6. Grammar to Go to the Rescue Again!

There is nothing like a crisis to get someone listening when you have a solution to their problem.

As a general rule, I don’t like to interfere in other people’s troubles: I’d far rather be asked for help than solicit it! But the young man on the next stand to us at ExCEL looked so upset that I felt he could really use some moral support.
“Tell me if you’d rather I kept away, but is everything alright? I couldn’t help but notice that you and your manager seemed a little agitated back there...”
The young man sighed and shook his head.
“Thanks for asking – and no, I don’t mind telling you. It’s my fault, really. I was in charge of developing the materials for the conference, and unfortunately there seem to be quite a few errors in the wording. Nothing contentious, you understand – just general spelling and grammar. But it does look unprofessional. So naturally, our Director is pretty upset, and he’s asked me to remove them all...”
The man sighed again. “It was a time thing – that’s all. I simply didn’t have the time to go through the text with a fine-toothed comb. What an idiot. Trouble is, this isn’t the first time it’s happened... and I think I could have used up my last chance.”
I smiled at him wryly. “Time and attention to detail don’t often go hand in hand, it’s true. On a positive note, I might have a solution for you – but you’ll have to convince your manager. Have you got five minutes?”
As I helped the chap – whose name was Charlie – to pack up the offending booklets, I explained all about Grammar to Go. Unsurprisingly, he seemed very interested – but was unsure how to pitch the idea to his manager.
“It’s not a hard idea to sell, Charlie. Don’t think of the technicalities – talk to him about time and money. Grammar to Go will save you time by providing a quick, easy resource to check all of your written materials. No more ploughing through the dictionary or thesaurus; and no more Googling certain phrases. What other profitable business activities could you be doing with that saved time – activities that you currently don’t have the capacity to do? Secondly, Grammar to Go saves your company money. These booklets are a case in point. Getting them printed and dispatched has cost you money – and in the eyes of your Director, they’re useless. But if they were word-perfect first time, they would have a long shelf-life – and would probably be a more compelling read, and therefore attract more business. Lastly, your new language capability will mean that you don’t have to rely on a ‘creative agency’ to write your copy for you. I could go on, Charlie, but there you have three compelling reasons to try Grammar to Go. For £15 a month, it’s a no-brainer!”
“Jane, I think you’ve just articulated my business case! And you’re right, it is a no-brainer. I’ll pull something together this week – you don’t mind if I pass your details on to our Director, do you?”
I smiled happily.
“Charlie, I’d be delighted...”

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