Timing is Everything

I was at SEED Conference in Chicago, walking to my hotel, the snow was falling on my head and I was freezing. A young girl walked up to me with clipboard in hand. "Do you care about the environment?" Immediately without breaking stride, I replied "Nope." Now I do care about the environment, but at that second I didn't. In life, timing is everything, the release of your product, the timing of your call to a client, everything is about timing.

Being Aware

This same girl was stopping people in a hurry about to cross a busy street. Why wouldn't she walk ten steps to the Barnes and Noble where 25 customers were outside under the cover of the building smoking? Ask them, they have time to kill, they're just standing there.

Realize your target's situation

People in a hurry and being snowed on don't want to be bothered about surveys. I hate when people call me early or late in the day, it's usually when I am reading through emails or wrapping up my day. I'm on central time, I've had head hunters call me at 7 AM on my cell. Why?

Be aware of your users', clients', friends', familys' feelings/situation and realize that timing is more important than the message you bring.