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The longevity of a story

Most stories can be told in a couple of minutes, sometimes less.

Good stories resonate way longer. Great ones even for years and decades.

Most stories of the latter kind are not told on a cinema screen but by people we interact with personally.

It’s not the big budget of Hollywood that makes for a great story but the relevance of it being the right story in the right moment.

Clarity is revelation work

Clarity is much more revelation work than it is creative work.

When we encounter one of these charismatic leaders who seem to just magically nail it and find words that make the complex feel simple, it can feel like they are just natural born talents.

I don’t think that’s true in most cases. More often than not, they are just much more rigorous in their thinking. They:

  1. Reflect on what truly matters
  2. Strip the non-essential
  3. Focus from the right perspective
  4. Refine the difficult parts and
  5. Boost their impact

I built “Crack the Clarity Code” to walk you through this process and find that rigor in your thinking. My goal is to take you from a gut feeling of possibility to razor-sharp clarity.

It seems to work. Even after day 1, I got this note from Bob: “The clarity is already coming.”

Find out more at https://crack-the-clarity-code.com.

All successful marketing works the same

All successful marketing basically works the same.

It makes customers see a brighter future and leads them to the point of no return, a point where it becomes an unbearable thought for them to go back to normal so that the only possible resolution is to buy your product.

Successful marketing makes the customer want that brighter future.

The problem is: Sneaky marketers know that, too. Actually, they know it particularly well. All of the sneaky marketing schemes out there are built on that principle. Sneaky marketers are masterful at figuring out what customers desire and then making bold promises around these desires – without caring about whether they can keep these promises.

The challenge for honest marketers is that they do care for keeping their promises.

The challenge for the customer is to notice the difference: Does the marketer (only) care for their money or do they actually care for delivering on the promise?

If you’re an honest marketer, the lesson here is to understand these principles of successful marketing … and master them even better than the sneaky marketer. Here are three questions that might help you:

  1. What is it that my customers truly desire?
  2. What is the boldest promise that I can confidently make towards that desire and still be able to keep it?
  3. How can I lead them to the point of no return so that it becomes an unbearable thought for them not to buy your product?

Marketing stories that work

A great product solves a problem, resolves a struggle, or fulfills a desire.

It tastes delicious without me having to cook. It sounds awesome while being affordable. It’s efficient, sustainable, stylish. It gives me a feeling of mastery or pure joy. Or whatever it is for your product.

Great products transform me into a better person. One who eats healthier, takes better photos, works with more focus, or makes better decisions.

Essentially, it gets me from point A where I still have that struggle to point B where my struggle is resolved.

It’s that transformation that great marketing stories capture. They give us the feeling of being seen with our struggle and they light us the path to a better future where that struggle is resolved.

Marketing stories work when the struggle is real and the path to the future is accessible.

They keep working when the product delivers on the promise.

The cost of inaction

Usually, it’s a lot easier to grasp the cost of an action than that of inaction.

It costs $X to service your car. But what does it cost to not have it serviced?

It costs $X to buy that book and Y hours to read it. But what does it cost to not know what you’ve learnt from reading it?

It costs $X, a phone call, and one evening of your time to invite a friend you haven’t met in a long time for dinner in that new restaurant. But what does it cost to not spend the evening with them?

It costs $X to book a coaching session plus an hour of preparation, three hours to meet, and the guts to implement the insights. But what does it cost to not book it?

In one sentence

Many great products can be described in one sentence:

  • “The notebook for creative people.”
  • “The fastest acceleration of a production car ever.”
  • “The headphones that let you work in silence.”
  • “The blackest black paint.” (Black 3.0)

Here’s a simple test: Can a customer (not you) describe your product in one sentence?

PS: If not, then my new course “Crack the Clarity Code” might be for you. It’s launching today and you can get 10% off using code “IwantClarity” when you order in the first week.

Everything that can be automated, will be automated

When you visit McDonald’s, you don’t need much human interaction, anymore. Go to a terminal, place your order, pay, pick up your meal. No need to speak even a word.

It’s much more convenient for McDonald’s, too. Three terminals easily replace one human and so they can sell faster. Plus, there’s no need to speak with annoying customers.

Everything that can be automated, most likely will.

Which makes the leverage for non-automated interaction even greater.

The crucial aspect is this: Can you provide a better experience than the automation? Can you put a smile on your customer’s faces in a way machines cannot? Can you leverage emotional labor to delight a customer in a way machines cannot (yet)?

If you can’t, your business might be in trouble sooner or later.

If you can, however, your business might be better positioned than ever.

“I’ll have to think about that.”

In his biography, Larry Ellison recalls a conversation he had with Bill Gates on the phone that left him stunned:

“I didn’t agree with him on some point, and I explained my reasoning. Bill says, ‘I’ll have to think about that, I’ll call you back.’ Then I get this call at four in the afternoon and it’s Bill continuing the conversation with ‘Yeah, I think you’re right about that, but what about A and B and C?’ I said, ‘Bill, have you been thinking about this for the last five hours?’ He said, yes, he had, it was an important issue and he wanted to get it right. Now Bill wanted to continue the discussion and analyze the implications of it all. I was just stunned. He had taken the time and effort to think it all through and had decided I was right and he was wrong. Now, most people hate to admit they’re wrong, but it didn’t bother Bill one bit. All he cared about was what was right, not who was right.”

Leaders who light the path don’t try to be right, they try to get it right. They don’t care for who’s right but what’s right.

But our product is dry stuff

It’s not!

It solves a problem that businesses are willing to pay good money for.

It saves them a lot of hassle. Just imagine the trouble they would need to go through to solve the problem without you?

It’s a huge time saver form them. Knowing that they can rely on you provides them with peace of mind. Which in turn frees their mind to come up with better solutions for their customers.

It’s just not true that these things are dry. They are highly emotional. Because they are highly relevant.

It’s not the product that’s dry. It’s the story.

What makes a story dry is when the humans get written out of the story. When it’s only about features. And processes. Rather than what these features and processes enable the humans to do.

Businesses don’t lack sexy products.

They lack the courage to go beyond the features and see the humans who use their products. If it solves a real struggle, it’s almost guaranteed to be attractive (at least) or even sexy.

I’m not going to miss that

What outcome would make your next meeting so valuable that you wouldn’t want to miss it at any cost?

How about your co-workers? Do they feel that the outcome of your next meeting is so valuable that they wouldn’t want to miss it at any cost?

If yes, bravo! You’re a rare breed.

If not, what would make it so? What can you change to make it more valuable? (Maybe switch to a doing instead?)

Spread the Word

Picture of Dr. Michael Gerharz

Dr. Michael Gerharz