Stories Beats Facts 2 to 1: Carnegie Mellon Case Study

 

Carnegie Mellon University did an incredible study on the difference between selling with a story vs just the facts, in a marketing example.

They ran a test with a sales letter for a non-profit.

There were two versions of the “same” letter.  

One version told a gut-wrenching story about a girl that lived in a 3rd world country.

The second version shared the facts on what terrible living conditions the people lived in, how many didn’t have water, how many went without food, etc.

Then they measured how much each of the test groups donated to each letter.

The story-based letter got 118% more donations than the facts-based letter!

They even re-tested the letters.  This time they added both the facts and the story to the same letter.

And the results?

They got a 25% increase over the fact-based letter, but they were still well short of the story-based letter!

I often work with busy professionals that tell me their client is different and sophisticated. 

They won’t be swayed by stories, only by the hardcore facts.

Those busy professionals are wrong!

If you are going to the trouble of creating a video, DO NOT make the mistake of simply “telling” the viewer how or why they should do something with fact.

TELL THEM A STORY!

The Do's and Don'ts for Testing Your Business Idea

 My favorite “quit your job” scene from the movies is in Jerry Maguire.

Jerry, a sports agent, has a crisis of conscience and decides that he needs to focus more on individual attention for his clients and less on the bottom line.

“Well, don't worry. Don't worry. I'm not gonna do what you all think I'm gonna do, which is just flip out!” 

Jerry then packs his boxes, takes some goldfish, and talks one other employee into following him out.

Look, I get it.

We all have dreams of throwing off the shackles of a 9-5 job. By the way, where did the 9:00 in 9-5  come from?  Is that Dolly Parton’s fault?  Who has a job where you can walk in at 9am and leave at 5?  If you have that job maybe you should keep it.

But don’t pull a Jerry Maguire and storm out of your job with no plan in place.

 In fact, I swear people do this and cash in their 401k knowing they will crash and burn, because they are so desperate for a change.

If you have a burning business idea or even a side hustle that needs to grow, check out the Do’s and Don’ts of testing your business idea before launching full time.

Don’t ask friends or family

We all have that one person we know that loves to “tell it like it is”, like they’re a guest on Jerry Springer, but most of our family and friends will tell us what we want to hear.  

Asking your Aunt Linda, who’s a payroll clerk near retirement, what she thinks of your idea for becoming a digital marketing consultant isn’t very helpful.  

Yeah, she’s on Facebook a lot, but she’s not your target customer.  

You might want to ask Aunt Linda to introduce you to the owner of the business though.

Do talk to potential customers (people you don’t know) and get honest feedback

This will be awkward because you will have to step way out of your comfort zone.  

But guess what?  

This whole thing will eventually be outside of your comfort zone, so this is a great way to tiptoe into it.  

If you want to become a digital marketing consultant for service-based businesses, then talk to some affluent business owners you don’t know.  

Remember, we’re not asking Aunt Linda directly, but she may be able to introduce us to some people, and so can your family and friends.  

This will also work if it’s direct to the consumer.  

If you want to start a residential cleaning business for affluent homeowners get some introductions and post on some Facebook groups.  

You can even create a brief, 5 question survey and ask the tough questions you are scared to get answers for like pricing.  

 

Don’t overthink it

Perfection is the enemy of progress.  

Whatever you start out doing right now will almost certainly change by this time next year.  

That’s normal.  

Waiting to have the perfect website and getting everything trademarked is silly.  

Nobody is going to steal your idea because they are too busy not implementing their own idea.

Do just start selling

Quit waiting on permission to start.  

I get inquiries all of the time from people that are scared that someone in a black trench coat with a briefcase from the government will knock on their front door because they made an extra grand this month.  

If it does happen you may be the first that I’ve heard of.  

You are allowed to make up to $3,000 in a calendar year without any structure in place.  

And I’m sure I can get in trouble for saying this, but even if you sneak up to $5k-$10k without all of your I’s dotted and T’s crossed, you will be just fine.  

This means you can just start to test out your idea.

Give it away

Not to everyone and not for long, but at least a few people over the first few weeks, so you can test how well your idea works.  

You can also charge just enough to cover the cost of the product or service, which also gives some skin in the game for the customer.

But most importantly, you can make the agreement that you will receive a fair testimonial after the transaction takes place.

