Squash and The Unique Selling Proposition of Older Men
By: Robin Henry
As I played squash with a young lady recently she commented, “You’re pretty good for your age”. While I had hoped that she wouldn’t have noticed our 30 year age difference, I quickly replied, “There’s many a good tune played on an old fiddle.” She laughed.
I then began, between strokes, to tell her about the advantages of we older men:
We have years of experience which helps us keep an eye on the ball and take care of our equipment
Usually we take a little longer, which stretches the game out and can lead to more fun for our competitors and ourselves (I quickly scooped a ball from the wall and thwacked it down the court.)
We can increase the pace for short bursts when necessary adding to the excitement of the game
We know that if we want to play with the same player again, we have to play well and be truly appreciative of our partner
and, finally, as we finished our game, I commented that many of us had had vasectomies and don’t produce little players, removing much of the worry and allowing a freer expression of play, that, I said, “was the unique selling proposition of the older man.”
She smiled broadly and said, “I thought you were talking about squash.” I winked and replied, “You really do need to keep your eye on the ball.”
Did my USP work? I’ll never, ever tell. (Another attribute of older men … when you’re on a good thing, you keep it quiet!)
Copyright 2006 Robin Henry
Robin Henry is an educator, human resources specialist and Internet entrepreneur. He helps home-based businesses and individuals improve performance by applying smart technology and processes and developing personally. He runs his business Desert Wave Enterprises from his home base at Alice Springs in Central Australia, although at present he is on temporary assignment in the United Arab Emirates.