Stop Confusing Customers! Use the StoryBrand Framework

Listen Time 22 Minutes

The typical adult has an attention span of just eight seconds. That’s why it’s more vital than ever to communicate with your audience in simple and clear language. Those organizations who aren’t doing this could be losing customers every day.

The StoryBrand framework from Donald Miller has helped organizations like General Mills and Amazon as well as one-person organizations to clarify their marketing messages and drive sales at unprecedented rates. In fact, CTM has used the StoryBrand framework too!

In this Smart Route episode, we sit down with Cassie Egli, a Certified StoryBrand Guide and a StoryBrand user herself. Find out how using the StoryBrand framework made her business soar. After implementing this framework into her own marketing messages the company grew by 25% and she sold the business during the pandemic for a profit–while others were forced to close their doors.

Learn:

• What most companies are doing wrong in their marketing messages
• How the StoryBrand framework helps you connect faster with your audience
• Why this framework and messaging works
• How to get started using the StoryBrand framework

Listen Now:

Get Your Free StoryBrand eBook!

Request your free StoryBrand eBook and start implementing the StoryBrand framework today!

About Cassie Egli and Straight4Ward Consulting and Marketing

Cassie is the owner and founder of Straight4Ward Consulting and Marketing where she helps her clients grow their businesses with an honest, straightforward approach.

As a former retail and online eCommerce business owner, Certified StoryBrand Guide, and Shopify expert, Cassie’s knowledge is based on real-world experience – not just theory. While others were forced to close their doors, Straight4Ward Consulting grew 25% and sold their last business during the pandemic for a profit. They are here to help you achieve the same success!

They start each project by creating clear and engaging messaging AND THEN support it with a fresh design and development – all in one stop. When combined this drives prospects to take action, allowing you to focus on what you do best to grow your business. They will transform your marketing from a money-pit to a money-making machine.

Episode Transcript

Courtney

Hello listeners and welcome to episode 20 of Smart Route. I’m your host and strategic partnership manager at CallTrackingMetrics Courtney Tyson. Are you a marketer that has thought about using the StoryBrand framework with your clients or for your company then you’re in luck because today we have invited StoryBrand expert Cassie Egli to join us to tell us more about this concept. How to get started and how to be successful. Welcome Cassie we’re excited to have you so I’m going to share a little bit about you with our audience kind of set the stage explain a bit more why we’ve invited you here to educate us on StoryBrand.

Cassie

Hi Glad to be here.

Courtney

Um, so Cassie is the owner of straightforward consulting. She’s a marketing messaging expert. She actually was a former owner of what turned out to be a failed business concept and she was only 1 of 2 franchises out of 270 to thrive during the 2007 recession and the 2020 pandemic. So after years of trying out marketing tactics for her business that weren’t producing compelling enough results. She realized the importance of having a solid marketing message foundation and that’s why we’re here because she had extreme success during the 2020 pandemic while other companies were forced to close their doors. She put effort into creating a message framework. Um, and it it proved to work so her sales grew 25% social media engagement 541% and website visits by 252% percent. So the results were so dramatic that she’s here today to tell us a bit more about how she’s been successful and the company that she’s built based on the StoryBrand framework right? So welcome again, Cassie um, can you tell us a little bit more about your marketing consulting company consulting company? How does StoryBrand tie to your business?

Cassie

Okay, so as you mentioned Courtney I had been struggling within my own marketing for years I’ve been in marketing and sales and there was a missing piece.

Cassie

Once I found that missing piece which was StoryBrand and incorporated into my business I achieved a lot of success. In fact, so much success that I had somebody come along during the pandemic and offer to buy my business for a pretty penny and I decided that it was time for me to move on to the next step of my journey. When thinking about what that should be I really thought I really wanted to help others stop spending money on the wrong marketing. I wasted thousands upon thousands of dollars in the past trying different things and not having it. You know, just having it fall short or not. Meet my expectations and so my goal was to start straightforward consulting and marketing so that I could help others transform their marketing honestly from a money pit to a money-making machine like I was able to do myself. 

Courtney

It’s so interesting to hear that you’ve had so much success. But obviously you worked hard to get there and all of those kinds of realizations, right? Is that what led you to where you are today? um.

