May 6, 2025 • 47 mins
Stefanie and branding expert Beth Carr explore how storytelling transforms marketing in traditionally "boring" industries like construction and building materials. They uncover the psychology behind why humans connect with stories over facts and provide actionable strategies for businesses to craft compelling brand narratives.
• Stories are hardwired into human psychology and create stronger connections than facts or figures
• Effective brand storytelling positions the customer as the hero and your business as the guide
• Even "boring" businesses like lumberyards can tell powerful stories about the legacies their products help create
• Your website is a 24/7 salesperson—invest in making it effective with clear calls to action
• Common mistakes include talking too much about your company instead of addressing customer problems
• Start with a simple elevator pitch: state the problem, present your solution, and show what success looks like
• Use your smartphone to capture authentic behind-the-scenes content—perfection isn't necessary
• Personal branding helps individual team members showcase expertise and connect with potential customers
• The StoryBrand framework provides a proven structure for crafting compelling business narratives
• Focus on the transformation your business enables rather than just the products or services you sell
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Beth Carr (00:00):
Don't cut corners when it comes to the user
experience on your website andhave a website right.
So your website is a 24-7 cashmachine.
It is your salesperson.
They are the cheapestsalesperson you're going to have
, but you need to invest.
You, the business owner, youare the guide and your audience
(00:21):
are the heroes.
You're helping them find whatthey need to be able to be
successful and avoid failure.
Stefanie Couch (00:28):
If you look at great companies that do this so
well, they hardly ever showproduct.
It's not about the product,it's about the story and the
person they're telling the storyabout.
Beth Carr (00:37):
This is a gift to the lumber company that's listening
right now, right.
Stefanie Couch (00:43):
Welcome to the Grit Blueprint Podcast, the show
for bold builders, brandleaders and legacy makers in the
construction and buildingindustry.
I'm your host, stephanie Couch,and I've been in this industry
my entire life.
Whether we're breaking downwhat's working in sales and
marketing, new advances in AIand automation, or interviewing
(01:07):
top industry leaders, you'regoing to get real-world
strategies to grow your business, build your brand and lead your
team.
Let's get to work.
Welcome to the Grit Blueprint.
Today we are diving into one ofmy favorite topics.
I love to talk about storiesand we are going to talk about
(01:28):
storytelling in marketing and inbranding, especially in boring
industries, which can be like myhome industry of the
construction and buildingindustry.
I have my guest on today, bethCarr, who is an amazing branding
and storytelling expert.
Welcome to the show, beth.
Beth Carr (01:46):
Thank you so much.
I'm so happy to be here.
Stefanie Couch (01:49):
I am really excited to talk about this
because I know we both arepassionate about this and
whether you're building acompany brand or your own
personal brand, the right storyand how you actually show up can
really set you apart.
It can build trust and it canbe the driver of your success.
So today we're going to talkabout this and you're a
specialist in branding, a storybrand guide through Donald
(02:12):
Miller, who I know we both loveand his stuff is amazing to help
people do this and the founderof Fortified Branding, so you
really help businesses andindividuals clarify their
messaging and create their brandstories that are compelling and
connect with other people thatthey want to connect with.
You have worked with startups,fortune 500s and personal brands
(02:32):
and you love helping peoplestand out in crowded markets.
So thank you for joining metoday and I'm really excited to
jump in to why this matters.
Beth Carr (02:41):
So am I especially.
I love that you said boringbusinesses.
There's fun in there.
Stefanie Couch (02:47):
That's for sure, and I see some of the most
inventive and creative thingscoming from people like that,
maybe because it's unexpected,but also because there's just so
much thing, so many things thatyou can do with those stories
right.
So we're going to break downwhy they matter and how
businesses can really use themeffectively, and then maybe you
can give us some of the biggestmistakes you see people make
(03:09):
when they're telling their brandstories.
But I really want to kick itoff with just a really general
question of what actually makesstorytelling so powerful in
marketing and why do you thinkthat people actually connect
with stories way more than factsor figures?
I actually say this a lot whenI'm speaking is I'll tell a
story and then a few minuteslater, I'll tell a fact or
(03:29):
figure or three, and then no oneremembers the facts.
They only remember thealligator story I told at the
beginning or whatever it was.
So why do people do this andwhy does it matter so much?
Beth Carr (03:40):
Yeah Well, we are wired, you know, way back when,
right, Centuries and centuries,thousands and thousands of years
.
We are wired to tell stories.
Stories are what have passeddown culture, legends, fables,
morals, values in cultures allour lives and so people.
(04:05):
We're naturally wired to hangon to words and visualize a
journey.
Stories are transformative.
They really take you on a trainand they take you someplace,
and so facts and figures arereally great.
It backs up stories.
Sometimes people will rememberfigures, like when you open up
maybe with like a number, right,people will lean in.
(04:27):
For example, you know threebest ways to market for
construction, right, people willbe like, oh, what are the three
best ways?
But backing that up then with astory, people will then
associate the number of whatyou've done with how to actually
apply it.
Stories are a way of teachingpeople how to do things, how to
(04:48):
act, how to proceed, how to bein community, how to do business
.
And so when we lean intostorytelling especially when it
comes to acquiring new sales andnew clients right, because
that's ultimately what I do as ajob is, you know, growth?
Um, it all comes back down tohow do are those stories
(05:11):
connecting with?
Uh, where people are sitting intheir minds.
Um, and how are they doing itso that they can thrive and
survive?
Cause that's also part of ourwiring.
We're always in that fight orflight mode.
Stefanie Couch (05:24):
It is really interesting when you think about
you know, growing up I loved toread and be read to.
I think a lot of kids did andthose stories that you remember
from your childhood like maybeyou don't even remember what
book it's from, but you rememberthat it was a crazy cool story.
I have a Nancy Drew book thatwas like the bell tower or
something, and I remember thatbook and I read it in fourth
(05:46):
grade I think, and for somereason that story stuck with me.
And you think about movies alsoa lot of times the actual story
is very similar to other moviesthat you've seen, yet You're
still so drawn to it and thecharacter development and all of
that really just makes you.
It resonates with you.
I think about Taylor Sheridan,who's Yellowstone and now has
(06:07):
Landman.
My husband and I just recentlywatched Landman.
I don't know if you've watchedit, but crazy character
development.
This guy is epic at that.
I don't know if he does all ofit by himself or what, but his
mind, the way he's developingthese characters you just feel
so deeply like you know them.
And when you know people,whether they're crazy character
like Beth Dutton or the new wifein the Landman, or it's someone
(06:30):
that you're like wow, I want tobe like that person.
It resonates deeply with us.
And so I think, as a company,sometimes we lose the idea that
a person could care about a CEOor an executive or you know any
person that works in a company,or even the company itself.
And if you look at greatcompanies that do this so well
(06:52):
like Nike is a good example ofthat they hardly ever show
product.
I mean, they show it, you'rewearing it, you're running in
the shoes, you're doing whatever, but it's not about the product
, it's about the story and theperson they're telling the story
about.
So how can boring businesses dothis?
I mean, if you're a plumbingcompany or a lumberyard, how do
(07:13):
you tell a story in a way that'snot like here's this stick of
wood that we cut down out of theforest, maybe that is the story
that you know.
Here's the life cycle of that.
How do you do that?
Beth Carr (07:23):
Yeah, so, first of all, you just touched on so many
like my brain was bursting.
There's so many things and justthe nuggets you just said.
So Taylor Sheridan has been abrilliant writer.
It's amazing how he'sdominating so many different
shows right now, because he isdelving into what drives people
Right.
And and then when you talkedabout Nike, it really also the
(07:48):
stories that are happening isreally about status.
Right, because I have theseshoes, I'm going to be a
stronger athlete, warrior,olympian, right, like I'm doing
it.
Right, the just do it slogan.
And so, with your question, howdo companies that appear to be
boring or like midstream,especially in home services,
(08:11):
home building, construction,which seems pretty
straightforward why do you needstories and why is it important?
It's because, even then, whenwe think about who are you
serving.
So let's use a lumber yard.
I happen to be married to acraftsman.
He's a furniture maker,woodworker, cabinet maker, makes
vaulted ceilings, libraries,tiki bars and then a kitchen.
(08:37):
When you think about thatindustry, what is that owner,
the woodworker, experiencing intheir lives as they're then
going to the lumberyard, right,and so the lumberyard has a
really great opportunity toreally delve into who are they
serving, why are all thedifferent types of people coming
(08:58):
to the lumberyard.
Are they a weekend warrior,where they're dreaming up
something and they're going tolike, do their weekend warrior,
I'm going to make a coffee table, right, yeah?
Or or is it this?
You know professional craftsperson that you know has a 30
year veteran, like my husband,who really wants to, has been
(09:20):
hired to make a one ofof-a-kinddining room table because their
client is imagining the legacythey're going to leave and the
memories they're going to createaround the table, right?
So now the lumberyard has thisopportunity to talk about hey,
craftsperson, we're going tohelp you create that legacy so
(09:43):
that every piece of wood that wehave selected and cut, we know
and believe that we are creatingmaterials for you to then build
and leave a legacy right.
Stefanie Couch (09:55):
Yeah, now there's a story.
It's really about all of thebeautiful products that they
create too.
I'm sure your husband hascreated things that are just
really beautiful to look at.
And then there's the story thatgoes with that.
I see a lot of my clients and alot of their clients that buy
from them.
They don't have pictures, theydon't have videos which help
(10:17):
tell the story.
Because you know, you canaesthetically show a story, just
like you can do it with words,and then if you combine both,
it's even more powerful usually.
And so how do you get thosethose things that aren't really
being seen?
They're done, they're beautiful, they're amazing projects, but
we're just not getting the endproduct because they're up the
channel, right.
