The Art Of Selling Veganism

How do you handle someone’s objection to veganism?

Do you stick to your moral or ethical guns and tell them that their position is indefensible in light of the information that you have just shared with them?

Do you regurgitate some line that someone once said somewhere about veganism being the moral baseline and therefore core foundation that all other beliefs should be built on?

Do you cave in at their first objection, capitulating to the self fulfilling prophecy that the world won’t go vegan overnight, and resort to talking about a practice you do not follow yourself in the hope that the person you are having the conversation will at least do something, so you can walk away with a sense of achievement?

Or,

Do you take the time to discuss with them what their objections are, why they made them, if they actually believe them, and work towards allaying their fears?

Ask yourself this, when was the last time you saw a person who was interested in buying a car/fridge/TV, walk up to the salesman, and say tell me about your cars/fridge/TV, then after a 2 minute conversation decide on the brand and model they want and walk out with it?

More often than not, the discussion with the sales person will involve a comparison of different brand and models, looking at the features and benefits of what’s in front of them. Some even going as far as thinking about what sort of impact this item will have on their life, regarding social status or peer influence.

For some people going vegan is a huge lifestyle change and one that requires considerable more thought than what it would take to buy a fridge or a new car. Yet how many of us hold the belief that people should go vegan because of the brochure they have just been given?

In this educational battle for the lives of animals that we are involved in, we cannot adopt a one size fits all approach and believe that it will be successful with every person exposed to it.

Think about how many times a day the average person, through advertising, has the belief that animal use is acceptable reaffirmed to them?

The only way to counter all of this is to have a discussion with them about veganism, find out what their passions and interests are, and what really motivates them to do things.

Then most importantly, find out what their objections are, acknowledge them, then counter them in a way that prevents them from coming back.

Who knows, if we all started doing this, the world just may go vegan overnight…

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