Cassie

Yeah, you know StoryBrand as far as how StoryBrand relates to that they actually have a certification process. Um there you know is ah a good handful in the world that do it but I decided to get certified for my own company. And then once I sold it I became qualified to be able to help others so I’m actually a certified StoryBrand guide that can actually train on the framework or I can ah create the framework for my customers. That’s normally my first step in the marketing process now.

Courtney

That’s wonderful. That’s wonderful and I will be remiss to say that Cassie actually helped our team better understand the StoryBrand framework so we can implement it here at CallTrackingMetrics. So definitely a great expert to rely on. Um. Let’s talk a little bit more about StoryBrand and the actual concept Cassie. So for anyone that doesn’t know what are the 7 different pillars of the StoryBrand framework.

Cassie

Sure so the story brain framework was actually founded by Donald Miller and it really is founded based on the concept that not having a framework in place um to ah work with ah work with your marketing. Um, tends to lead to marketing that is confusing to customers, and when you confuse you lose so that’s kind of the big StoryBrand mantra he also found that just like movies if you draw a customer into your story, paint a picture for them. Let them know you understand their pain and show them what it’s going to look like on the other side that they are much more likely to do business with you than the traditional marketing which would be all about me as you know provider of the service of the product. 

Cassie

The 7 different pillars. You start off with a character and the character is really who does your customer aspire to be at the end of the journey. So um, and then that character what struggles what problems are they having right now? Um, what does life look like if they’re not going to do business with you so kind of agitating that pain a little bit and then you meet a guide and the guide is actually um as you know the service provider or the person selling the product so instead of. You being the central character now your customer is the central character and you’re a guide like Obe One Kadobe or Yoda that’s coming along helping them win the day so that’s probably the biggest paradigm shift is that so often people when they’re working with their marketing just talk about themselves.

Cassie

Why do you know their family history? Why is their product so great that the features of the product but they’re really missing the mark because customers don’t care about that. They care about what’s in it for them. How are you going to help solve their problems so you become the guide in the situation.

Cassie

Copy and messaging all becomes about them not about you and so as the guide you give them a very very easy. 3 step plan that is the fourth part of the framework and very important is to call them to action. So many people hide the cash drawer if you will which I call the call to action buttons or they’re so they’re very weak like they’re just like learn more about us. Um, and they might have 1 or 2 on an entire website with StoryBrand you put them often. Um, and. Probably at least 4 to 5 times on your website and it’s very strong by now schedule a consult exactly what do you need to do in order to take that first step to doing business together and then ah the next 2 parts of the framework is. Really the success and the failure so painting that rosy picture of short term and long term. What are the successes that your character is going to have by doing business with you and then what happens if they decide not to do business with you? Um, not to take action at all or perhaps going to a competitor who’s lesser qualified so those are the different pillars of the framework.

Courtney

Okay, so the concept is called StoryBrand but in a sense. It’s almost like a storyboard right? because you’re having to outline. Okay, interesting I kind of piece that together. So I also love what you said earlier Cassie is when when you confuse you lose so but the whole basis of this is.

Cassie

Um, yes, are you.

Courtney

You know your messaging needs to be clear and straightforward but also the messaging and the story you’re telling is all around the character which is your customer and your story needs to be kind of focused on then how are you going to help them. How is their product going to help them? How is their life can be better because of this right? What’s in it for them as you had said. So I guess.

Courtney

Talk about some results that you’ve seen. Um, what results have your client seen by implementing the StoryBrand methodology?

Cassie

So number one and I think that this is the biggest thing because so often um, customers are just throwing spaghetti at a wall and trying to find something that’s going to stick or work. Um, or they’re not able to be consistent because they don’t have the time to devote to it.

Courtney

Um, yeah.

Cassie

Once you have this StoryBrand framework in place. A lot of StoryBrand guides will actually create a brand guide for you so you have all of these different 7 buckets to pull from it becomes very very easy to implement it into your marketing and your marketing becomes much more consistent in messaging I think. Probably ah, 2 big mistakes that people make in their messaging is one they’re trying to be cute and clever versus clear and it’s great when you can be cute and clever. But if you’re not clear again then confuse you lose and also the um.

