You've got all your story talking points captured, and now it's time to use them. There are some very quick wins that you can get out of this brand script that you can use straight away, and there are some more advanced things that you can do with these talking points now that you've got them to really help to transform the whole of your sales and marketing communications In this last episode of our build-your-own-story sprints, we finish up our deep dive into storytelling. Today, we'll see how ...
Aug 22, 2024•20 min•Season 7Ep. 6
So now, we're coming up towards the end of the story, and what we need to do at this point in time is paint a picture of how their life could look once they've actually worked with us and, you know, also look at what's at stake if they don't do anything. In this episode of our build-your-own brand story sprints, Simon Harvey and Daniel Kleber are going to dive deep in and uncover the transformation that your heroes undertaken. We'll look and see how experience has changed them as they've journey...
Aug 22, 2024•16 min•Season 7Ep. 5
How to step forward and tell your customers that they need to do something. Heroes in any journey are often afraid to act. They never do something until there's some pressure and some need to actually do something. In this episode of our build-your-own brand story sprints, Simon Harvey and Daniel Kleber talk about the call to action within marketing and sales conversations. It's the thing that tells customers they need to actually move forward because otherwise, you're not going to be able to he...
Aug 22, 2024•16 min•Season 7Ep. 4
Now it's time to talk about ourselves. We're not the hero, but the guide. The person who has been there and solved that problem before. In this third episode of our build-your-own brand story sprints, Simon Harvey and Daniel Kleber continue our deep dive into storytelling and see how you should position yourself as the guide in your story. As a guide you need to show two traits, you need to show that you understand the hero, but also you need to make them feel confident that you will be able to ...
Aug 08, 2024•12 min•Season 7Ep. 3
To make the story interesting, focus on your hero's problem. Problems are where your story begins. When a customer has a problem, you have something you can solve. In this second episode of our build-your-own story sprints, Simon Harvey and Daniel Kleber continue our deep dive into storytelling and see how you can uncover and define the problem that your customers struggle with in just 15 minutes. To help you improve your marketing strategy, download the free brand script worksheet, which includ...
Aug 08, 2024•15 min•Season 7Ep. 2
In this special series of build-your-own-story sprints, we're going to dive into one of the many brand storytelling frameworks and learn how you can create a story for your own business in just half a day. To make the story interesting for your customer, make them the hero. Your hero is going to be your ideal customer. So, just to be very clear at the beginning, many businesses put themselves in the role of the hero here and that’s where they fail. In today's episode, Simon Harvey and Daniel Kle...
Aug 08, 2024•15 min•Season 7Ep. 1
Email is still the medium of choice for most personal communications and the way that most companies share their marketing messages. Email can inspire, but when not done well, it can also be the quickest way to the junk drawer. In today's episode, Simon Harvey and Daniel Kleber discuss how to tell your story using email. We'll go beyond headlines and open rates and see how to create content that people want to read and will remember. To help you improve your marketing strategy, download the free...
Jun 14, 2024•22 min•Season 6Ep. 5
When you’re just starting your business or launching a new product or service, it can be challenging to get in front of the right audience. Advertising has long been one of the best ways to quickly and efficiently get a message out to a targeted audience. But when you’re paying for every view, how do you ensure each impression counts? How do you make people stop, take notice and act? In this series, we’ve been exploring how to explain what you do clearly and inspiringly. Today, we'll apply that ...
May 31, 2024•27 min•Season 6Ep. 4
The first place anyone goes when they want to know more about your business is your website. They want to know how you help them and what you do. With the average attention span of most visitors lasting only a few seconds, many people leave confused or unsure what problem you solve. That’s valuable opportunities lost, and advertising spend wasted. In today’s episode, we will explain my formula that lets visitors quickly understand what you do and inspires them to interact with you. To help you i...
May 17, 2024•23 min•Season 6Ep. 3
Social is everywhere and it’s become one of the most effective ways to meet people and create a community. As a small business owner, what’s the most important thing to do that will build your audience and connect with them? In our episode this week, we look at how to use your story to communicate with followers on social and how to keep your audience active and engaged. To help you improve your marketing strategy, download the free brand script worksheet, which includes sections for each part o...