So like your husband could takepictures with his phone, but
(10:38):
what about the person who soldhim the lumber and the person
that sold that company thelumber?
And up the channel three orfour, it's hard to get that.
So I think it's about findingcreative ways to connect all the
way up and down the channel tofigure out how does that story
and those pictures and videostranslate for every single
person involved, all the waydown to that end user who is
(10:58):
having that Thanksgiving dinnerwith the six grandkids and the
four generations for 10 years,20, 30 years to come, at that
table he's building.
Beth Carr (11:07):
It's beautiful really when you think about it like
that you just opened up anincredible story loop, right?
Maybe this is a gift to thelumber company that's listening
right now, right?
So imagine if you are doingexactly what you're guiding your
clients to do which isbrilliant, stephanie is what
happens when the lumber companyactually takes a photo of the
(11:29):
person who cut down the tree themachinist that actually made
the slabs of wood, right?
The trucker that actuallybrought the lumber to the lumber
yard, the people in the lumberyard that have all the knowledge
of all the different types ofwood and what it does and what
it's great for, even thelumberyard owner.
(11:49):
You take photos of that, andthen there's a campaign around
that which is telling the storyof there are a lot of people who
have touched what has beencreated as a legacy, and that
we're all connected in givingyou that legacy.
Right Now, you've really drawnin the people who are coming to
(12:10):
buy in a way that makes thelumberyard stand out differently
, because they are creatingtheir own voice and their own
way of telling the story of,let's just say, connectedness,
right From the tree to thedining room table right, you
have there's a lineage of peoplewho have crafted this
(12:33):
experience for you, right,absolutely, and so we're more
than just a lumberyard.
We serve up incredibleopportunities to create memories
.
Right Now, you have this fullstory loop.
It's really cool that would makea lumberyard completely
different.
Stefanie Couch (12:48):
It is, and it's more than just a place that
sells products, and oftenlumberyards are considered a
commodity product, especiallynot specialty, like woods that
somebody like a craftsman wouldmake a dining room table out of.
But sometimes you're justframing a wall in a house.
That's a normal house.
It's not some super customhouse on a mountain somewhere
that is going to be $12 million.
(13:08):
Maybe it's just a place thatthat first time homeowner is
going to bring their first childhome in.
Now, a starter home is not like$200,000.
It's like $800,000.
But it's depending on where youlive.
Where you live, you probablycouldn't even get a house for
$800,000 on a starter home, butit's like wow, this is not
something crazy that we have toshow a perfect story about, and
(13:31):
I think that's one thing I wantto touch on a little bit is I
believe that one of the reasonspeople don't get into these
types of marketing, especiallypeople who have not
traditionally done this so, nike, they've been doing it for
years.
They have just been doing itfor years.
They have just been doing itfor years.
They know what they're doing.
They're spending millions andmillions of dollars on campaigns
and they are used to thinkingthis way.
(13:54):
But someone.
That's a business who's beendoing a lot of word of mouth,
marketing, referrals, that's howthey're getting their clients.
They probably have neverthought about this.
So then the idea of doing thatcampaign, we just kind of mapped
out on a cocktail napkin.
They're like, well, we don'tknow how to do the video and we
don't have this and we don'tknow where we would post it, and
it's very overwhelming forpeople.
(14:15):
So for a business that isstarting, one way that I
actually like to tell people isdon't, don't try to go crazy.
Just post on your personalLinkedIn like your story or
someone's story that you canpost a customer or whatever, but
just one person, one picture,one thing.
How can someone who maybe isn'tthe CEO that could just post
whatever they want?
(14:35):
How do you find somethingvaluable to post online that
would be good for your customerbase or good for your, maybe
even other people that want towork at your company, to see
what it's like to work there?
How would you see personalbranding being a way that people
can tell their own storywithout maybe feeling like
they're they're not perfect andthey don't.
They aren't a marketing person,so they don't know what to do.
Beth Carr (14:56):
Here's the reframe on marketing, right?
Marketing is, you know, maybethere's this analogy the it's,
it's beautiful, it's in a bigwhite tent and the horses are,
you know, in this beautiful redregalia.
(15:16):
And you know, everyone, all theperformers have these beautiful
costumes full of feathers andbling.
That's brand.
But how do you let people know?
The circus is there.
That's marketing, right?
It's the posters, it's theamplification, it's the person
handing out flyers on the corner.
It's, you know, it could evenbe Google ads now in the modern
day, Right?
(15:37):
And so, ultimately, all of usare natural marketers.
If you're not letting peopleknow, hey, yeah, I have, you
know, I, um, I have aconstruction company, I'm a GC,
um, I'm a cabinet maker.
If people don maker, if you'renot telling people that, then
they don't know what you do.
So you're already marketing,and even the smallest things
(15:59):
letting someone know what you doand where you're located is a
form of marketing.
So I want to kind of first justalso take off the any kind of
myth that we think like, oh, I'mnot a marketer.
Actually, we're all verynatural marketers.
If you're not marketing, you'renot selling.
And if you're not selling, thenmaybe you don't own a business,
you're working for someone else, right.
(16:20):
So that's one.
And then the second is inbuilding your personal brand.
It's about consistency andshowing up about your beliefs.
So if you're a passionate,let's just say you're a
passionate general contractor.
So if you're a passionate,let's just say you're a
passionate general contractorand you are doing commercial
spaces right.
There's a certain quality thatyou have to have to be a good GC
(16:44):
.
There's a lot of moving partson a construction site.
There's even matters of safety,right.
So, as a GC, you show up withyour phone which phones are
brilliant.
Now you don't need fancy videoequipment, you just point, shoot
, press play.
It does not have to be scriptedor perfect, but you could be
like hi, y'all, here I am, youknow, we're on site.
(17:06):
This is like the first timewe're doing a site visit and we
can already point out what weknow from a GC's perspective
what needs to happen to makethis site safe for all the crews
, the kind of paperwork we need,blah, blah, blah, blah.
So even that is a form ofmarketing.
It's building up yourintellectual property, your
(17:26):
knowledge of what you do in yourindustry, and you're sharing it
with the world.
That's a form of marketing andit's building a personal brand.
Where I also believe thatcompanies can really lean in and
retain and attract new talentis you also ask your employees
to empower themselves to talkabout their experience, right?
(17:47):
So let's go back to thisexample I'm using with the GC on
a construction site.
The GC then says, you know, andhere's my crew, and everyone's
like, hey, we're the crew, right, like he's.
For you know, put the video tothe crew.
The crew then can go off and belike, yeah, here I am, you know
.
You just, you know, I work forso-and-such GC and here we are
on site and my job on the crewis to, you know, part of the
(18:09):
demo, right?
And there is a certain safe wayof doing demos.
So watch what we do when we're,like you know, using the
sledgehammer, right?
Stefanie Couch (18:17):
Everybody loves a demo day, like if you watch
HGTV.
There's nothing better thanwatching people tear some things
up, right.
Beth Carr (18:25):
I mean, that's why we have smash rooms.
There's a reason, right?
People love seeing thingsbrought down to be recreated,
right?
So there's an opportunity therein building your personal brand
, and it might be on LinkedIn,it might be on Instagram, right?
You also have to understandwhere are the people that you
serve living online.
(18:46):
They might be on Facebook, theymight be on Twitter, right,
like it really depends, andthat's where, then, you want to
start posting and building yourpersonal brand.
Stefanie Couch (18:54):
It's crazy to me how many people think like
Facebook's dead, but from an adsperspective and just in general
, like Facebook is still aliveand well.
So it is.
If you look at some of theseFacebook groups, they have like
a hundred thousand people thatare roofers or whatever, and
they're very active.
So I think, like you said,finding where your audience is
and that might be a littletesting process, but the biggest
(19:17):
thing I would say to people isdon't think that your story
doesn't matter or you're nothigh up enough, or you're not
experienced enough, or you don'thave something practiced to say
.
Like you said, just sharingwhat you're doing in your behind
the scenes content or as you'redocumenting your life, you're
just showing what you're doing.
People are so intrigued by thatand I see videos on Instagram
(19:38):
especially, or TikTok, that have, you know, hundreds of
thousands of likes and a lot ofcomments that are literally
something that you're like howdid that get so many likes?
It's just a video of someonewith like a drill, drilling in
you know a big, long screw intoa jack set or something.
Seventy seven thousand likesbecause people are curious and
(20:00):
they want to know how thingswork and our brains need to.
I call it like solving the loopor solving the problem loop.
If your brain starts to watch avideo like that, it needs to
see what happens at the end, andso I think it's about figuring
out.
What do you do that would beinteresting to other people,
that they don't understand orthey don't know, and just video
(20:20):
it and talk about it.
Like you said, you're the expertin something, and even if
you're not the world renownedexpert you're not the smartest
or the longest you know you'vebeen in this 46 years that
doesn't matter.
You just got to show up, and soI think that's.
And phones, like you said, youdon't need a $7,000 camera, you
don't need a camera person.
(20:41):
You have your hand and a phonehit, play or record and that's
it.
So I think just starting is thebiggest thing for people.
It's very scary to start,though, especially on video.
It's exposed, right?
You're exposing who you are,and what if people don't like it
?
I think that's the biggestthing is people aren't going to
like it sometimes, and you gotto just keep showing up because
(21:01):
you are who you are and noteveryone's going to like us.
There are probably people thatare like God.
I hate that girl in the hat.
Beth Carr (21:06):
She's so obnoxious you know, and we're not for
everyone, and I always amencouraging clients.
You know, when they're showingup and they're like, oh, it
feels so vulnerable and I'm likewhat will help you get out of
your own way is to realize thatthere is a reason why you were
put here to do this vocation.
For now, yeah, and that if youthink of being of service, that
(21:28):
there is someone else out therewho's waiting just for you.