Cassie

Ah, the other part is that they are always trying to change up their messaging because they feel like their customers need to see something fresh and new and different in a different perspective but with the StoryBrand methodology and 1 thing that I have learned with my customers and my customers of seeing growth in sales is that if you are consistent across all of your marketing channels, so your website your you know printed postcards your social media your email campaigns by the way which are not dead that is the best that is gold to have your own emails.

And, by your sales letters by your presentations if you are consistent with your points that you are making it takes what 9 times right now to even get a customer’s attention so you don’t want to be changing that message up. You want to be for the back of a lack of a better term beating theirs. Beating them over the head with the same hammer. But so so it finally sinks in so um so I think that just having a framework to go to also to make it easier to train your team and have your team be on the same page is really important so that everyone is saying a consistent message.

Cassie

People have been able to see more consistent leads flowing in if you take this into your sales scripts and beyond higher conversion rates between your leads and you know bringing them home and getting them to become a client.

Courtney

Um, interesting.

Cassie

And then the consistency I think is key and then really saving you time and saving you money because if you’re whether you’re outsourcing or keeping this inside if you have constantly a framework to look back to that and there’s no question about what you should be doing next.

Courtney

Um, right, it’s interesting. You know, thinking about how it literally puts everyone on the same page. Um, I think about working at a company with multiple different departments and how it’s important that everyone is telling the same story about who we are as a company. Um, just you know something that I think about us we’re having this conversation. Um, so for you know our marketers who are listening in haven’t yet started implementing this concept might be thinking about it. What would you say is the first thing you should do for someone who wants to implement a story?

Cassie

Well, if they are a reader the StoryBrand actually building a StoryBrand is an actual book that you can go and get you can even get at the and get it at the library for free and it gives you a great baseline to follow.

Cassie

Um, so I would say just going to get the book if there’s someone that is going to that. They really do better with online courses. We actually have an online course available I can include that link if you would like and I’m happy to give away a free kindle book if anyone’s a Kindle reader as well. Um I can give away up to 10 of those so those are kind of first steps if you’re kind of dipping the toe and trying to get some buy-in from someone if the light bulb goes on for you like it did for me and you’re like oh I need this in my business. This is what I’ve been missing. We do live-stream workshops. Ah, probably about 3 times a year and the next one will be coming up soon. A live stream workshop is great that is actually how your team and I met and that is just putting the theory to use you actually walk through every step of the framework with your brand you have um myself as a coach in a VIP session with only a few other people and it’s really like a think tank so in two days you have all of your messaging cohesive and ready to go so that you can hit the ground running and implement it and. All aspects of your marketing.

Courtney

Interesting. It sounds like each of those tools helps to um, efficiently but in a timely manner to come up with this strategy.

Cassie

Yeah, and then for those you mentioned efficiency for those that don’t have the time the inclination the know how it is always easier to have somebody else create your brand script for you than it is to do it yourself. It’s kind of like.

Cassie

Ah, you know you’re on the outside looking in. It’s so much easier because you’re not you know as an outside perspective I’m not as close to your brand as you are so I also do for you services where you only have to spend an hour of your time working with me I ask you a series of questions and then I come back with it all.

Cassie

Tied up in a nice pretty bow. So that’s the fastest way to get it done.

Courtney

Gotcha as I think about this too I Think about you know how it how it could very much benefit those companies that maybe do something a little more complex right? when you go to their website you can’t help right away like what is it that they do because it’s so technical or whatever. So I’m thinking of those types of companies would be extremely beneficial.

Cassie

Definitely Yeah, yeah I just had a company that came to a live stream workshop after reading the book themselves they were feeling all fantastic and great. Second day I’m still struggling to give them information and I finally said I still don’t understand what you do So I can’t give you advice so be clear and when they did tell me what they did I was like had absolutely no clue that’s what they did.

Courtney

Wow.

Cassie

And we actually just spent I did some consulting with them and redid their marketing and it was amazing just you know from that point a to point b because people don’t have time. You might think that people are going to go through your website and they’re going to sift through until they find the information they need. You’ve got like 7 seconds

Cassie

They don’t see what they need. They don’t understand what you do the problem you solve and how easy it is to do business with you like that clear call to action. They’re bouncing on to the next site So you’ve really you really have to have that nail down.

Courtney

Um, yeah, very interesting unless you’re giving your competitors your business essentially right? 

Courtney

And talking a little bit about how CallTrackingMetrics has implemented the StoryBrand methodology with our website launch um, tell us a little bit more about how you can apply StoryBrand across other types of channels.

