This week’s blog post is based on a brilliant concept born from the mind of my great friend and absolute ninja marketer, Dean Jackson. The idea, like almost all truly great ideas, is simple. Yet in all its simplicity, it strikes at the very heart of human nature. Directly defining our habits of “buying” in a way that will truly revolutionize the way you think about “selling” forever.

The idea is something Dean calls “Cheese & Whiskers.” Dean came up with this analogy after reading a report on the behavior of mice. Yes, those cute little guys that so often get put through study after study in the name of science. Why are mice used so often in these studies? Because like humans, a mouse’s basic instincts are, go for the pleasure and avoid the pain. Hence, a mouse’s M.O. is “Get the cheese, avoid the cat.”

Avoiding “The Whiskers”

As humans living in a consumer’s world, we often face “the cat.” Ad after ad, poking the big “Whiskers” in our face…”We’ve been in business X amount of years…” “We will do this and we do that…” “We are the best because…” Whisker, whisker, whisker. This kind of advertising is all about “them”. Dean calls this “company-centric” advertising. All about the company. Not about the prospect.

The consumer hides from this. Especially in today’s marketplace where people are inundated with “Whiskers” from every side…TV, radio, e-mail, snail mail, the internet, on their phones, on their digital notebooks, in their homes, in their cars, walking down the street. So the prospect tunes out the “Whiskers”, avoiding them like a mouse dodging a cat. In the consumer’s eyes these companies want to take…the message that they are going to be receiving anything is not being communicated. The prospect isn’t getting the “What’s in it for me?” question answered.

Giving “The Cheese”

On the other hand, for your ads to be “The Cheese,” that which is desired and sought after by your prospects…they must be outwardly focused away from your company and all about your prospect. And successful ads must engage people in a dialogue; it must enter the conversation going on in the prospects head. A “Cheese” ad is all about the prospect, it doesn’t look like a sales job, it isn’t about the sender, it “speaks” to one prospect at a time. It is peppered with the word “you”, not “I” or “we”.

So how do you apply the “More Cheese, Less Whiskers” concept to your business? Start by doing what Dean calls a “cheese audit” anytime you run an ad. Ask yourself: Does this ad appear personal? Does it engage my audience? Is it “all about them”? Is it crystal clear on who I’m talking to and what they want?

And for cleaners the perfect “Cheese & Whiskers” ad is the “Free Room Offer.” That’s a no strings attached, “No Whiskers” approach to selling your service.

Remember, people love to buy, but they hate to be pressured to buy. So when you approach them with “Cheese”…they will be much more likely to choose you over the other dozens of “Whisker” type ads they are bombarded with everyday.

Dean Jackson does a fantastic job revealing all the details about “Cheese and Whisker” advertising at www.ilovemarketing.com. Don’t miss episode 55, “The One Where Dan Sullivan Talks to Dean About Cheese & Whiskers” and episode 24, “The One With More Cheese and Less Whiskers.”