Issue 18 - December 10, 2010
Hey Genc,
Are you finding it challenging to define and communicate a unique positioning to your prospects? One that truly separates you from "the crowd", in a sea of "me too" businesses? Then review today's feature article below, because...
Today, you'll walk away with a powerful narrative of what makes your business unique, and what differentiates it from the rest of your market...
That creates excitement, enthusiasm, and commitment in everyone who hears it.
I'm handing you 12 simple steps you can use to create the personal story of your business - Your "Core Myth." Save these 12 story "building blocks", then follow my guidance for using them immediately to create your unique, compelling story.
Doing so will have a dramatic impact on your business, and your future prosperity. Because you will stand out from the crowd, from this day on.
Then if you have more questions about attracting more of your ideal prospects and clients, take a look at today's Reader Q&A Session below. My simple solution to this question (in this case from a business selling bankruptcy services) can be applied to YOUR situation, if you just think about it creatively.
This is an important idea to embrace.
That you can take a solution I've presented, and use it to eliminate a problem you have, that you may have thought was unique to your specific business or market. And you can do this with the answers you'll find in the Reader Q&A Session of every issue of One Step Ahead.
To higher profits,
Rich
 The Story of Your Business:
Creating a Core Myth in 12 Simple Steps
If I were to ask you about a belief you have about a business... Any belief... Good or bad... And then I asked you why you had that belief?
Do you know what you'd tell me?
You'd tell me a story. It would either be your own personal story, a friend's story, or one you heard or picked up somewhere.
Do you want to know how I know? It's simple, really...
You see, all beliefs come with a story attached. And that my friend is where your Core Myth comes in because it's the story that'll create those beliefs within your customers, partners, and employees.
Your Core Myth is your business's story. But make no mistake - it's no ordinary story.
Because when successfully created it will rally your employees, outsourcers, and freelancers to contribute more day in and day out; it will assist you in your efforts to recruit top talent to your team; it will give all your stakeholders (team members, customers, partners, and vendors) a deeper reason to believe in and desire to see your business succeed than any other single business building concept; it will attract a community of customers who surround your products or services, your business, and your brand; it will allow you to charge more for your products and services; and it will transform your customers, partners, and employees into a group of evangelists committed to advocating for you through thick and thin.
"Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today," said Robert McKee. And once you master this art and create your Core Myth, you'll be able to create greater meaning, purpose, and commitment for everyone who works with or inside your business.
You can easily create the story of your Core Myth easily by following the simple structure I'm about to show you.
Creating Your Core Myth
You'll want to touch on 12 specialized building blocks when crafting your Core Myth. These are the elements you'll piece together to build the beliefs that'll grow your business.
Don't be intimidated by the idea of crafting this story. You don't have to be a good writer or storyteller to get started. Your story - the story of how your business began - is all you need. Shape that story around the building blocks below, and you'll wind up with a narrative of what makes your business unique and what differentiates it from the rest of your market... a tale that creates excitement, enthusiasm, and commitment in everyone who hears it.
Building Block 1: The Hero
Joseph Campbell popularized the notion of an archetypal journey that recurs in the mythologies and religions of cultures around the world. From Moses and the burning bush to Luke Skywalker meeting Obi wan Kenobi, the journey always begins with a hero who hears a calling to a quest. In this story, YOU, of course, are the hero.
At the outset of the voyage, the hero's path is unclear, and the end is not in sight. Obstacles, hardships and disaster lie ahead, and the journey to success tests more than financial resources. It tests the hero's stamina, agility, and courage.
Building Block 2: The Calling
This is the event that gets Core Myth rolling. In mythology, this is often referred to as "The Call to Adventure." In scriptwriting it's called the "Inciting Incident."
Whatever you call it, something happens that forces the hero to consider the journey. It might be his own suffering, or that of a close friend. It might be a string of accidents or coincidence - the mysterious force of synchronicity - that calls the hero to adventure.
Building Block 3: The Stakes
In order for your audience to be involved in your journey, to care about the hero, they have to know what's at stake. In other words, what does the hero stand to lose? What will be the consequences for the hero, the marketplace, and the world if the hero fails on his/her quest?
Building Block 4: The Decision
The hero is now at the decision point, where his destiny hangs in the balance, and must decide, "Do I go on living my life as I always have, or will I risk everything in an effort to grow and change and improve the lives of all those people currently suffering?"
Of course, you and I both know what the hero decides - but your audience doesn't yet and this is your very last chance to share with them the enormity of the decision.
The hero might have to encounter other characters like a boss that he will have to submit his resignation to... or it might be the spouse who has yet to give her approval... or it might be the banker who has not yet signed off on a loan... or it might be internal demons that are preventing him from moving forward.
No matter what form they come in, these are the ordinary obstacles all of us face in the world around us as we undertake the journey of starting up a business from scratch.
Building Block 5: The Search
This is where the hero begins searching for a solution. Along the way there'll be obstacles, trials, and challenges that must be overcome. He might be able to do this alone or he might call upon allies or a mentor.
No matter where the wisdom comes from, externally or through his own ingenuity, each obstacle overcome... challenge met... and trial passed makes the hero sharper... stronger... better.