Stefanie Couch (21:32):
Yeah.
Beth Carr (21:32):
Whether it's the drill in the wall or behind the
scenes, people are waiting foryou to give them the excuse to
be free of their own limitingbeliefs.
Right, Because they're seeingyou represent something that
they identify with.
Stefanie Couch (21:46):
Yeah, I love that.
Beth Carr (21:47):
So when you can get out of your own way, then it's
not a big deal to get on cameraand briefly talk about like this
is the way we go about making apiece of furniture or how we go
about creating an incredibleconstruction company.
Stefanie Couch (22:04):
Right, you should get your husband to do
some content.
Does he ever film or show whathe does?
Beth Carr (22:08):
You and I are going to talk later offline.
Stefanie Couch (22:12):
We want you to stay married and happy.
So let's just move to the nextquestion.
It's real easy to give thisadvice.
It's harder to do it and haveyour people you love and know do
it.
Well, I do want to talk aboutframework.
So I know I've read a lot ofDonna Miller stuff and you are a
certified story brand and youhave a framework that is the
(22:33):
StoryBrand framework that reallyhelps people figure out how to
basically do a step-by-stepguide.
Tell me a little bit about whatthe StoryBrand framework is and
how you use it in yourday-to-day work.
Beth Carr (22:46):
Yeah, so the StoryBrand framework was
brilliantly created by DonaldMiller as a way of using what he
learned in writing books andmovie scripts and how you can
apply it to business.
So the framework, really, itfocuses on the different
structures that stories have ingeneral, right, so there's
(23:07):
always a hero of a story have ingeneral, right so there's
always a hero of a story,there's a guide, there's a
villain, and then there issuccess and failure.
Right, so let's use a story wemight all identify with.
Let's use Star Wars, which youknow it's mega, right, A lot of
(23:33):
people.
I'm always shocked if there arepeople who don't know.
So if you don't know, go watchit.
Stefanie Couch (23:36):
It's an incredible epic.
It's full of our.
If you haven't seen Star Wars,we're about to ruin it for you,
right?
Beth Carr (23:41):
What normally happens when the story opens we always
we meet the hero, right.
And you know comic books likethe Superman, batman stories.
We think, oh, hero, the cape,they're big.
They're large, but mostly whenyou look at like construction of
a story in a movie.
Or we can even take JasonBourne, for example.
(24:02):
When the movie opens, the herois lost.
They don't know what's going on.
They're having some kind ofcrisis, right?
So we take Luke Skywalker he'slike who am I, where am I?
Right?
Jason Bourne he has no morememory, right?
Stefanie Couch (24:19):
He's just like where am I Right, and he looks
like a normal person.
I think it's also interesting,Like a lot of times.
Like you said, it's not thecape and it's Clark Kent.
It's not Superman at thebeginning.
Beth Carr (24:36):
That's right.
And so heroes actually are theweak character, normally at the
beginning of a story.
The reason why we're drawn intostory is that hero, by the end
of the story, has gone throughan arc, right, they've become
who they are and then wear thecape, right.
But we're watching that journey.
We're watching behind thescenes the drill, right.
(24:57):
We're watching the donuts beingmade, right.
So we're already intrigued.
Well, along the way the hero islost, they meet a guide, right.
So again, star Wars, it was Yoda, right.
Or Obi-Wan Kenobi, right.
Jason Bourne, it's the FBIpeople, the CIA people, right?
Or like well, we shouldprobably tell you who you are at
(25:19):
some point, right, and maybememories will come back.
They are the guide.
They're the ones who are sayinglisten, if you do this plan,
which is normally three steps,you are going to avoid this type
of failure.
For Star Wars, it's like well,then, you know, the evil people,
right, will not take over theplanet, right.
(25:41):
Or for Jason Bourne, you'regoing to save the world, right,
you're going to, you know, stopthe threat, right, and then
success is the final outcome,right.
So how you apply that tobusiness is when you're focusing
on you, the business owner, youare the guide and your audience
(26:05):
are the heroes.
You're helping them find whatthey need to be able to be
successful and avoid failure,which I think going back to that
fear actually helps people getover the fact that they don't
have to be this big, shiny hero.
Stefanie Couch (26:21):
They just need to help other people win, which
does help.
Most people say, okay, if I'mhelping others, I can hit, play
on the record of this video or Ican post this this thing, or go
do this extra work to showcasethis project that we're doing,
that.
You know I don't really havetime to take all these pictures,
but because I want people tosee what we're doing, I'm going
(26:41):
to do that.
So it does take a little bit ofthe pressure off, because I
think sometimes people do thinkthey have to be this shiny,
perfect thing, the hero, andthey don't.
Beth Carr (26:50):
Right, and so I use that framework with also other
frameworks that I've developedproprietarily over my 18 years
of building brands in corporateand then taking that into this
consultancy fortified that I runin helping small to
medium-sized businesses be ableto really acquire new business
(27:10):
through stories and growth.
Right, and so those frameworksare a way of like digging into
juicy insights about who youraudience is right and then what
are the visual and verbalstories that are going to
attract your ideal audience,where you're again positioned as
like, come to, let's go back tothe lumberyard.
(27:32):
Come to the lumberyard, we'regoing to guide you on what are
the best materials for theproject that you have in hand,
and or we are going to be theguide as your partner, where
we're always going to be therehelping you find the best
materials for your constructioncompany, for your plumbing, et
cetera.
Stefanie Couch (27:50):
Yeah, it's really cool.
I have a customer right now I'mworking on a project with that
works with an artist slasharchitect who's a town planner
and he has developed this linewith my client of custom
millwork and doors and moldingsand all these really cool things
.
It's like watching Walt Disneywork for doors and buildings and
(28:13):
all these things, and so hesketches these amazing things
and part of the problem thatthey were helping him solve is
that he had a lot of reallycustom, amazing projects and
could not find the materialsthat he wanted to represent the
styles like Hollywood, regencyor Greek Revival or classic,
whatever he's trying to do sothey actually came up with the
(28:35):
solution for him.
That then was a solution forthe homeowners that wanted this
style home, and so they'rereally solving problems.
So he's the hero of thehomeowner's story, giving them
their dream home or a community.
Sometimes he's drawing entireplans for like 1,200 homes and
then that customer of mine ishelping him solve the problem
(28:55):
and it's really about showingall of that and then also
hopefully showing that endproduct where homeowner is in
said dream home and thesebeautiful things are surrounding
them in the molding and thedoors and all those things that
we help design.
It's really fun to be a part ofprojects like that and to watch
people especially smallbusinesses win in a way that
(29:16):
they didn't just didn't think ofbefore, and sometimes they're
grinding so hard.
You know, entrepreneurship istough, especially when you're
starting out and you're doingeverything and you sometimes
forget to share those stories ortake those pictures, and so if
you're reframing that as like,hey, this could really help
drive revenue.
(29:36):
It's not just about documentingthe journey.
This could help you.
It can be a big difference intheir business, because people
need to show what they're doing.
What are some of the commonmistakes that you see your
clients or just people ingeneral, when they're telling
their story or working on tryingto build this brand?
What do you see them do thatyou would say like, hey, maybe
top three things not to do or totry to avoid, yeah, one is
(30:00):
making assumptions about whoyou're serving versus actually
who you're serving.
Beth Carr (30:05):
So I highly recommend especially if you're a small
business and you're trying toscale and maybe you don't have
the budget yet to invest insomeone like you, stephanie, or
someone like me or our agenciesis to start talking to your
current clients, clients thathave been with you for, like,
maybe the past three months,right.
(30:26):
So you, because you want their,the client's memories to be
pretty fresh, sure, I wouldstart asking them questions like
what made you come to us?
How has the experience been?
What are the positives thatyou've?
You know that you got from,like, interacting with us.
What are the things that yousee that we should improve on or
things that we're lacking rightNow?
(30:48):
Some of your clients mighttotally ghost you and not
respond, but even if you canspeak to just a small handful,
even two or three, you're goingto get an idea of what is
driving them, what was keepingthem up at night, what were some
of the things that they weretrying to overcome before
finding you and your service.
And then what is?
(31:08):
What is the outcome been sincefinding your service, right?
So, mistake number one we makeassumptions without any kind of
research, right, market researchon what, what is, who are
really your client base.
Another and this might beharder, but the other part of
(31:29):
your client base where also youcan get really juicy insights
are when you start to delve intoclients that have left, people
who have bought.
So, let's say again, lumberyard.
It's very transactional.
I would follow up with peoplewho have bought from the
Lumberyard in the past threemonths.
How was that exchange?
Did you find what you needed?
Was there quality of materials?
(31:49):
What brought you here Right?
So that's going to give you areally good idea.
Second mistake that I see isthat the business will talk too
much about themselves, right?
Quite honestly, when I amlooking for a plumber, I don't
honestly care that you are thefourth generation and that
you've been around since 1960,whatever, whatever.
(32:12):
What I need to hear is we are24-7.
You have an emergency.
We are there, we're going tofix it.
We're not going to, you know,overcharge you and gouge you in
prices.
We're very fair.
We guarantee and warranty ourwork.
That's what I need to hear, butI need to also hear it wrapped
in why are people calling the24-7 emergency plumber?
(32:35):
Well, there is a major crisisin my house, so I need you to
talk about my crisis, not aboutthat.
You've been around since 1962.
Stefanie Couch (32:46):
Okay, yeah, 100% .
And also that you've probablysolved the horrible problem that
I now have going on in my houseand it was no big deal to you,
because you do that 100 times amonth Exactly.
Beth Carr (32:59):
Yeah Right, Highly experienced right.
We can do it with our eyesclosed for you.
