The Chocolate Broccoli Technique™
Want A Technique To Feed Your Retrofit Funnel?
You might want to read this. Not for the recipe, it might not be to your taste. But the numbers will excite your tastebuds (see the ending). But first.
It's not often that retrofit marketing get's a show and tell that is actually working. If it did, we'd all be doing better. So it was refreshing to interview this company. They aren't just talking it, they are walking it.
And for those in the know. They still don't have an SAP.
The Back Story
DiscreteHeat is a family run business which likes to think differently. As the founder, creator and engineer inventor Martin Wadsworth entered the BBC Dragon’s Den chamber in 2008, he would never have known his company would become a product and marketing powerhouse.
It wasn’t the Dragon’s fire that lit the touch paper - this family had a history forged in the white heat of Britain’s industrial heritage.
DiscreteHeat Co. Ltd.
That burning ambition has passed down the generations and it’s Martin’s son, Ethan who through necessity had to develop a marketing and communications strategy that delivered in a sector full of moribund, boring, dull messaging.
With no board to answer to and a knack for learning on the spot, Ethan Wadsworth battled tested a technique which is now integral to their mission, to become the world's premier heating solution. Engineering is a tradition in this family, but traditions only survive they are relevant to real life . And that’s why Ethan had to develop this.
It’s a game changer.
What is it?
The Chocolate Broccoli Technique™, based on the Ethan Principle™, is a product marketing strategy that flips the traditional sales funnel.
Hook people in with irresistible chocolate (fun, fast, visual content) - then serve the broccoli (facts, trust, proof) when they’re ready to listen.
It’s a pattern Ethan developed through trial, error, and instinct - and it works.
🍫 Chocolate = Attraction
These are the moments that stop the scroll and spark curiosity:
- Time-lapse install videos
- Before-and-after reveals
- Dust flying, tools moving, radiators being ripped out
- Behind-the-scenes clips
- Encapsulated in Instagram Reels and Stories
They don’t explain the system.They just make people want to know more.
🥦 Broccoli = Conversion
This is where you build credibility and close the sale:
- Case study walkthroughs
- Customer testimonials
- Specs, diagrams, and deep dives
- Energy savings explained
- System benefits decoded
This is where you show up with answers, not adverts.
🗺️ The Ethan Principle™
“Fun first. Facts last.”
The Ethan Principle™ is the strategic foundation behind the Chocolate Broccoli Technique™.
It recognises that in retrofit - as in most technical fields -people won’t listen to facts until they feel something first.
It’s a content-led sales philosophy that says:
- Lead with curiosity, not complexity
- Capture attention with movement, mess, or magic
- Then deliver the detail when trust has already begun
It’s a principle built from real-life installer experience, not marketing theory.Ethan didn’t set out to name it. He just noticed what worked - and kept doing it.
Now, it’s a teachable approach others can follow.
♻️ The Flow
- Attract with chocolate Show the action. Make it fun. No hard sell.
- Link to broccoli When people click or DM, give them the depth.
- Convert with credibility They arrive pre-qualified and curious.
- Repeat Every install is another cycle.Chocolate first. Broccoli after.
Why It Works in Retrofit
- Most retrofit tech is hard to explain, easy to show
- Trust is built in layers -not in a single post
- Clients don’t want facts until they feel something first
- People buy with emotion, and justify with logic
The Chocolate Broccoli Technique™ turns that truth into a method -one that others can use too.
Attribution
This strategy was coined by Ethan Wadsworth, Director at DiscreteHeat, after building a thriving content-led funnel using short-form social video to attract leads - and follow-up material to convert them.
Numbers
It’s all about the numbers though? And this non-traditional marketing method is awesome as a traditional marker of success. Results.
This tactic generated qualified conversions that became £2.5 million in revenue.
Read that again.
For a small family business. That's a tasty number. Ethan and Martin, aren't the type to boast about this success. So we'll do it for them. If you think you shouldn't adopt this technique. We'll explain next week, why you should.
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Will It Work?