This is a win-win all the way around.

As for Jerry Maguire, everything worked out in the end.  Because it’s a movie.  

And sure, you know a Jerry Maguire or two, but they are the exception and not the rule.

Give yourself a real chance and start testing your idea today!

How You Can be UNIQUE and Immediately STAND OUT

A few years ago, my wife (Sarah) and I visited my daughter Ava’s elementary school to do something called “Parent Share”. 

“Parent Share” is when grownups bore little kids with what they do for a living.

Since Sarah and I are entrepreneurial, we decided to help 140 second graders start a business.

Should be easy, right:)?

We took on about 40 kids at a time, putting 4-5 kids per business.

We had them pick a business, name it, decide what they were going to sell, price items, and even do an organizational chart.

But most importantly, we had them describe why their business was different and why customers would buy from them.

We got some shocking results!

And by shocking, I mean, we had dozens of 7 and 8 year-olds GET IT!

We had a photography business that sold “very expensive photos, but they are all 3D and the customer gets to edit them.” And there was a candy store that “had the most sugar in their candy, than anyone else!”

Out of 35 business, there were only a couple that were the best or cheapest. 

Oh, and there were ZERO business with X number of years of experience, great customer service, or had some complicated-sounding certifications.

Why?

Kids know you can’t be the same as everyone else and expect to STAND OUT among everyone else

Odds are, you are unique, and there is a good reason for someone to buy from you instead of your competitor.

·                     If you are truly the expert, display it.

·                     If you really serve a special market, make sure everyone knows about it.

·                     If you are the most convenient, fastest, or most accurate, hang your hat on it.

And if that seems too difficult, I know a few kids you can hireJ.

Honestly, What Do You Really Do?

I worked for SERVPRO in their corporate office from 2002-2007 because it’s some sort of requirement for Sumner County residents…or at least that’s what they told me when I moved here years ago. 

Anyway, if you are not familiar, SERVPRO is the number one cleaning and restoration company in the U.S.  

At the time I worked there, they were number one, but most people didn’t know who they were.

If you mentioned SERVPRO to somebody they would ask if they made surfboards.

SERPVRO hired The Buntin Group, an advertising agency, to do some marketing research and development to fix that.

After several months of surveys, phone calls, and riding around on the truck, they came up with this:

SERVPRO

Fire & Water - Cleanup & Restoration

“Like it never even happened®”

Really.  That’s it.

At first a lot of the franchises were less than thrilled.

They said, “But we do mold remediation, contents cleaning, pack out inventorying, drapery cleaning, carpet cleaning, and 20 other things.  How will the customer ever know about those?!”

And those franchises had a point.  If you looked at a brochure back then, you would see 20 different related services on it.

However, the corporate office stuck to their guns.

And the result is SERVPRO is almost a household name at this point.

They created an identity that was easy to understand because they decided to only tell potential customers about their 2 primary services and not all 20.

When you tell somebody 20 things, they seem to remember 0.

If you are really clear and tell them 1-2, and do it consistently, how many do you think they will remember? 

If you said 1-2, you are correctamundo!  If you said anything else, you can go back to coloringJ.

Anytime I ask a business owner what they do, I almost always get the same response.

They list every product or service under the sun that they provide and even list several things they could do, but haven’t actually done before.

And I get it.  You don’t want to leave any money on the table and only marketing a couple of your products or services is scary.

I always recommend to my clients that they either focus on their 1-2 highest revenue items or the 1-2 they would like to be known for and do more of that. 

It’s scary, but simple, and best of all…it works!

If a $1 Billion company in Gallatin can do it, so can you.

Where's the Beef vs YouTube Kids

I remember it like it was yesterday.
I was seven years old and my dad had fallen asleep watching some awful golf tournament on a Saturday afternoon. And not just asleep. The snoring had reached jet engine levels. And then a commercial asking “Where’s the Beef” came on and I thought it would be my chance. As I snuck up to the TV to switch the channel, my dad said, “Hey, what are you doing...I’m watching Tom Watson on the 18th hole!” It was like he had a 6th sense that would have never qualified for an M. Night Shyamalan movie. That was the 1980’s and commercials dominated the marketing scene. Fast forward 30+ years. My children are obsessed with YouTube Kids. They almost always watch other children opening toys and describing what is inside the package (by the way, I’m convinced Shopkins are evil). My kids are literally choosing to watch infomercials, because they enjoy the content. Marketing is much different than it used to be. Being able to rely on interrupting someone’s day to sell them something is no longer a thing. We now research on our own and gravitate toward authentic content that resonates with us. You will not be able to bombard people with features, advantages, and benefits. YOU WILL HAVE TO CREATE YOUR OWN CONTENT WITH YOUR CUSTOMER IN MIND AND IT NEEDS TO BE HELPFUL.