Stefanie Couch (33:04):
And that story of the, that could be a brutal
story to tell, like a customertestimonial, talking about that
in the middle of the night.
Right, you feel that deeply ifit's happening at your house
right now.
Beth Carr (33:18):
Can you imagine the testimonial being something like
oh my gosh, you know mythree-year-old.
We had no idea that theyflushed down the fire truck down
the toilet and so we'restanding here knee deep in water
.
Yeah, hopefully hopefully it'swater but acme plumbing came to
save us at three in the morning.
(33:39):
Yeah, right now, that's thestory.
Stefanie Couch (33:42):
I'm gonna be like 1-800-ACME-PLUMBER right
and the cute kid standing therewith his fire truck.
You know, it's like that sells.
Beth Carr (33:50):
Right, oh, I love it.
And then I would say that thethird mistake that I see a lot
and you probably see this allthe time too, stephanie is don't
cut corners when it comes tothe user experience on your
website and have a website right.
So your website is a 24-7 cashmachine.
(34:11):
It is your salesperson right.
They are the cheapestsalesperson you're going to have
.
But you need to invest andthere are ways to do it very
inexpensively when you're firststarting out.
But there's also a flex point.
When you hit, your businesshits, let's just say, a high six
figure, seven figure revenue.
I'd highly recommend invest inyour visual and verbal stories
(34:34):
in your brand so that you arereally coming off very
professional in your website andthere's a certain psychology
behind it and a formula and aframework that we use.
I know you use a very powerfulframework too, stephanie, where
it's really like what is yourwebsite saying visually and
verbally?
How do I get ahold of you?
Is it easy for me to contactyou?
(34:55):
Are there big buttons tellingme what you need me to do?
A lot of times when clientscome to us, they're like we
don't know why we're not makingany sales.
And we look at their websiteand we're like I don't know why
we're not making any sales.
And we look at their websiteand we're like I don't know
where to buy from you.
I don't know how to talk to you.
There's no big button tellingme what you want me to do next.
So that's the next thing,people don't.
Stefanie Couch (35:14):
They don't signpost and they think we don't
need to have an arrow pointingto this thing.
No, you actually do literallyhave that arrow sometimes
Because we, as humans if youthink about signs on road signs
it directionally tells youexactly how fast to go, where
the turns are coming up, what tostop and go like.
(35:36):
Colors mean things.
Why would a website or anythingin your other parts of your
decision making be differentthan that?
If you have to have it to drivea road that maybe you've driven
before or not, maybe no one'sever seen your product, maybe
it's totally new, it might be aroad they've never driven before
.
One thing I will say about thewebsite, because I love that one
(35:56):
.
In my industry specifically,that is a big one because it's
not something most people thinkis important right now.
Now, home service businesses area little different, but a lot
of times, people sellingproducts, what I hear a lot of
is well, we're not selling theline, we're not going to sell
e-commerce.
So my first thing to that wouldbe well, you probably should
start thinking about that,because in the building
(36:18):
materials industry, specificallysince 2021, it is three X and
that was after COVID and thepandemic type shutdown couldn't
buy stuff in person.
So it's continued to reallyskyrocket.
It's only going toexponentially grow.
Our generation of millennialsand Gen Z want to do research
and probably purchase online.
(36:39):
That's just how we do things.
It's how we were raised.
We were raised to buy it onAmazon and it comes the next day
, maybe the same day, and wewant that.
So my first rebuttal of thatwould be you should think about
e-commerce.
But even if you don't havee-commerce right now and you're
not going to put it in stilldoesn't mean people aren't
researching before they come tothat lumberyard or call and
(37:02):
email their order in.
They need to be able to alsoshow homeowners a lot of times
the products and the moreinformation you have on there
that I can now educate myself upfront on my time.
It also saves your salespeopletime.
So it's a win-win for everyone.
And even if you go with a veryexpensive website and not
(37:24):
something that's just a you knowtemplated website, if you spent
20, 30, $40,000 on your website, if you sell one house full of
$200,000 window package whichthose go out all the time,
you've made that money backpretty fast, right.
And if those windows weren't onthere before, maybe that
homeowner or contractor didn'teven know you really offered
them, or they couldn't make agood enough decision based on
(37:46):
what they're seeing.
So I think that it's moreimportant than especially
certain people that aren'tselling online believe and there
are a lot of e-commercebusinesses where they're making
all their money on their website.
I understand why they know it'simportant, but even those can
still be optimized.
So I mean, I think it's that'sprobably the biggest one I see
(38:08):
right now in my industry is likewell, we've got this website
that we made in 2003 that stillhas pictures on it that have the
date when the picture was takenin yellow from their camera,
like physical film camera.
We took it on and going back tothe beautiful imagery, you know
, if you're showing projects,people can envision themselves
(38:28):
doing the thing when they see it, touch it or feel it, and
that's a big deal For someonestarting out.
That's a new company, or maybethis is a new initiative to them
, maybe the personal brandingthing, or they're posting online
for the first time.
What would you give as a firststep to take a brand and build a
strong story around it?
Beth Carr (38:47):
I want you to focus on your elevator pitch, and it's
a very simple formula.
I can share that with theaudience.
Stefanie Couch (38:54):
I can drop a link.
Yeah, that would be awesome.
Beth Carr (38:55):
I'd love to hear it Because it's a worksheet, right,
yeah, but it really helps youstart to think In your elevator
pitch, as you start to buildyour brand because you want to
be able to.
Like I said, you are a naturalmarketer, so going out there and
starting to tell people whatyou do, you're going to have
different variations.
You're going to talk verydifferently to person who is
like your ideal customer, versusyour grandma, versus your
(39:20):
children, okay, but so you'regoing to have different
variations when somebody.
But when somebody says what doyou do?
This is your opportunity tomarket.
And, by the way, don't overrideyour grandma.
Your grandma, you know for afact, she's going to be talking
about you proudfully with allher friends.
Oh, do you know what mygrandson does?
(39:42):
Well, he does your best.
Stefanie Couch (39:43):
Salesperson for your best salesperson, right.
Beth Carr (39:46):
So you want to be able to pitch really well.
And the pitch, the formula isyou start, you open up with the
problem that you see yourclients facing, right, um.
So let's go back to plumbing,right Um, there's nothing worse
than a plumbing emergency atthree in the morning.
There, you've just opened upwith a story loop and you've
given me a problem.
(40:06):
Why are we opening up with aproblem?
It's because, again, as humans,not only do we want to know how
to thrive and survive, but wealso are problem solvers, and so
that's why the news is filledwith all the bad news, right,
people glom onto that.
But as soon as you get to likethe good news moment, you notice
those segments are like lessthan a second and they're very
(40:27):
quick.
Why?
Because people, that's notsticky, what's sticky are
problems, right.
So you've opened up with aproblem and then you say you
know nothing worse than 3 amemergency.
Well, that's why Acme Plumbing,we are 24-7 on call and we will
, and, after serving thousandsof customers, we will be able to
fix it within hours so that youcan go back to sleep and have a
(40:49):
next best day.
Yeah, that's your full pitch.
You've just told me the problem.
You've told me what you've done.
You've given me a little visualstory of what success could
look like, which is you get togo on with your life
uninterrupted.
You can show up at your job,you can bring the kids to
childcare.
Like no one will even know, youhad a plumbing emergency at
(41:10):
three in the morning.
Stefanie Couch (41:11):
Yeah, I love it.
It's such a great thing alsofor people Like if you're going
to a networking event and youdon't have that 30 to 60 second
spilled down pat of who you are,what you do, how you do it, all
those things that we just youjust talked about, you're going
(41:32):
to be the one that, when youstart to introduce yourself,
people's eyes glaze over andthey're like, get me out of this
room.
And you don't want to be thatperson.
You want to be the one thatthey're, like, intrigued at what
you do.
Maybe they have no reason to beinterested in that service or
thing that you're selling, butthey at least understand it,
hopefully.
And if they are interested,then they say something like
well, tell me more about that,or they ask you a question about
(41:52):
it.
But most of the time peopleramble on for so long it kills
me and you see them dying insidewhile they're doing it because
they don't know what to say andthey're very nervous.
And having that practiced, asfor a company or for your
personal brand, is reallyimportant and you know you can
make it fun or you can make itmore professional, depending on
(42:14):
the setting and your personality.
You know, when I introducedmyself.
It's a little bit more probablypeppy than it was when I was
working for a big corporation,because I can kind of say what I
want, because I'm doing my ownthing now, right.
So it depends on the atmosphereas well.
If I'm speaking to a room fullof executives, I might be a
little different than if I'mspeaking to a room full of.
I'm speaking to teenage girls.
(42:35):
In March at a young women'sconference and so I'm going to
probably be a little differentthan if I was speaking to a
bunch of buttoned up CEOs.
So I think it's it's have avariety of elevator pitch, uh
tones.
Maybe your message doesn'tchange, but your delivery might,
Right.
Such a good tip for a firststep.
Well, tell me a little moreabout how people can find you.
(42:57):
If they're interested intalking to you about branding
and stories, how can they findyou?
Beth Carr (43:03):
Our website is fortifiedbrandingcom.
There'll be a link, probablybelow, and you hit the button
saying let's talk and we willhop on a phone and figure out
what is going on for you andyour business where we can help
you grow by acquiring more salesand customers.
(43:24):
Grow by acquiring more salesand customers.
Also, probably Stephanie is areally great resource as a
partner where you never know,she and I might be working
together.
Stefanie Couch (43:34):
It could be Absolutely, and you also are on
LinkedIn.
I see you there all the time.
You post and talk about how youcan do this on LinkedIn, and I
love that's actually how weconnected.
