In my last tip to the blindfolded cheese salesman, I suggested that new visitors should be shown one type of content, return visitors another. Nope - this wasn't a goof on my part but a very clever segue into tip #3.

You see, our blindfolded cheese salesman, Joe, knows who his return visitors are, because he gives everyone he meets a very stylish cow bell to hang around their necks.

As someone approaches, he listens for the cowbell. If he doesn't hear it, he pulls out his generic sample platter and launches into his opening introduction, "Hi, my name's Joe. I'm your one-stop source for all information and products related to cheese."

If he hears the cowbell, he calls out, "Hi, good to see you again." And what makes Joe a very good cheese salesman is that he can differentiate the clang of each of the cowbells he hands out. The soft thudding bell went to the lady who was interested in cheese history and cheese making techniques. Get more of that info out and ready to show her, and remind her about a new book on cheese recipes. The hard clanging bell went to the gentleman who loved soft runny cheeses. Pull out some crackers and runny cheese samples tailored to his preferences.

The cowbell technique employed by our blindfolded cheese salesman isn't foolproof. People can lose or purposefully remove the cowbell. The fella who was after runny cheeses on his first visit may simply have been purchasing for someone else. Heck - he may hate runny cheeses. Or what happens if the husband of the lady interested in cheese history comes walking in wearing her cowbell. Our cheese salesman's going to feel pretty silly when he learns the person he addressed as 'madame' turns out to be a fella.

So yes, there are flaws in the cowbell technique. But, in my opinion, it's better to stumble on a person's name when greeting them again than to treat them as a complete stranger.