Cassie

Sure, um, so StoryBrand once you have the framework in place in that Livestream workshop that I mentioned to you and also in the online courses for business made simple. We actually walk you through several different ways that you can use this so the most obvious tends to be the website once you have that aha moment you realize typically your website is really pretty but it isn’t actually the best unpaid sales person which is really what it should be for you. So typically we’ll start with a website.

Cassie

And then that kind of leads into all aspects as ah of a sales funnel so that would be starting with your website and then creating a lead generator something that is of value to your client ah that they would be willing to trade their email for a download and then. Email sales and nurturing Campaigns. You can also create videos with it. We’ve had some fantastic videos created Presentations Sales Scripts I think I already mentioned social media. Um, and then even. If you think about it. Everyone’s having a hard time getting their employees even recruiting you could use this as ah as a good a great recruiting tool and I think that that’s often underused many moons ago I was a very successful head hunter so in my own business I actually use the StoryBrand Framework from my potential employees or ah, you know somebody I wanted to be an employee how would they be looking at me. What do they want to see what problems do they have and how am I going to solve those what successes are they going to have by coming to work for me what failures if they come to work for somebody else you could even use it as a recruiting tool internal meeting and communications.

Cassie

Ah, a tool if you’re trying to roll out a new benefits program or something along those lines. So really, the sky is the limit postcards I’ve used them in Postcards before as well. Your Google ads and Facebook ads.

Courtney

Um, literally everything I think, yeah, that’s wonderful.

Cassie

Yeah, really, there hasn’t been and I and I specialize often at Ecommerce with products and you can apply this to products as well as services.

Courtney

Okay.

Cassie

And the great thing is that in General Mills has used this Amazon has used this all the way down to my little super suppers that was a 1 man show. So it really can be applied ah to a variety of levels.

Courtney

And the concept again just to you know, clarify for everyone. It’s you know, coming up with that message that explains who you are as a company like it’s very clear right? like that’s and then you have the message you stick with it. You implement it across your company.

Courtney

It helps departments in forms of communication and it keeps everyone on the same page about telling who you are as a company and telling your story. 

Cassie

Right? right? in a compelling story at that one that draws the customer in that lets them know you identify with them. You understand them and you are going to be able to help them solve their problems and win the day.

Courtney

And then they buy this has been great Cassie. So before we conclude here I’d love for you to ask if there’s anything that you would like to plug I know you have mentioned some really great resources that you have for our listeners maybe to talk more about those again.

Cassie

You sure? Yeah, as I mentioned I’m happy to wait to give away 10 copies of the Kindle book building a StoryBrand. 

Cassie

Ah, you know as well and I tried the Diy it was pretty challenging. So I did call somebody in to help me with that. But I’m happy to do that. Um, also I can place a link for the online course which is called business made simple. It has.

Cassie

Quite a bit to it including going through videos and tutorials on how to implement the StoryBrand Framework in pretty much every aspect that I’ve already mentioned to you in internal communications external communications. All of your marketing efforts.

Cassie

So I can I’m happy to put both of those links there as well. And um, then if anyone is interested in doing for you services I Really typically start with a clear and compelling message and then I build and design your marketing such as your websites, your printed materials et Cetera social media based on that Framework I do a supporting design and do the development as well. So I’m kind of a I’m kind of a unique um egg I Guess in the StoryBrand community because um, I’m a one-stop shop.

Cassie

Um I cover several aspects of marketing and um, you know I can help you know, do it yourself or done for you. Either way.

Courtney

Gotcha so um, basically if you want to learn about StoryBrand Cassie is a great resource. But if you want someone to help you with it and literally put something in place and create the framework she is there to help you with that as well. She can do it all. Congrats on all your success Cassie. It’s been really great. Um, chatting with you today, and thank you for being here and educating us on all things StoryBrand you really have shared some really great insights from your experiences and for our listeners I think they now have a good idea so you know what this is how to get started and how to successfully implement it. So again. Congratulations.

Cassie

It was my pleasure.

Cassie

Thank you.

Courtney

And all your success. So again, anyone interested in learning more or implementing this please connect with Cass. You’re gonna have all those resources. She just listed within our blog post for this episode and thanks to our listeners.