So I will say just to end thisif you aren't telling your story
on LinkedIn and you're a B2Bperson in most industries, try
it out, because I think peoplestill think that LinkedIn is for
(43:57):
resumes, and when you need ajob and even if you do need a
job, don't wait until you needit to post you can make amazing
connections on LinkedIn.
This is one of mine that I'vemade over the last two years
since I've been posting, and I'mreally grateful for you being
on the show today.
So thank you so much.
You are a great storyteller andI do want to ask you one
(44:17):
closing question what is yourfavorite story or brand that
tells stories right now, today?
What?
Beth Carr (44:25):
sticks out to you.
It's really interesting thatyou asked that, because you know
Nike is one of my faves.
Yeah, but I want to.
I'm trying to come up withanother one.
I think another one, sincewe're kind of thinking about
like athletic wear.
Kuma does a really good job ofthat.
The way they tell stories, theway they illustrate what success
(44:46):
looks like by wearing theirgear, the way they're involved
in community, the way theysupport teams right, it's an
overall great feeling to beconnected to.
Stefanie Couch (44:58):
I love it.
I will say that for me it is theOlympics this year had a female
rugby player athlete I'mprobably going to butcher the
name I think it's Ilma, I thinkit's how you say her name, but
I'm not sure and she ended upgoing on Dancing with the Stars
and she's, like, done all thisamazing stuff with her social
media and she really just tookthat to like a whole nother
(45:20):
level and created this thing outof a sport that was probably
not very publicized with herbrand and she's funny, witty.
She's just exactly who she isand I love when people show up
that way and I always want totry to show up as exactly who I
am, so I'll just leave theaudience with.
If you aren't like everyoneelse, great, that's an awesome
(45:43):
way to share your story.
Don't try to be someone elsebecause you are unique for a
reason and it's so stinkingboring to show up like everyone
else thinks you should.
So be you and embrace youruniqueness, and the story that
you come out with will be a lotmore memorable and probably a
lot more fun for you to tellthan if you try to be super
corporate and buttoned up.
Beth Carr (46:04):
Amen.
Stefanie Couch (46:06):
Awesome.
Well, thank you so much, Beth,for spending time on the Grit
Blueprint, and we will catch allof you listeners on the next
episode.
Thank you, that's it for thisepisode of the Grit Blueprint
podcast.
For more tools, training andindustry content, make sure to
subscribe here and follow me onLinkedIn and other social media
(46:28):
platforms To find out more abouthow Grit Blueprint can help you
grow your business.
Check us out at our website,gritblueprintcom.
Don't cut corners when it comes to the user
experience on your website andhave a website right.
So your website is a 24-7 cashmachine.
It is your salesperson.
They are the cheapestsalesperson you're going to have
, but you need to invest.
You, the business owner, youare the guide and your audience
(00:21):
are the heroes.
You're helping them find whatthey need to be able to be
successful and avoid failure.
Stefanie Couch (00:28):
If you look at great companies that do this so
well, they hardly ever showproduct.
It's not about the product,it's about the story and the
person they're telling the storyabout.
Beth Carr (00:37):
This is a gift to the lumber company that's listening
right now, right.
Stefanie Couch (00:43):
Welcome to the Grit Blueprint Podcast, the show
for bold builders, brandleaders and legacy makers in the
construction and buildingindustry.
I'm your host, stephanie Couch,and I've been in this industry
my entire life.
Whether we're breaking downwhat's working in sales and
marketing, new advances in AIand automation, or interviewing
(01:07):
top industry leaders, you'regoing to get real-world
strategies to grow your business, build your brand and lead your
team.
Let's get to work.
Welcome to the Grit Blueprint.
Today we are diving into one ofmy favorite topics.
I love to talk about storiesand we are going to talk about
(01:28):
storytelling in marketing and inbranding, especially in boring
industries, which can be like myhome industry of the
construction and buildingindustry.
I have my guest on today, bethCarr, who is an amazing branding
and storytelling expert.
Welcome to the show, beth.
Beth Carr (01:46):
Thank you so much.
I'm so happy to be here.
Stefanie Couch (01:49):
I am really excited to talk about this
because I know we both arepassionate about this and
whether you're building acompany brand or your own
personal brand, the right storyand how you actually show up can
really set you apart.
It can build trust and it canbe the driver of your success.
So today we're going to talkabout this and you're a
specialist in branding, a storybrand guide through Donald
(02:12):
Miller, who I know we both loveand his stuff is amazing to help
people do this and the founderof Fortified Branding, so you
really help businesses andindividuals clarify their
messaging and create their brandstories that are compelling and
connect with other people thatthey want to connect with.
You have worked with startups,fortune 500s and personal brands
(02:32):
and you love helping peoplestand out in crowded markets.
So thank you for joining metoday and I'm really excited to
jump in to why this matters.
Beth Carr (02:41):
So am I especially.
I love that you said boringbusinesses.
There's fun in there.
Stefanie Couch (02:47):
That's for sure, and I see some of the most
inventive and creative thingscoming from people like that,
maybe because it's unexpected,but also because there's just so
much thing, so many things thatyou can do with those stories
right.
So we're going to break downwhy they matter and how
businesses can really use themeffectively, and then maybe you
can give us some of the biggestmistakes you see people make
(03:09):
when they're telling their brandstories.
But I really want to kick itoff with just a really general
question of what actually makesstorytelling so powerful in
marketing and why do you thinkthat people actually connect
with stories way more than factsor figures?
I actually say this a lot whenI'm speaking is I'll tell a
story and then a few minuteslater, I'll tell a fact or
(03:29):
figure or three, and then no oneremembers the facts.
They only remember thealligator story I told at the
beginning or whatever it was.
So why do people do this andwhy does it matter so much?
Beth Carr (03:40):
Yeah Well, we are wired, you know, way back when,
right, Centuries and centuries,thousands and thousands of years
.
We are wired to tell stories.
Stories are what have passeddown culture, legends, fables,
morals, values in cultures allour lives and so people.
(04:05):
We're naturally wired to hangon to words and visualize a
journey.
Stories are transformative.
They really take you on a trainand they take you someplace,
and so facts and figures arereally great.
It backs up stories.
Sometimes people will rememberfigures, like when you open up
maybe with like a number, right,people will lean in.
(04:27):
For example, you know threebest ways to market for
construction, right, people willbe like, oh, what are the three
best ways?
But backing that up then with astory, people will then
associate the number of whatyou've done with how to actually
apply it.
Stories are a way of teachingpeople how to do things, how to
(04:48):
act, how to proceed, how to bein community, how to do business
.
And so when we lean intostorytelling especially when it
comes to acquiring new sales andnew clients right, because
that's ultimately what I do as ajob is, you know, growth?
Um, it all comes back down tohow do are those stories
(05:11):
connecting with?
Uh, where people are sitting intheir minds.
Um, and how are they doing itso that they can thrive and
survive?
Cause that's also part of ourwiring.
We're always in that fight orflight mode.
Stefanie Couch (05:24):
It is really interesting when you think about
you know, growing up I loved toread and be read to.
I think a lot of kids did andthose stories that you remember
from your childhood like maybeyou don't even remember what
book it's from, but you rememberthat it was a crazy cool story.
I have a Nancy Drew book thatwas like the bell tower or
something, and I remember thatbook and I read it in fourth
(05:46):
grade I think, and for somereason that story stuck with me.
And you think about movies alsoa lot of times the actual story
is very similar to other moviesthat you've seen, yet You're
still so drawn to it and thecharacter development and all of
that really just makes you.
It resonates with you.
I think about Taylor Sheridan,who's Yellowstone and now has
(06:07):
Landman.
My husband and I just recentlywatched Landman.
I don't know if you've watchedit, but crazy character
development.
This guy is epic at that.
I don't know if he does all ofit by himself or what, but his
mind, the way he's developingthese characters you just feel
so deeply like you know them.
And when you know people,whether they're crazy character
like Beth Dutton or the new wifein the Landman, or it's someone
(06:30):
that you're like wow, I want tobe like that person.
It resonates deeply with us.
And so I think, as a company,sometimes we lose the idea that
a person could care about a CEOor an executive or you know any
person that works in a company,or even the company itself.
And if you look at greatcompanies that do this so well
(06:52):
like Nike is a good example ofthat they hardly ever show
product.
I mean, they show it, you'rewearing it, you're running in
the shoes, you're doing whatever, but it's not about the product
, it's about the story and theperson they're telling the story
about.
So how can boring businesses dothis?
I mean, if you're a plumbingcompany or a lumberyard, how do
(07:13):
you tell a story in a way that'snot like here's this stick of
wood that we cut down out of theforest, maybe that is the story
that you know.
Here's the life cycle of that.
How do you do that?
Beth Carr (07:23):
Yeah, so, first of all, you just touched on so many
like my brain was bursting.
There's so many things and justthe nuggets you just said.
So Taylor Sheridan has been abrilliant writer.
It's amazing how he'sdominating so many different
shows right now, because he isdelving into what drives people
Right.
And and then when you talkedabout Nike, it really also the
(07:48):
stories that are happening isreally about status.
Right, because I have theseshoes, I'm going to be a
stronger athlete, warrior,olympian, right, like I'm doing
it.
Right, the just do it slogan.
And so, with your question, howdo companies that appear to be
boring or like midstream,especially in home services,
(08:11):
home building, construction,which seems pretty
straightforward why do you needstories and why is it important?
It's because, even then, whenwe think about who are you
serving.
So let's use a lumber yard.
I happen to be married to acraftsman.
He's a furniture maker,woodworker, cabinet maker, makes
vaulted ceilings, libraries,tiki bars and then a kitchen.
(08:37):
When you think about thatindustry, what is that owner,
the woodworker, experiencing intheir lives as they're then
going to the lumberyard, right,and so the lumberyard has a
really great opportunity toreally delve into who are they
serving, why are all thedifferent types of people coming
(08:58):
to the lumberyard.
