I don’t know about you, but I love hot wings. I love the endless variety of sauces, flavor combinations and heat levels.

But you can take the spiciness of hot wings too far…

Too many hot sauces focus on the pain, without providing any real flavor….

You can make this same mistake in your indoctrination strategy, and I’ll tell you how…

But first, a story.

A Tale of Two Hot Wings

Hot Wing #1: Too Much, Too Soon

I once ordered a plate of Habanero Hellfire Hot Wings at a restaurant called the Great Dane. Now, I like spicy foods. I usually get 3 or 4 star spicy at Thai restaurants…

I make my own habanero hot sauce and put a little bit on a lot of foods. It has a great flavor and heat, in small doses…

So I thought,”Why not? How bad can it be?”

When the basket of wings arrived they had bits of habanero seeds stuck to them and the waiter, with a wry smile, said, “You ready for this?”

I figured he was being overly dramatic and dug in.

I took one bite and there was no flavor… only pain. Instant, searing pain.

“Why would anyone eat this?” I hollered through my numb mouth. (It sounded more like “Wha woo ayone eee hissss??”

I guzzled my pint of beer and immediately ordered another.

I pushed myself to eat two of these monstrosities, and that was more than enough. I left the rest.

Never again, I swore, would I get burned like that.

Hot Wing #2: The Slow and Lovely Burn 

There’s a place just outside Madison, Wisconsin called Quaker Steak and Lube. It’s got a kind of race car theme and specializes in hot wings.

Back in 2006 or so, to order their hottest hot wing sauce you have to sign a medical release form.

Now that’s hot.

I wasn’t quite that brave, so I ordered the wings in the hot sauce just below that level.

When they arrived I gingerly took my first bites…

After that Habanero hellfire experience, I wasn’t sure what to expect…

But it was delicious! It wasn’t too hot and had amazing flavor… so I hungrily started munching wings…

Starting with the second hot wing I realized the heat was building. By the third wing, my scalp was sweating and it was hot hot hot!

But it was so tasty I couldn’t stop…

Which eventually led to the best food high I’ve ever had, brought on by all that spice. I felt so euphoric and happy, eating those awesome hot wings…

And I ate the whole basket. They were that good.

The Moral of the Story

Now, what’s the difference between these two approaches?

Both were spicy wings.

Both were considered among the “hottest of the hot.”

But one put flavor first, heat second.

The other brought only heat and pain without a shred of flavor.

Remember this in your indoctrination marketing.

Flavor first. Heat second.

Flavor is all the good stuff that creates the feeling of goodwill toward you and your business (content, email follow-up, nurturing, answering questions, providing solutions, etc.). It’s the special sauce that builds trust and encouraged prospects to get to know, like, and trust you.

Think of the heat as your pitch, the offer.

When a prospect visits your website, it’s like they’re taking a shy first bite of a hot wing…

They don’t know what to expect and are proceeding with caution.

If you come out blazing with your offer and omit all the content and indoctrination, you’ll drive your prospects away, never to return.

In short, you’ll burn them out.

But if you offer flavor and an enjoyable experience, they’ll welcome the spice that burns just under the tasty surface.

Apply this slow-burning, tasty metaphor to your indoctrination and marketing strategy and you’ll build loyal customers and a solid tribe.

Skip it, and you’ll drive prospects away, promising themselves, “Never again…”

 

Get your spice on with this handy 5 C’s of Indoctrination Checklist.