decidedly Hispanic; Anglo Houstonians are expected to slip below the majority line in the next census.

His full report is available online by clicking here.

You live on one side of the counter; customers only visit the other. Seeking to persuade before gaining understanding is shooting in the dark. Persuasion demands understanding to create a pattern of predictable conversion. Next time you don’t understand where a customer is coming from, consider they could soon be going somewhere else.

Whataburgers come in 36,864 varieties.
Baskin-Robbins offers 32 varieties.
Trust, only comes in two.

Trust is something you’re given or something you earn. Which you get depends on who you’re dealing with. One dimension of Myers-Briggs divides us into Thinkers or Feelers. I’m a feeler through and through. Feelers give trust. Thinkers, on the other hand, make you earn it.

Thinkers aren’t wrong. Feelers aren’t bad. Which one you are matters far less than making sure your messaging speaks to both.

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That’s not how it was when I was a kid…

The first time those words slip out of your mouth, you realize time has slipped you into your parents’ shoes. Time compression is not a phenomenon reserved for grown-ups. “The emotional and psychological distance between childhood and the teen years is far shorter than ever,” reports USA TODAY.

To establish relationship, you first have to attract. To attract you have to speak a common language. Today, kids are speaking a language of age compression, or as the story calls it, “KGOY–Kids Getting Older Younger.”

You can scream and stamp your foot at the injustice of kids denied the innocence of the growing years, or just realize this is how this age group is experiencing it. Once you make that leap, you will have slipped into their shoes; your first step in attraction marketing.