Are they a weekend warrior,where they're dreaming up
something and they're going tolike, do their weekend warrior,
I'm going to make a coffee table, right, yeah?
Or or is it this?
You know professional craftsperson that you know has a 30
year veteran, like my husband,who really wants to, has been
(09:20):
hired to make a one ofof-a-kinddining room table because their
client is imagining the legacythey're going to leave and the
memories they're going to createaround the table, right?
So now the lumberyard has thisopportunity to talk about hey,
craftsperson, we're going tohelp you create that legacy so
(09:43):
that every piece of wood that wehave selected and cut, we know
and believe that we are creatingmaterials for you to then build
and leave a legacy right.
Stefanie Couch (09:55):
Yeah, now there's a story.
It's really about all of thebeautiful products that they
create too.
I'm sure your husband hascreated things that are just
really beautiful to look at.
And then there's the story thatgoes with that.
I see a lot of my clients and alot of their clients that buy
from them.
They don't have pictures, theydon't have videos which help
(10:17):
tell the story.
Because you know, you canaesthetically show a story, just
like you can do it with words,and then if you combine both,
it's even more powerful usually.
And so how do you get thosethose things that aren't really
being seen?
They're done, they're beautiful, they're amazing projects, but
we're just not getting the endproduct because they're up the
channel, right.
So like your husband could takepictures with his phone, but
(10:38):
what about the person who soldhim the lumber and the person
that sold that company thelumber?
And up the channel three orfour, it's hard to get that.
So I think it's about findingcreative ways to connect all the
way up and down the channel tofigure out how does that story
and those pictures and videostranslate for every single
person involved, all the waydown to that end user who is
(10:58):
having that Thanksgiving dinnerwith the six grandkids and the
four generations for 10 years,20, 30 years to come, at that
table he's building.
Beth Carr (11:07):
It's beautiful really when you think about it like
that you just opened up anincredible story loop, right?
Maybe this is a gift to thelumber company that's listening
right now, right?
So imagine if you are doingexactly what you're guiding your
clients to do which isbrilliant, stephanie is what
happens when the lumber companyactually takes a photo of the
(11:29):
person who cut down the tree themachinist that actually made
the slabs of wood, right?
The trucker that actuallybrought the lumber to the lumber
yard, the people in the lumberyard that have all the knowledge
of all the different types ofwood and what it does and what
it's great for, even thelumberyard owner.
(11:49):
You take photos of that, andthen there's a campaign around
that which is telling the storyof there are a lot of people who
have touched what has beencreated as a legacy, and that
we're all connected in givingyou that legacy.
Right Now, you've really drawnin the people who are coming to
(12:10):
buy in a way that makes thelumberyard stand out differently
, because they are creatingtheir own voice and their own
way of telling the story of,let's just say, connectedness,
right From the tree to thedining room table right, you
have there's a lineage of peoplewho have crafted this
(12:33):
experience for you, right,absolutely, and so we're more
than just a lumberyard.
We serve up incredibleopportunities to create memories
.
Right Now, you have this fullstory loop.
It's really cool that would makea lumberyard completely
different.
Stefanie Couch (12:48):
It is, and it's more than just a place that
sells products, and oftenlumberyards are considered a
commodity product, especiallynot specialty, like woods that
somebody like a craftsman wouldmake a dining room table out of.
But sometimes you're justframing a wall in a house.
That's a normal house.
It's not some super customhouse on a mountain somewhere
that is going to be $12 million.
(13:08):
Maybe it's just a place thatthat first time homeowner is
going to bring their first childhome in.
Now, a starter home is not like$200,000.
It's like $800,000.
But it's depending on where youlive.
Where you live, you probablycouldn't even get a house for
$800,000 on a starter home, butit's like wow, this is not
something crazy that we have toshow a perfect story about, and
(13:31):
I think that's one thing I wantto touch on a little bit is I
believe that one of the reasonspeople don't get into these
types of marketing, especiallypeople who have not
traditionally done this so, nike, they've been doing it for
years.
They have just been doing itfor years.
They have just been doing itfor years.
They know what they're doing.
They're spending millions andmillions of dollars on campaigns
and they are used to thinkingthis way.
(13:54):
But someone.
That's a business who's beendoing a lot of word of mouth,
marketing, referrals, that's howthey're getting their clients.
They probably have neverthought about this.
So then the idea of doing thatcampaign, we just kind of mapped
out on a cocktail napkin.
They're like, well, we don'tknow how to do the video and we
don't have this and we don'tknow where we would post it, and
it's very overwhelming forpeople.
(14:15):
So for a business that isstarting, one way that I
actually like to tell people isdon't, don't try to go crazy.
Just post on your personalLinkedIn like your story or
someone's story that you canpost a customer or whatever, but
just one person, one picture,one thing.
How can someone who maybe isn'tthe CEO that could just post
whatever they want?
(14:35):
How do you find somethingvaluable to post online that
would be good for your customerbase or good for your, maybe
even other people that want towork at your company, to see
what it's like to work there?
How would you see personalbranding being a way that people
can tell their own storywithout maybe feeling like
they're they're not perfect andthey don't.
They aren't a marketing person,so they don't know what to do.
Beth Carr (14:56):
Here's the reframe on marketing, right?
Marketing is, you know, maybethere's this analogy the it's,
it's beautiful, it's in a bigwhite tent and the horses are,
you know, in this beautiful redregalia.
(15:16):
And you know, everyone, all theperformers have these beautiful
costumes full of feathers andbling.
That's brand.
But how do you let people know?
The circus is there.
That's marketing, right?
It's the posters, it's theamplification, it's the person
handing out flyers on the corner.
It's, you know, it could evenbe Google ads now in the modern
day, Right?
(15:37):
And so, ultimately, all of usare natural marketers.
If you're not letting peopleknow, hey, yeah, I have, you
know, I, um, I have aconstruction company, I'm a GC,
um, I'm a cabinet maker.
If people don maker, if you'renot telling people that, then
they don't know what you do.
So you're already marketing,and even the smallest things
(15:59):
letting someone know what you doand where you're located is a
form of marketing.
So I want to kind of first justalso take off the any kind of
myth that we think like, oh, I'mnot a marketer.
Actually, we're all verynatural marketers.
If you're not marketing, you'renot selling.
And if you're not selling, thenmaybe you don't own a business,
you're working for someone else, right.
(16:20):
So that's one.
And then the second is inbuilding your personal brand.
It's about consistency andshowing up about your beliefs.
So if you're a passionate,let's just say you're a
passionate general contractor.
So if you're a passionate,let's just say you're a
passionate general contractorand you are doing commercial
spaces right.
There's a certain quality thatyou have to have to be a good GC
(16:44):
.
There's a lot of moving partson a construction site.
There's even matters of safety,right.
So, as a GC, you show up withyour phone which phones are
brilliant.
Now you don't need fancy videoequipment, you just point, shoot
, press play.
It does not have to be scriptedor perfect, but you could be
like hi, y'all, here I am, youknow, we're on site.
(17:06):
This is like the first timewe're doing a site visit and we
can already point out what weknow from a GC's perspective
what needs to happen to makethis site safe for all the crews
, the kind of paperwork we need,blah, blah, blah, blah.
So even that is a form ofmarketing.
It's building up yourintellectual property, your
(17:26):
knowledge of what you do in yourindustry, and you're sharing it
with the world.
That's a form of marketing andit's building a personal brand.
Where I also believe thatcompanies can really lean in and
retain and attract new talentis you also ask your employees
to empower themselves to talkabout their experience, right?
(17:47):
So let's go back to thisexample I'm using with the GC on
a construction site.
The GC then says, you know, andhere's my crew, and everyone's
like, hey, we're the crew, right, like he's.
For you know, put the video tothe crew.
The crew then can go off and belike, yeah, here I am, you know
.
You just, you know, I work forso-and-such GC and here we are
on site and my job on the crewis to, you know, part of the
(18:09):
demo, right?
And there is a certain safe wayof doing demos.
So watch what we do when we're,like you know, using the
sledgehammer, right?
Stefanie Couch (18:17):
Everybody loves a demo day, like if you watch
HGTV.
There's nothing better thanwatching people tear some things
up, right.
Beth Carr (18:25):
I mean, that's why we have smash rooms.
There's a reason, right?
People love seeing thingsbrought down to be recreated,
right?
So there's an opportunity therein building your personal brand
, and it might be on LinkedIn,it might be on Instagram, right?
You also have to understandwhere are the people that you
serve living online.
(18:46):
They might be on Facebook, theymight be on Twitter, right,
like it really depends, andthat's where, then, you want to
start posting and building yourpersonal brand.
Stefanie Couch (18:54):
It's crazy to me how many people think like
Facebook's dead, but from an adsperspective and just in general
, like Facebook is still aliveand well.
So it is.
If you look at some of theseFacebook groups, they have like
a hundred thousand people thatare roofers or whatever, and
they're very active.
So I think, like you said,finding where your audience is
and that might be a littletesting process, but the biggest
(19:17):
thing I would say to people isdon't think that your story
doesn't matter or you're nothigh up enough, or you're not
experienced enough, or you don'thave something practiced to say
.
Like you said, just sharingwhat you're doing in your behind
the scenes content or as you'redocumenting your life, you're
just showing what you're doing.
People are so intrigued by thatand I see videos on Instagram
(19:38):
especially, or TikTok, that have, you know, hundreds of
thousands of likes and a lot ofcomments that are literally
something that you're like howdid that get so many likes?
It's just a video of someonewith like a drill, drilling in
you know a big, long screw intoa jack set or something.
Seventy seven thousand likesbecause people are curious and
(20:00):
they want to know how thingswork and our brains need to.