May 03, 2024•27 min•Season 6Ep. 2
As a salesperson or small business leader, the one thing that you need to do more than anything else is to explain what you do; at tradeshows, in meetings, or even at the bar. The problem is when your explanation isn’t clear, people get confused about how you help, and they tune out. This is something that can be easily fixed if you know how to communicate and how to explain in a way that makes people want to listen. In today’s episode, I’m going to teach you a formula that you can follow that w...
Apr 19, 2024•22 min•Season 6Ep. 1
You’ve got no idea who to call next, which deals are at what stage, or most importantly how much work and revenue you should expect in the future. It’s completely overwhelming. But it doesn’t have to be. Today we’re going to move toward the bottom of the sales funnel and focus on deals and how to manage the closing stages of the sales process. The most important thing about deals is that they not only help you to track where you are in each sales conversation, but they also enable you to see wha...
Apr 04, 2024•28 min•Season 5Ep. 9
What to do when you no longer have the time to research and call each of your leads? How do you know which contacts are most likely to bring you value and which are the ones that still need a little more time and nurture? That’s where lead scoring comes into play. Lead scoring is the process that CRMs and marketing platforms such as HubSpot use to rank leads within your database. With scoring in place, you can quickly see which contacts match your ideal customer profile and which of those have s...
Mar 22, 2024•25 min•Season 5Ep. 8
Life is never simple in sales. First, you struggle to connect with the right people. Then, when your leads start rolling in the challenge becomes more of a memory game. As your leads mount, it quickly becomes overwhelming. But if you’re managing your contacts using a CRM like HubSpot, it doesn’t have to be. In today’s episode, we look at how to add structure to the sales process and how to create a pipeline for managing your leads. To help you improve your marketing strategy, download the free b...
Mar 07, 2024•25 min•Season 5Ep. 7
In a world where we receive so many emails, many feel like newsletters have passed their prime. And maybe they are right.. Or are they? In today’s episode, we’re going to look at the craft of writing a great email newsletter. Something that your subscribers will want to read. We'll show how to turn this often wasted opportunity into something that will excite your contacts and get them clamouring for more. To help you improve your marketing strategy, download the free brand script worksheet, whi...
Feb 21, 2024•23 min•Season 5Ep. 6
In order to make sales, you need to stay top of mind. And doing so means staying in touch with the leads you’re working and the customers you already have. All those repetitive follow-ups take time, and when you’re already busy, it’s tedious. That’s where automation comes into play. In today’s episode, we look at how to use automated emails to move forward sales conversations and nurture customers, meaning you can stay top of mind without the grind. To help you improve your marketing strategy, d...
Feb 09, 2024•25 min•Season 5Ep. 5
It's no secret that our inboxes are battlegrounds, where hundreds of emails compete for our attention every day. When you’re relying on email to grow your business, though, the question is, how do you make your email stand out? In today’s episode, we’re going to take a closer look at the storytelling in emails. It is not just about weaving a narrative; it's about creating a connection with your audience. The goal is to turn your emails from promotions and announcements into stories that resonate...
Jan 26, 2024•23 min•Season 5Ep. 4
If you work in B2B, startups, or are in the process of launching a business, Personas and Contact Lists are the starting point for crafting and identifying the heroes in your personalised brand stories. So we thought, what better opportunity than this to coach you through this process? In today’s episode, we’re going to take a closer look at the heroes within your stories and discover how to find the right people in the room. We talk about personas within your contact database and see how to use...
Jan 12, 2024•32 min•Season 5Ep. 3
So many startup founders and small business owners have problems connecting with their audience. For most of us, when we start a business, marketing isn’t our main career. That’s why story is so powerful. It gives a simple method to clearly convey the way in which we solve a problem for our customers. In our 30th special edition episode, Simon Harvey is joined by Alister Grigg, CEO of Fastman, to discuss the power of storytelling in marketing. He shares his success story of using storytelling to...
Dec 27, 2023•23 min0
How much time and money do you waste each day just doing sales and marketing "stuff"? When everything takes so much effort to do, and you do not know whether or not it's working, many small business leaders just give up. But there is a simple technical solution to reach your ideal customer that doesn't cost as much as you might think. Today Simon Harvey and Daniel Kleber are going to look at one of the tools that you can use to implement that. HubSpot is one of the modern customer engagement too...
