For anyone who has a cat...
I know that you know...
that they know...
exactly how to get your attention, and keep your attention until you have served whatever need they may have in the moment.
As a cat staffer...
I would never say cat owner, because one of the first things cats communicate is that no one owns them...
I have observed my cats carefully to discern their secrets of getting you to do exactly what they want.
Those observations have led me to propose cats are excellent marketing masters...
and are happy to train anyone willing to pay attention...
how to discover "what the prospective client wants.
" Whether on the Internet or in a brick and mortar setting, most marketers, like me, are more inclined to focus on creating the right bait to capture customers, than on paying attention to what bait the customer is in the market for.
Even more important in today's economy, but evident throughout time, successful marketers focus on the prospect before the message.
Today's best marketers focus on how to stay positive and how to seek out opportunities to help others, ultimately helping themselves as well.
Observations of The Cat remind me of this, and what marketing truly is...
an interchange between two parties...
the customer (The Cat) and the provider (The Staffer).
The successful provider is more focused on being aware of customer needs than on creating the perfect bait to lure the unsuspecting customer in.
What The Cat has taught me, in addition to positive persistence, is the proper use of the headline, content and close of a sale.

• For instance, the first secret of beginning the day for The Cat is creating the successful headline.
  Have any of you ever had a Cat put the top of her head under your chin...
  while you were peacefully sleeping...
  and nudge? Not just once, but until your attention was undivided? Or, purr directly in your ear, while kneading your shoulder until you were most thoroughly and definitely awake? Various headline tactics are applied until the successful one is found.
  Hmmm...
  you know, I really think it was The Cat who helped us define split testing to determine the quickest, most successful headlines.
  
• The second secret, is of course, the content.
  The idea is not just to wake you up.
  After all, you might consider falling back asleep again...
  I've tried it occasionally.
  When this happens, The Cat knows how to create intriguing content...
  sure to keep you riveted to the task at hand...
  getting you to the kitchen for breakfast (and believe me, The Cat is not concerned about your breakfast).
  Once awake, The Cat has been known to add content for the Staffer, such as face licks, belly leaps, or toe nibbling.
  The Cat will use whatever is required to ensure you are properly motivated to move your body out of bed and toward the kitchen.
  Indeed, should you stray...
  into the bathroom, or any other room...
  curtain climbing, furniture re-arrangement, or whatever additional intriguing content is required...
  will be used to get you back on track.
  
• Secret number three...
  is the killer close.
  There is no doubt that you will buy into the program.
  Once in the kitchen, The Cat will stroll the forbidden counter top, drop at your feet with a feinted tome of exhaustion, or...
  talk to you at Full Voice until the sale is closed...
  and breakfast (hers, of course not yours) is served.
  

The Cat is good...
really, really good.
Every single day...
in fact numerous times throughout the day...
one of them makes another sale, and convinces me, The Staffer, that pleasing them is really what it's all about.
I am both Cat Staffer and Customer Staffer...
with the ultimate goal of listening and providing...
whatever is wanted or needed in the very best way possible.
And...
I love my job...
constantly getting and sharing new secrets from The warm, furry Cat.