I call it like solving the loopor solving the problem loop.
If your brain starts to watch avideo like that, it needs to
see what happens at the end, andso I think it's about figuring
out.
What do you do that would beinteresting to other people,
that they don't understand orthey don't know, and just video
(20:20):
it and talk about it.
Like you said, you're the expertin something, and even if
you're not the world renownedexpert you're not the smartest
or the longest you know you'vebeen in this 46 years that
doesn't matter.
You just got to show up, and soI think that's.
And phones, like you said, youdon't need a $7,000 camera, you
don't need a camera person.
(20:41):
You have your hand and a phonehit, play or record and that's
it.
So I think just starting is thebiggest thing for people.
It's very scary to start,though, especially on video.
It's exposed, right?
You're exposing who you are,and what if people don't like it
?
I think that's the biggestthing is people aren't going to
like it sometimes, and you gotto just keep showing up because
(21:01):
you are who you are and noteveryone's going to like us.
There are probably people thatare like God.
I hate that girl in the hat.
Beth Carr (21:06):
She's so obnoxious you know, and we're not for
everyone, and I always amencouraging clients.
You know, when they're showingup and they're like, oh, it
feels so vulnerable and I'm likewhat will help you get out of
your own way is to realize thatthere is a reason why you were
put here to do this vocation.
For now, yeah, and that if youthink of being of service, that
(21:28):
there is someone else out therewho's waiting just for you.
Stefanie Couch (21:32):
Yeah.
Beth Carr (21:32):
Whether it's the drill in the wall or behind the
scenes, people are waiting foryou to give them the excuse to
be free of their own limitingbeliefs.
Right, Because they're seeingyou represent something that
they identify with.
Stefanie Couch (21:46):
Yeah, I love that.
Beth Carr (21:47):
So when you can get out of your own way, then it's
not a big deal to get on cameraand briefly talk about like this
is the way we go about making apiece of furniture or how we go
about creating an incredibleconstruction company.
Stefanie Couch (22:04):
Right, you should get your husband to do
some content.
Does he ever film or show whathe does?
Beth Carr (22:08):
You and I are going to talk later offline.
Stefanie Couch (22:12):
We want you to stay married and happy.
So let's just move to the nextquestion.
It's real easy to give thisadvice.
It's harder to do it and haveyour people you love and know do
it.
Well, I do want to talk aboutframework.
So I know I've read a lot ofDonna Miller stuff and you are a
certified story brand and youhave a framework that is the
(22:33):
StoryBrand framework that reallyhelps people figure out how to
basically do a step-by-stepguide.
Tell me a little bit about whatthe StoryBrand framework is and
how you use it in yourday-to-day work.
Beth Carr (22:46):
Yeah, so the StoryBrand framework was
brilliantly created by DonaldMiller as a way of using what he
learned in writing books andmovie scripts and how you can
apply it to business.
So the framework, really, itfocuses on the different
structures that stories have ingeneral, right, so there's
(23:07):
always a hero of a story have ingeneral, right so there's
always a hero of a story,there's a guide, there's a
villain, and then there issuccess and failure.
Right, so let's use a story wemight all identify with.
Let's use Star Wars, which youknow it's mega, right, A lot of
(23:33):
people.
I'm always shocked if there arepeople who don't know.
So if you don't know, go watchit.
Stefanie Couch (23:36):
It's an incredible epic.
It's full of our.
If you haven't seen Star Wars,we're about to ruin it for you,
right?
Beth Carr (23:41):
What normally happens when the story opens we always
we meet the hero, right.
And you know comic books likethe Superman, batman stories.
We think, oh, hero, the cape,they're big.
They're large, but mostly whenyou look at like construction of
a story in a movie.
Or we can even take JasonBourne, for example.
(24:02):
When the movie opens, the herois lost.
They don't know what's going on.
They're having some kind ofcrisis, right?
So we take Luke Skywalker he'slike who am I, where am I?
Right?
Jason Bourne he has no morememory, right?
Stefanie Couch (24:19):
He's just like where am I Right, and he looks
like a normal person.
I think it's also interesting,Like a lot of times.
Like you said, it's not thecape and it's Clark Kent.
It's not Superman at thebeginning.
Beth Carr (24:36):
That's right.
And so heroes actually are theweak character, normally at the
beginning of a story.
The reason why we're drawn intostory is that hero, by the end
of the story, has gone throughan arc, right, they've become
who they are and then wear thecape, right.
But we're watching that journey.
We're watching behind thescenes the drill, right.
(24:57):
We're watching the donuts beingmade, right.
So we're already intrigued.
Well, along the way the hero islost, they meet a guide, right.
So again, star Wars, it was Yoda, right.
Or Obi-Wan Kenobi, right.
Jason Bourne, it's the FBIpeople, the CIA people, right?
Or like well, we shouldprobably tell you who you are at
(25:19):
some point, right, and maybememories will come back.
They are the guide.
They're the ones who are sayinglisten, if you do this plan,
which is normally three steps,you are going to avoid this type
of failure.
For Star Wars, it's like well,then, you know, the evil people,
right, will not take over theplanet, right.
(25:41):
Or for Jason Bourne, you'regoing to save the world, right,
you're going to, you know, stopthe threat, right, and then
success is the final outcome,right.
So how you apply that tobusiness is when you're focusing
on you, the business owner, youare the guide and your audience
(26:05):
are the heroes.
You're helping them find whatthey need to be able to be
successful and avoid failure,which I think going back to that
fear actually helps people getover the fact that they don't
have to be this big, shiny hero.
Stefanie Couch (26:21):
They just need to help other people win, which
does help.
Most people say, okay, if I'mhelping others, I can hit, play
on the record of this video or Ican post this this thing, or go
do this extra work to showcasethis project that we're doing,
that.
You know I don't really havetime to take all these pictures,
but because I want people tosee what we're doing, I'm going
(26:41):
to do that.
So it does take a little bit ofthe pressure off, because I
think sometimes people do thinkthey have to be this shiny,
perfect thing, the hero, andthey don't.
Beth Carr (26:50):
Right, and so I use that framework with also other
frameworks that I've developedproprietarily over my 18 years
of building brands in corporateand then taking that into this
consultancy fortified that I runin helping small to
medium-sized businesses be ableto really acquire new business
(27:10):
through stories and growth.
Right, and so those frameworksare a way of like digging into
juicy insights about who youraudience is right and then what
are the visual and verbalstories that are going to
attract your ideal audience,where you're again positioned as
like, come to, let's go back tothe lumberyard.
(27:32):
Come to the lumberyard, we'regoing to guide you on what are
the best materials for theproject that you have in hand,
and or we are going to be theguide as your partner, where
we're always going to be therehelping you find the best
materials for your constructioncompany, for your plumbing, et
cetera.
Stefanie Couch (27:50):
Yeah, it's really cool.
I have a customer right now I'mworking on a project with that
works with an artist slasharchitect who's a town planner
and he has developed this linewith my client of custom
millwork and doors and moldingsand all these really cool things
.
It's like watching Walt Disneywork for doors and buildings and
(28:13):
all these things, and so hesketches these amazing things
and part of the problem thatthey were helping him solve is
that he had a lot of reallycustom, amazing projects and
could not find the materialsthat he wanted to represent the
styles like Hollywood, regencyor Greek Revival or classic,
whatever he's trying to do sothey actually came up with the
(28:35):
solution for him.
That then was a solution forthe homeowners that wanted this
style home, and so they'rereally solving problems.
So he's the hero of thehomeowner's story, giving them
their dream home or a community.
Sometimes he's drawing entireplans for like 1,200 homes and
then that customer of mine ishelping him solve the problem
(28:55):
and it's really about showingall of that and then also
hopefully showing that endproduct where homeowner is in
said dream home and thesebeautiful things are surrounding
them in the molding and thedoors and all those things that
we help design.
It's really fun to be a part ofprojects like that and to watch
people especially smallbusinesses win in a way that
(29:16):
they didn't just didn't think ofbefore, and sometimes they're
grinding so hard.
You know, entrepreneurship istough, especially when you're
starting out and you're doingeverything and you sometimes
forget to share those stories ortake those pictures, and so if
you're reframing that as like,hey, this could really help
drive revenue.
(29:36):
It's not just about documentingthe journey.
This could help you.
It can be a big difference intheir business, because people
need to show what they're doing.
What are some of the commonmistakes that you see your
clients or just people ingeneral, when they're telling
their story or working on tryingto build this brand?
What do you see them do thatyou would say like, hey, maybe
top three things not to do or totry to avoid, yeah, one is
(30:00):
making assumptions about whoyou're serving versus actually
who you're serving.
Beth Carr (30:05):
So I highly recommend especially if you're a small
business and you're trying toscale and maybe you don't have
the budget yet to invest insomeone like you, stephanie, or
someone like me or our agenciesis to start talking to your
current clients, clients thathave been with you for, like,
maybe the past three months,right.
(30:26):
So you, because you want their,the client's memories to be
pretty fresh, sure, I wouldstart asking them questions like
what made you come to us?
How has the experience been?
What are the positives thatyou've?
You know that you got from,like, interacting with us.
What are the things that yousee that we should improve on or
things that we're lacking rightNow?
(30:48):
Some of your clients mighttotally ghost you and not
respond, but even if you canspeak to just a small handful,
even two or three, you're goingto get an idea of what is
driving them, what was keepingthem up at night, what were some
of the things that they weretrying to overcome before
finding you and your service.
And then what is?
(31:08):
What is the outcome been sincefinding your service, right?
So, mistake number one we makeassumptions without any kind of
research, right, market researchon what, what is, who are
really your client base.
Another and this might beharder, but the other part of
(31:29):
your client base where also youcan get really juicy insights
are when you start to delve intoclients that have left, people
who have bought.
