The Desert of Arizona
Clear 24 Degrees – 7:00 a.m.
Today let’s take Mr. Dean Jackson’s cheese and whiskers metaphor out for a spin and think about how you attract clients in terms of that. (If you haven’t listened to that podcast episode, it’s worth your time.)
SCENARIO 1: Most “marketers” put out a piece of cheese and sit right by it with their big whiskers waving in the wind. Plenty of cheese, lots of whiskers.
Only a very hungry starving mouse will take that bait.
SCENARIO 2: Then there are the folks who put out the cheese and go hide. But they keep peeking around the corner and the mouse can spot the whiskers appearing and disappearing. Again, plenty of cheese, far fewer whiskers, and one trigger happy cat.
SCENARIO 3: And finally, you have the folks who present a piece of cheese to the mouse with whiskers nowhere in sight.
The mouse wants the cheese, the mouse likes the cheese, the mouse eats the cheese…and LIVES to see another day! The cat doesn’t pounce. The cat doesn’t even make an appearance.
The mouse has received the cheese. What does the cat get? The cat gets the mouse one step closer to the goal.
When you’re building a client attraction system as a trusted advisor, you want Scenario 3. You want the mouse to want the “no-risk” cheese. The mouse takes the cheese because the mouse is abiding by its own self-interest, provided there are no risks. The hard part is to offer some no-risk cheese that actually contributes to the forward motion of the mouse.
Being in the business of handing out free cheese isn’t a business.
The point at which we have to depart from this metaphor is when we are ready to give up the idea that we are “catching” anyone. That puts you into an “US vs. THEM” type of mindset and that’s not helpful. It’s very counterproductive because it puts a wall in between you and them.
Advisors don’t catch, they don’t corner, they don’t coerce, they certainly don’t pin anyone down with a big furry paw and watch them squirm.
The whole point of ATTRACTION is that you figure out how to remove this wall. You figure out how to align your interests with the interests of your prospects and clients, so they WANT to grab the cheese.
This is the hard work. There’s no EZ button for this one.