When I sit down to a meal at a diner here in Santa Monica I have a look at the menu after taking a view of the nicely decorated cafe. It’s a warm yellow all around and the staff is smiling. This is a waffle joint that serves aspiration and inspiration. The restaurant doesn’t tout healthy, organic, gluten free, authentic or homemade. It serves up a feast for my mind as I peruse the menu. They are selling the sizzle. There’s chocolate and Oreo stuffed waffles and cinnamon ice cream chirp waffles, six types of chicken and waffles, and that’s a small portion of the first side of the menu. On the other side are burgers, salads and drink. There are chicken and waffles with mango salsa, huevos rancheros chicken and waffles with guacamole and fried eggs and even basil pesto chicken and waffles. When I order the straight chicken and waffles I’m not only sold on the meal that’s coming my way, I’m also sold on the mozzarella hashed browns that my server suggested.

The restaurant doesn’t tout healthy, organic, gluten free, authentic or homemade. It serves up a feast for my mind as I peruse the menu. There’s chocolate and Oreo stuffed waffles and cinnamon ice cream waffles, six types of chicken and waffles, and that’s a small portion of the first side of the menu. On the other side are burgers, salads and drink. There are chicken and waffles with mango salsa, huevos rancheros chicken and waffles with guacamole and fried eggs and even basil pesto chicken and waffles. When I order the straight chicken and waffles I’m not only sold on the meal that’s coming my way, I’m also sold on the mozzarella hashed browns that my server suggested.

This menu inspires my imagination, my tastebuds and the experience I’m about to have. In my mind I’ve already eaten five meals and all I’ve actually had was a sip of water.

As a marketer and business owner you should be creating this aspiration and inspiration for your clients. You have the key to solve some very important challenges for your customers.

Speak to the concerns of your customers and paint a picture of the world that awaits when they work with you. Talk to the aspirations and dreams that you’ll provide by simply engaging in a relationship. Make the solving of the challenge as appetizing as that menu is in your mind. Create a vision of a world where your customers don’t have to worry about the thing that ails them. Present your product or service as that savior that let’s your customer go about their day with a weight lifted off their chest.

For restaurants lead with the imagery. Use foodporn and descriptive imagery to entice your customers. We work with influencers to get them to sample our clients’ food, and present it with amazing photography to their social and blog audiences.

For service providers create simple use cases for your prospects to imagine. You can do a lot, but think about the best use of your time and expertise. Package up your knowledge so your prospects can imagine a tangible result. Be sure to sprinkle into your messaging the magic of your solution. You’ll find that once customers start to work with you for one type of work you may become their go-to source for all things related to your niche.

For product marketers making these rules come to reality is easiest. Show customers using your product, having a great time, making their lives simpler and thanking you for the solution. Use video to show the product in action.

Whatever you do sell the sizzle. Sell the inspiration and aspiration you unlock for your customers. Seed the message in their mind before they transact. Your customer is convinced this is going to be awesome! If you haven’t oversold and you deliver on your promise your customer will be very happy because he is expecting you to succeed!