Be So Good They Don’t Need Ketchup
Apr 02, 2026
I heard an ad today for an RV company promoting “No Salesman Sunday.”
This is exactly what they were promoting: "No pressure. No hovering. No one following you around. Just walk around and explore."
Sounds great. Until you think about it a little more.
It reminded me of being a kid at the beach in Ocean City, Maryland, standing in line for Thrasher’s French Fries.
If you’ve ever been there, you know. No ketchup. Not because they forgot.
Because they chose not to offer it. The fries were that good. Salt. Maybe vinegar. That’s it.
Nothing else needed.
So here’s the question.
Is this RV company doing the same thing?
Are they so confident in what they’re selling that they don’t even need a salesperson?
Or are they removing something they haven’t figured out how to do well?
Because here’s the reality. No pressure doesn’t automatically create a better experience.
Sometimes it just creates no experience.
Who’s helping someone picture what it could feel like? Who’s asking, “Can you imagine loading this up with your family, heading out for a weekend, waking up somewhere quiet with a cup of coffee in your hand?” Who’s helping them see it?
Because a sign doesn’t do that. A spec sheet doesn’t do that. People do that.
If your team is hovering or pressuring, that’s not really a people problem. That’s training. That’s not showing them how to connect instead of convince.
Hovering feels transactional.
Pressure feels transactional.
But when someone is present, curious, and actually listening, that’s different.
That’s where it becomes something more.
So I’ll leave you with this.
Are you removing the salesperson because your experience is that strong?
Or because you haven’t taught your team how to create one?
Thrasher’s could remove ketchup because they knew what they had.
Most companies remove people because they’re not sure what to do with them.
You don’t get to decide how you want to sell.
The person in front of you decides how they want to buy.
Most people don’t want pressure. But they do want help.
They do want clarity. They do want to feel something.
So maybe the goal isn’t to remove the human.
Maybe it’s to get so good that people are glad you’re there.
Do one thing today that most people don’t.
Bart
