I have a podcast called More Cheese Less Whiskers…
You probably know that already. But what you may not know is why it’s called that.
I read some articles a while ago, about why scientists use mice in psychological studies, motivational studies…and all that stuff.
And the reason is because mice react very similar to humans.
In other words, mice and humans share the same brain. The exception is, our “mouse brain” is covered with more layers, the intelligence layer being on top of it all.
So I started to think about mice, and how they have a very simple life…
The prime directive of a mouse is to get cheese and avoid cat. That’s their game. Pain and pleasure.
And you don’t have to convince a mouse to try some cheese. They’re seeking it all the time. They’ll chew through walls to go right to it.
But, as soon as a mouse senses any whiskers… or anything that could be a cat… it runs away. Why? Because they're genetically wired to survive.
And so are we.
Think about it. If survival was left to our decision making process… If we had to evaluate our environment constantly, deciding if we should run or stay… we would be extinct by now. We wouldn’t react fast enough to get away from danger.
That’s why, pain is very instinctual.
For example, if you touch a hot stove with your hand, you move it away faster than you can consciously think to do it. Because all of that's happening at a mitochondrial level. And we're cellularly wired to protect ourselves.
But here’s the kicker: Our drive to run away from danger and pain is much stronger than our drive to seek pleasure.
And here’s something else…
This “avoid pain, seek pleasure” behavior is especially visible in marketing. How we respond to it…
On one hand, we’re constantly on the lookout on who’s trying to take money away from us or our business. Which happens to be 99.99% of all the advertising. So we tune out.
On the other hand, we’re very open to things that bring money into our business, the cheese. Nobody has to convince us that’s a good thing. We’re already actively looking for it…
Nobody has to convince us that’s a good thing.
And so, when you’re looking to get people to raise their hand… and get interested in your offers… keep this instinctual behavior in mind.
The more neutral and valuable your lead magnet is (the cheese)… and the less it feels like a sales message (the whiskers)… the more people will be attracted to it. They’ll put their guards down, and become open to what you’ve got for them.
But the moment they sense you’re trying to sell them something, even if for a split second… they’re gone.
In other words, if you want to boost your conversions…
… give your prospects More Cheese and Less Whiskers ;)