Why? Your own content can express your real thoughts, brand you as the expert, and resonate with your target customer. Your content can be:

• Checklists
• Blog posts
• Guides
• Photos

Videos And your content can be shared in a wide variety of ways.

• Social media
• Website
• Email follow-ups
• Email marketing
• Presentations
• Landing pages
  

And this trend isn’t going to reverse itself anytime soon either, so now is the time to get on board and create your own content!

11 Things I Have Learned In 11 Years at the TSBDC

I started my Tennessee Small Business Development Center career on March 27^th, 2007. 

I provide free one-on-one business consulting and get to teach workshops for small business owners too.

Calling this job rewarding is an understatement.

I’ve seen the highs and lows of the economy and I’ve seen businesses come and go.

And I also learn something new, EVERY SINGLE DAY.

With that said, below are 11 things I have learned in 11 years.

1. You always have to start with a goal.  Trying to improve a situation is pointless without a goal because you won’t know what you are striving for and what steps are needed to get there.
2. Business plans are overrated by people that think they need one to even take step one in their business.  Business plans are underrated by people that think they should just fly by the seat of their pants and not document anything.
3. If you don’t have a target market you don’t have a business.  If everybody is your target then will get nobody.
4. Businesses that don’t have a distinct competitive difference are in trouble.  If you can’t tell your potential customer the difference between your business and your top competitor, your potential customer will not have a reason to use you.
5. Joining the Chamber of Commerce can be very beneficial for your business, if you are active in the chamber and make an effort to get to know people.
6. Business owners that read books make more money than business owners that don’t read books.
7. Nobody can find that awesome $10-$20/hour person right now.  I think we quit making them.
8. Don’t hire salespeople if you can’t personally sell and if you won’t train them.  That is setting someone up to fail.
9. Successful business owners really understand their financial statements.  And they outsource their bookkeeping or hire someone to do it.
10. I always ask someone that wants to start a business to attend a Starting a Small Business Workshop.  There I will answer most of their questions and then they will probably have 20 more questions that will pop up.
11. You MUST create a good culture if you have employees.  Untrained employees that you don’t engage regularly will kill your business.  

That’s just 11.  There are probably forty-eleven more (yes, that’s a number I made up) that could be added to the list.

Feel free to add any you would like to add in the comments section.

What Did the TSBDC at Vol State do in 2017?

One-on-one advising and training get some pretty good results.

Find out how you can get the same results at www.tsbdc.org.

2 Real-World Niches that You Need to See!

I was stumbling around confused and too afraid to go home.

I knew if I didn’t get this right, there would be problems at home!

I was in Publix with a scribbled list of ingredients for a mango salsa recipe.

I had everything I needed.  Everything that is, but one last item.  

I scribbled it in a hurry and I couldn’t figure out what it was.  

Oh, and the wife said, "Make sure you get it!!!"

Cucumbers? Carrots?  Cotton balls?

None of those made sense!

Finally, a very helpful produce guy, Joe, saw I was in distress and came to my rescue.

I showed him my list and he agreed.  Cotton balls would taste terrible.

He then whipped open his flip phone (this was a few years ago) and made a call.

I sat there patiently.  Well, I was patiently eavesdropping.  

He was asking his wife what they put in their mango salsa.

He smiled and turned to me and said, “Cilantro.  It’s cilantro!”

Joe and I exchanged an awkward high five, I grabbed my cilantro, and I was on my way.

If you are not familiar with Publix, then you are deprived.

It is a grocery store that is well lit, stocked perfectly, and has lots of helpful employees.

Their prices are a little higher than average, but they are well worth it!

Their niche is the overall experience.

Conversely, there is another grocery store around the corner. 

It’s Aldi.

And Aldi is no Publix. 

