At first the idea of "selling liberty" may seem strange. After all, doesn't everyone want to be free? Well, it depends on what you mean by freedom and liberty.

It's true that most people -- or at least most people in western countries -- want to be free to do what they wish with their own lives. But that is a far cry from saying that they believe in liberty for everyone -- particularly the sort of all-out, absolute, inalienable rights liberty that libertarians advocate.

Sadly, even in the United States -- which was created by a libertarian revolution -- most people no longer really believe in complete liberty or even anything close to it. Decades of government regulation, government schooling, and incessant propaganda about how society would collapse without Social Security, Medicare, the War on Drugs, and hundreds of other government agencies, programs and entitlements has convinced most people we must limit liberty, perhaps severely.

Fortunately, discontent with big government is also enormous, so people will listen to what we have to say if we do it in the right way. But make no mistake about it: most people have yet to be sold on liberty.

What's the best way to do this? While there is, of course, no one right answer, there are certain universal principles that apply to selling virtually any product, including liberty.

Principle #1: Know your audience. The first question in selling any product is: "What do your customers want?" In the case of liberty, the answer is different for different people.

For some people, the primary concern is personal material benefit. The most important thing about liberty for them is that they would be far richer in a libertarian society.

For instance, many polls show that one of the biggest concerns for young workers is having enough money to live comfortably when they retire. If you can demonstrate that they would have five times as much money when they retire if the money they now pay in Social Security taxes was instead invested in a private annuity, you're on your way to selling them on liberty. Convince them that we could also have all of the essential social services now provided by government (education, roads, etc.) for a fraction of what they now pay in taxes, and you may have a convert.

For other people, their major concern will be something else entirely, such as helping the poor, reducing crime, better schools, affordable health care, or a more just legal system. Before you even begin to sell liberty, you must first know what the people you are talking to want. How do you find out? This leads us to the second principle of selling liberty.

Principle #2: Listen, listen, listen. To find out what people want, ask them. Then listen attentively to what they have to say. If you are serious about selling liberty, you should spend at least three times as much time listening to others as you do talking.

This is often very hard for libertarians to do, since we usually know so much and have so much to say. However, as any good salesman knows, 80% of selling is getting a client to convince himself that he or she wants to buy your product. You do this by listening a lot, agreeing whenever possible, and explaining how your product meets their needs.

Principle #3: Emphasize areas of agreement, rather than areas of disagreement. If a conservative tells you he wholeheartedly endorses lower taxes and smaller government, but believes that the War on Drugs is imperative for saving America, during your initial conversations talk about taxes and limited government, not the War on Drugs. In fact, avoid talking about the War on Drugs at all, if possible, until much later. Explain that the Drug War may be an issue on which you have to "agree to disagree," while you agree about so many other things.

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Congratulate your conservative friend on her shrewd insight in recognizing the central importance of low taxes and limited government to maintaining a free, prosperous and morally-responsible society. If you do discuss the War on Drugs with her at some much later date, it should be in terms of her key values: the safety of society, individual responsibility, family and economic efficiency. It should not be in terms of values your conservative friend doesn't believe in -- such as your right "to do your own thing" or "greater civil liberties."

Also: Be careful what words you use. "Civil liberties" may seem like a good thing to you, but every time you use the words, your conservative may think of those "anti-God, pro-pornography communists" at the American Civil Liberties Union.

What if, despite your best efforts, your conservative friend doesn't budge an inch on an issue and remains convinced that libertarianism really means "Satanic libertinism?" If that happens, you probably didn't apply principle # 4.

Principle #4: Qualify your prospects.

Good salesmen go through an initial process called "qualification" which means determining if a particular person or group is a serious prospect for buying your product and hence worth spending time on.

You qualify a prospect by asking three key questions: What do you want? When do you want it? What are you willing to pay for it?

If a person tells you one of their key concerns is affordable health care as quickly as possible, and they would gladly contribute $500 to an organization they thought was effective in making health care affordable, you would have an excellent prospect if you can demonstrate that getting government out of medicine and legalizing Medical Savings Accounts (MSAs) would provide exactly that, and that libertarians are in the forefront of fighting for Medical Savings Accounts.

Similarly, anyone who tells you their key concern is lower taxes or ending the Drug War would be a good prospect. A strong negative answer to any one of your three qualifying questions, particularly the last one ("How much are you willing to pay for it?") means you have a fair or poor prospect.

To sell liberty efficiently, concentrate on your best, easiest prospects -- people who dress and think like you, and with whom you already agree 80%. Although liberty is beneficial to nearly everyone, because of individual styles, temperaments, and values, you are not going to be able to sell liberty to everyone. Deal with those you get along with comfortably and easily. For some people, this will be businessmen, for others housewives, for still others students, seniors, or bikers.

Finally, recognize that selling liberty -- like selling any product -- involves the division of labor. Not everyone is emotionally-equipped to be a front-line salesperson. You might be better off writing, doing research, creating art, or writing music.

Whatever you decide, whenever you are discussing the ideas of liberty with a non-libertarian, be respectful, speak slowly and clearly, and be sympathetic and friendly.

By using common sense and well-known sales principles, we all can become better "liberty salesmen."

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Note: For another perspective on the topic of libertarian "salesmanship," see Harry Browne's classic speech, "Why Liberty Must Be SOLD, Not Preached (And How To Do It)."