These small increments of growth show that the hero is overcoming the limitations in himself, learning new skills, finding the inner resources he didn't know he had. These will later serve the hero as he comes to an epiphany, and gives him the resources to overcome the complication(s) he'll encounter later.
Building Block 6: The Complication
In order for the hero to succeed, he will have to outmaneuver many adversaries.
These might be special interests that control the status quo and care very little about the pain and problems of the marketplace. Or they might be an internal struggle that the hero has to overcome.
No matter what the complication is, it makes success impossible until it's overcome.
Building Block 7: The Transformation
The transformation is where the hero makes the shift into thinking like a hero. The complication has changed him, forcing him to see the world differently. And the new perspective makes him someone we can admire.
Building Block 8: The Epiphany
Eureka! The hero has cracked the case... figured it out... made the discovery. Whatever your business provides, the seeds of it are discovered at this point in your story.
There should be energy or excitement here, a passion that pours on to the page as the hero finally figures out how everything he's studied, experienced, and experimented with comes together in a blinding insight or successful invention. This is what he searched for, struggled for, and risked his destiny for... And now it's all worthwhile, at least for the moment.
Building Block 9: The Impact
Here's where the hero and your audience get to experience the impact of the epiphany on some small select group of the marketplace.
If you were in the pharmaceutical industry, this would be the successful results of your patents or your clinical tests. For Strategic Profits, this was the first 25 coaching clients that grew the business by over $40 million dollars in the first eighteen months. This is where you include case studies or testimonials of your earliest customers and how your business changed their lives.
Building Block 10: The Challenge
Now that both the audience and hero are convinced of the impact... it's time to ratchet up the drama.
Some obstacle emerges, introducing the very real possibility that the journey might end here. It might be that the hero runs out of money or gets sick, a key partner bails-out, or some other calamity occurs that makes it possible for the hero to call it quits.
This not only gets your audience more deeply involved in the story, it also heightens their desire to see the hero succeed.
Building Block 11: The Formation
Now it's finally time... the initial steps of the startup.
During this stage, the business becomes a physical entity. It marks the birth of something magical, something that can grow far bigger, have far greater impact, and exist much longer than any human being can.
But in order to pull it off, the hero is going to face many challenges, undertake many risks, and make major sacrifices.
We get to witness how the hero's passion gets channeled to provide him tremendous energy. This provides him the resiliency to keep coming back after every wrong turn, failure, or setback.
Building Block 12: The Handoff
With the business now real, the hero sets his intention on ensuring the business itself will become the vehicle to deliver on the purpose of his journey: to eliminate the problems or pains of his prospects, to create an atmosphere where others are richly rewarded for their efforts, and ultimately to make a positive difference in the world.
The audience now realizes the hero's underlying motivation. The business is being created because it alone has the ability to consolidate the efforts of many to contribute to the marketplace. More than any single individual could in a hundred lifetimes.
In this stage of the journey the hero is passing the mantle. He won't disappear, but you want him to fade into the background and let the new hero take its rightful place in the limelight.
And who is the new hero? Your business!
Because you're taking all the positive feelings the hero has earned from your audience, enlarging it, and then transferring it to the business.
Putting The Pieces Together
We've just touched on the basic building blocks of your Core Myth. They go much deeper than I can cover in this space, but these building blocks will give you a skeleton on which to flesh out your personal business story.
By following this simple blueprint, you'll hit all the high points of your personal story, and inject all the business elements too.
This way you'll keep your Core Myth as simple as possible, while building the beliefs that'll drive your business forward.
Remember, the blueprint is just here to serve you as a guide - not a straightjacket.
There are literally millions of different ways to combine the elements we've covered. And each way would have a different feeling and meaning. Therefore there isn't, nor could there ever be, one "right way" of creating your Core Myth.
As you begin to write your Core Myth, you might see other alternatives pop up. If you think they'll give your Core Myth more power, make it more compelling, or differentiate your business better... then follow your gut.
At the end of the day, let your story take you where it wants to go. Because if you allow the story to tell you how it should be delivered, in the end you'll end up with a Core Myth more powerful than could ever be planned out.
Resources To Grow Your Online Business...
Have Others Build Your Business For You
You Can Make 100% Of What You Sell Today...
Or Make 50% Of What A Hundred People Sell...
When You Leverage The Proven Profits Of
Joint Venture Relationships Done Right...
Today's Question and Answer with Rich
Question: What type of marketing/advertising should I do to maximize getting new clients for my bankruptcy services? I currently do direct mail, I have yellow pages ads, and I'm trying TV which is a total disaster. I've optimized the website. I'm putting together referral systems, and email autoresponders.
Rich's Answer: Joint ventures are definitely a way to go. Because they are easy and really can be done very cheaply and effectively. Especially in this kind of climate where you could send a letter that goes to a lawyer's or accountant's clients for example, in their voice, signed by them, that says something like...
"We're in tough times right now, as you already know. I've had a few clients come to me because they have had serious financial problems. The truth is, if you handle financial emergencies earlier rather than later, you can come out on top. Even if you think your problem is beyond hope.
Because you are a valued client of mine, I'm writing you today to bring you a free service that can really help you find a solution. A free half hour consultation with John Doe, a top bankruptcy specialist in our area."
Then when their client calls you, a certain number of these leads will end up becoming your clients.
"Friend us up" and always be in the loop with the latest business
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