At Aldi, you have to put a quarter into your cart and return it to get your quarter back, the shelves are not quite as perfectly stocked, but all three employees are helpful:). 

Aldi has decent groceries with fewer frills and their prices are lower.

Their niche is simplicity.

Both are good grocery stores with two very different niches.

So which are you, Publix or Aldi?

There is no right or wrong answer.

Unless you say that you are a mixture of both.

That is the wrong answer.

That’s not a niche.

That’s the same thing everyone says, especially your competitor.

• If you are truly the expert display it.
• If you really serve a special market, make sure everyone knows about it.
• If you are the most convenient, fastest, or most accurate, hang your hat on it.

It’s time to take a stand.

And taking a stand will let you STAND OUT!

Otherwise, you will fade into obscurity…

Increase Revenue with Storytelling

With three kids ages, 8, 5, and 4, we tend to watch a lot of Pixar movies.  I mean, A LOT of Pixar movies.  

And, I have noticed a very familiar theme throughout all of them.  The main character always has a problem, they are helped by an advisor with a solution, and there is a happy ending.  

The roles are interchangeable with talking cars, toy cowboys, or a clown fish.

Speaking of clown fish, take Finding Nemo for example:

• The Main Character - Marlin (Nemo’s dad)
• The Problem - Nemo was captured by scuba divers, so Marlin has to find Nemo
• The Advisor - Dory, the helpful new friend
• The Solution - Dory helps Marlin swim to Australia through the East Australian Current to find Nemo
• The Results - Marlin and Nemo are reunited with the help of Dory and they all live happily ever after.  Or, at least until the sequel.

This story is very similar to the way you help your customer.  They have a problem, you help them with a solution, and there is a happy ending.  

Stories connect and sell.   

By the way, stories sell 118% better than facts!

You want to increase sales, and the way to do that is through better storytelling.  

Make the customer the star of the story, and you help them get a happy ending.

Now let's consider you.  

• Does your elevator pitch tell a story?
• Does your website tell a story?
• Does your email marketing tell a story?
• Does your video tell a story?  If it does, whose story is it; yours or your customer’s story?
• Does your print material tell a story?
• Do your employees tell a story?

If you are still telling customers about your features, advantages, and benefits, it is time to make a change to storytelling.

I Got a Boo Berry Up My Nose!

A couple of weeks ago, I was getting ready to leave the house early for SBA Awards in Nashville.  I was excited because I had nominated Angel Carrier, owner of the Tennessee Pour House, for SBA Woman Owned Business of the Year, and she won!

On my way out the door, my three-year-old Lane, kept telling me “Daddy, Daddy, I go a boo berry up my nose!”

He’s three.  He says crazy things like, “I’m Spiderman”, “I washed my hand, weally I did”, and “I like Mommy better than you.”   I just thought this was one of those things.  I finally said, what do you mean little buddy?  He says, “Come here.  I show you.”  He leads me over the board game, Operation, and said, “Dis one, see”, and he points to it.  I notice all of the game pieces are still in there…minus the grapes in his chest. 

Me - “Lane, did you put the grapes up your nose?”
Lane – “Yep.   And it huwts too.  See?”

He leans his head back to show where has stashed them.

So my wife and I are now in a real life version of Operation.  I’m holding his head and she has the tweezers.  She’s crying, he’s screaming, and I’m late.  Needless to say, we didn’t make much progress.

So an hour later, a couple of well-trained nurses pluck the grapes out within a matter of seconds. They were professionals.

Oh, and I missed the SBA Awards.  Sorry Angel.

It did make me think of small business owners and the problems they solve.  So many times, your customers have grapes up their nose and they don’t know how to extract them.  Heck, they don’t even know they are grapes.  They think they have blueberries up there.  They could try to fix the problem, however, they usually make the problem worse.  That’s where you come in with a unique skill set and a long set of tweezers.

Make sure your clients and potential clients know:

• There is a proven return on investment of using your services.  Show them the money than can save by using you to solve their problem.
•  You can take care of their problem immediately.  They won’t be burdened with their problem and have it hanging over their head.
• You are going to do a much better job than they could ever do.  Ever.  If they want it done right and not have to re-do it, they should hire you.  This is where good referrals come in handy.

 And if necessary, show them the tweezers.