Dec 14, 2023•21 min•Season 5Ep. 2
We all have challenges from startups and small businesses to leading enterprises, particularly the shift from being a specialist in a specific field to managing various disciplines within the company. This leads us to look for quick and efficient strategies, especially in sales and marketing, where time and resources are limited. In today’s episode, Simon Harvey and outlines the Authentic Engagement plan and six simple steps to implement in your businesses. He will explore the ways in which inco...
Dec 07, 2023•16 min•Season 5Ep. 1
We all experienced the problem of having an awesome website that's like a work of art, but here's the problem – it's not exactly performing when it comes to converting visitors into die-hard fans. That leaves us frustrated and overwhelmed. In today’s episode, Simon Harvey is talking with a web developer Levin Gubler about using personalisation to help clients improve the conversion rates on their website. They will discuss how to make your website a magnet, pulling in the exact people you're mea...
Nov 08, 2023•25 min•Season 4Ep. 11
Ever found yourself lost in the wild maze of website stats? Not sure what's hitting the mark and what's missing it? We've all been there. It's like stumbling through a foggy forest without a compass. You're just guessing what's hitting the mark and what's falling flat. But what if I told you there's a secret weapon to cut through the confusion? Your backstage pass to understanding what's working on your website are tracking and metrics. They're not just random digits. They're the breadcrumbs lea...
Oct 25, 2023•16 min•Season 4Ep. 10
Are you sure your website is there when it comes to accessibility? Because if it's not built with accessibility in mind, it's like throwing a party where not everyone can join in on the fun. Some folks might have different physical or thinking abilities, and your site should be accessible for them too. By throwing open the doors of accessibility, you're putting out a welcome mat for everyone, including those with disabilities. And guess what? You are awarded with increased SEO, because search en...
Oct 19, 2023•28 min•Season 4Ep. 9
Whether you're a small business owner or a content creator, attracting organic traffic is crucial for the success of your online presence. It's not just about having great content; it's about telling a compelling story, that is optimised for search engines, and valuable to readers. In this episode, Simon Harvey and Daniel Kleber, will delve into the world of SEO exploring how content, technology and story work together to captivate your audience, improve your search engine rankings, and ultimate...
Sep 28, 2023•19 min•Season 4Ep. 8
So, picture this – you've got this awesome website you've poured your heart and soul into, but there's just one little problem: no one's showing up to the party! I mean, what gives, right? You're not exactly the star of Google's search results either. It's like your website is throwing a party, but it's happening in the middle of the desert, and no one's getting the memo. In this episode, Simon Harvey and Daniel Kleber, will talk about using the power of storytelling to light up the path to your...
Sep 21, 2023•15 min•Season 4Ep. 7
When you’ve created a great landing page, you expect it to generate leads, but so often, that’s not the case. Good-looking landing pages are like good-looking people; they attract visitors and create conversation, but the problem is that if there’s no value or depth to that conversation interest quickly dries up, and everyone goes their own way. In this episode, Simon continues his interview with our special guest George Nemtzov. Together, they dissect the elements of a killer landing page and l...
Aug 17, 2023•26 min•Season 4Ep. 6
Ever wondered how to get folks flocking to your site? You know, when it seems like tumbleweeds are blowing across your web page? Well, get ready for a game-changer – your site’s about to become a lead-generating machine with killer landing pages and irresistible offers. You see, it's all about dishing out the good stuff. No more crickets on your site. We're talking juicy, can't-resist offers that have your audience practically begging for more. And guess what? Your website isn't just a pretty fa...
Aug 10, 2023•26 min•Season 4Ep. 5
You know, when it comes to your website, multimedia is like the secret sauce that adds that extra punch to your storytelling game and boosts your SEO impact. It's all about finding the perfect multimedia type and giving it the right optimisation to create an amazing website experience that'll stick with your audience long after they've left. So, what's the deal with multimedia, you ask? Well, it's those eye-catching videos, stunning images, engaging infographics, and even those snazzy audio clip...
Aug 03, 2023•18 min•Season 4Ep. 4
Ever wondered how to hook your audience and keep them engaged? Well, the secret lies in storytelling. Yep, you heard it right! By weaving a compelling story, you can create content that works wonders at every stage of your buyers' journey. When you use the power of storytelling, you can create different types of content that work like a charm at various stages of the buyers' journey. Whether it's the "Once upon a time" intro for brand awareness or the thrilling plot twists for the consideration ...
Jul 27, 2023•18 min•Season 4Ep. 3