So, let's say again, lumberyard.
It's very transactional.
I would follow up with peoplewho have bought from the
Lumberyard in the past threemonths.
How was that exchange?
Did you find what you needed?
Was there quality of materials?
(31:49):
What brought you here Right?
So that's going to give you areally good idea.
Second mistake that I see isthat the business will talk too
much about themselves, right?
Quite honestly, when I amlooking for a plumber, I don't
honestly care that you are thefourth generation and that
you've been around since 1960,whatever, whatever.
(32:12):
What I need to hear is we are24-7.
You have an emergency.
We are there, we're going tofix it.
We're not going to, you know,overcharge you and gouge you in
prices.
We're very fair.
We guarantee and warranty ourwork.
That's what I need to hear, butI need to also hear it wrapped
in why are people calling the24-7 emergency plumber?
(32:35):
Well, there is a major crisisin my house, so I need you to
talk about my crisis, not aboutthat.
You've been around since 1962.
Stefanie Couch (32:46):
Okay, yeah, 100% .
And also that you've probablysolved the horrible problem that
I now have going on in my houseand it was no big deal to you,
because you do that 100 times amonth Exactly.
Beth Carr (32:59):
Yeah Right, Highly experienced right.
We can do it with our eyesclosed for you.
Stefanie Couch (33:04):
And that story of the, that could be a brutal
story to tell, like a customertestimonial, talking about that
in the middle of the night.
Right, you feel that deeply ifit's happening at your house
right now.
Beth Carr (33:18):
Can you imagine the testimonial being something like
oh my gosh, you know mythree-year-old.
We had no idea that theyflushed down the fire truck down
the toilet and so we'restanding here knee deep in water
.
Yeah, hopefully hopefully it'swater but acme plumbing came to
save us at three in the morning.
(33:39):
Yeah, right now, that's thestory.
Stefanie Couch (33:42):
I'm gonna be like 1-800-ACME-PLUMBER right
and the cute kid standing therewith his fire truck.
You know, it's like that sells.
Beth Carr (33:50):
Right, oh, I love it.
And then I would say that thethird mistake that I see a lot
and you probably see this allthe time too, stephanie is don't
cut corners when it comes tothe user experience on your
website and have a website right.
So your website is a 24-7 cashmachine.
(34:11):
It is your salesperson right.
They are the cheapestsalesperson you're going to have
.
But you need to invest andthere are ways to do it very
inexpensively when you're firststarting out.
But there's also a flex point.
When you hit, your businesshits, let's just say, a high six
figure, seven figure revenue.
I'd highly recommend invest inyour visual and verbal stories
(34:34):
in your brand so that you arereally coming off very
professional in your website andthere's a certain psychology
behind it and a formula and aframework that we use.
I know you use a very powerfulframework too, stephanie, where
it's really like what is yourwebsite saying visually and
verbally?
How do I get ahold of you?
Is it easy for me to contactyou?
(34:55):
Are there big buttons tellingme what you need me to do?
A lot of times when clientscome to us, they're like we
don't know why we're not makingany sales.
And we look at their websiteand we're like I don't know why
we're not making any sales.
And we look at their websiteand we're like I don't know
where to buy from you.
I don't know how to talk to you.
There's no big button tellingme what you want me to do next.
So that's the next thing,people don't.
Stefanie Couch (35:14):
They don't signpost and they think we don't
need to have an arrow pointingto this thing.
No, you actually do literallyhave that arrow sometimes
Because we, as humans if youthink about signs on road signs
it directionally tells youexactly how fast to go, where
the turns are coming up, what tostop and go like.
(35:36):
Colors mean things.
Why would a website or anythingin your other parts of your
decision making be differentthan that?
If you have to have it to drivea road that maybe you've driven
before or not, maybe no one'sever seen your product, maybe
it's totally new, it might be aroad they've never driven before
.
One thing I will say about thewebsite, because I love that one
(35:56):
.
In my industry specifically,that is a big one because it's
not something most people thinkis important right now.
Now, home service businesses area little different, but a lot
of times, people sellingproducts, what I hear a lot of
is well, we're not selling theline, we're not going to sell
e-commerce.
So my first thing to that wouldbe well, you probably should
start thinking about that,because in the building
(36:18):
materials industry, specificallysince 2021, it is three X and
that was after COVID and thepandemic type shutdown couldn't
buy stuff in person.
So it's continued to reallyskyrocket.
It's only going toexponentially grow.
Our generation of millennialsand Gen Z want to do research
and probably purchase online.
(36:39):
That's just how we do things.
It's how we were raised.
We were raised to buy it onAmazon and it comes the next day
, maybe the same day, and wewant that.
So my first rebuttal of thatwould be you should think about
e-commerce.
But even if you don't havee-commerce right now and you're
not going to put it in stilldoesn't mean people aren't
researching before they come tothat lumberyard or call and
(37:02):
email their order in.
They need to be able to alsoshow homeowners a lot of times
the products and the moreinformation you have on there
that I can now educate myself upfront on my time.
It also saves your salespeopletime.
So it's a win-win for everyone.
And even if you go with a veryexpensive website and not
(37:24):
something that's just a you knowtemplated website, if you spent
20, 30, $40,000 on your website, if you sell one house full of
$200,000 window package whichthose go out all the time,
you've made that money backpretty fast, right.
And if those windows weren't onthere before, maybe that
homeowner or contractor didn'teven know you really offered
them, or they couldn't make agood enough decision based on
(37:46):
what they're seeing.
So I think that it's moreimportant than especially
certain people that aren'tselling online believe and there
are a lot of e-commercebusinesses where they're making
all their money on their website.
I understand why they know it'simportant, but even those can
still be optimized.
So I mean, I think it's that'sprobably the biggest one I see
(38:08):
right now in my industry is likewell, we've got this website
that we made in 2003 that stillhas pictures on it that have the
date when the picture was takenin yellow from their camera,
like physical film camera.
We took it on and going back tothe beautiful imagery, you know
, if you're showing projects,people can envision themselves
(38:28):
doing the thing when they see it, touch it or feel it, and
that's a big deal For someonestarting out.
That's a new company, or maybethis is a new initiative to them
, maybe the personal brandingthing, or they're posting online
for the first time.
What would you give as a firststep to take a brand and build a
strong story around it?
Beth Carr (38:47):
I want you to focus on your elevator pitch, and it's
a very simple formula.
I can share that with theaudience.
Stefanie Couch (38:54):
I can drop a link.
Yeah, that would be awesome.
Beth Carr (38:55):
I'd love to hear it Because it's a worksheet, right,
yeah, but it really helps youstart to think In your elevator
pitch, as you start to buildyour brand because you want to
be able to.
Like I said, you are a naturalmarketer, so going out there and
starting to tell people whatyou do, you're going to have
different variations.
You're going to talk verydifferently to person who is
like your ideal customer, versusyour grandma, versus your
(39:20):
children, okay, but so you'regoing to have different
variations when somebody.
But when somebody says what doyou do?
This is your opportunity tomarket.
And, by the way, don't overrideyour grandma.
Your grandma, you know for afact, she's going to be talking
about you proudfully with allher friends.
Oh, do you know what mygrandson does?
(39:42):
Well, he does your best.
Stefanie Couch (39:43):
Salesperson for your best salesperson, right.
Beth Carr (39:46):
So you want to be able to pitch really well.
And the pitch, the formula isyou start, you open up with the
problem that you see yourclients facing, right, um.
So let's go back to plumbing,right Um, there's nothing worse
than a plumbing emergency atthree in the morning.
There, you've just opened upwith a story loop and you've
given me a problem.
(40:06):
Why are we opening up with aproblem?
It's because, again, as humans,not only do we want to know how
to thrive and survive, but wealso are problem solvers, and so
that's why the news is filledwith all the bad news, right,
people glom onto that.
But as soon as you get to likethe good news moment, you notice
those segments are like lessthan a second and they're very
(40:27):
quick.
Why?
Because people, that's notsticky, what's sticky are
problems, right.
So you've opened up with aproblem and then you say you
know nothing worse than 3 amemergency.
Well, that's why Acme Plumbing,we are 24-7 on call and we will
, and, after serving thousandsof customers, we will be able to
fix it within hours so that youcan go back to sleep and have a
(40:49):
next best day.
Yeah, that's your full pitch.
You've just told me the problem.
You've told me what you've done.
You've given me a little visualstory of what success could
look like, which is you get togo on with your life
uninterrupted.
You can show up at your job,you can bring the kids to
childcare.
Like no one will even know, youhad a plumbing emergency at
(41:10):
three in the morning.
Stefanie Couch (41:11):
Yeah, I love it.
It's such a great thing alsofor people Like if you're going
to a networking event and youdon't have that 30 to 60 second
spilled down pat of who you are,what you do, how you do it, all
those things that we just youjust talked about, you're going
(41:32):
to be the one that, when youstart to introduce yourself,
people's eyes glaze over andthey're like, get me out of this
room.
And you don't want to be thatperson.
You want to be the one thatthey're, like, intrigued at what
you do.
Maybe they have no reason to beinterested in that service or
thing that you're selling, butthey at least understand it,
hopefully.
And if they are interested,then they say something like
well, tell me more about that,or they ask you a question about
(41:52):
it.
But most of the time peopleramble on for so long it kills
me and you see them dying insidewhile they're doing it because
they don't know what to say andthey're very nervous.
And having that practiced, asfor a company or for your
personal brand, is reallyimportant and you know you can
make it fun or you can make itmore professional, depending on
(42:14):
the setting and your personality.
You know, when I introducedmyself.
It's a little bit more probablypeppy than it was when I was
working for a big corporation,because I can kind of say what I
want, because I'm doing my ownthing now, right.
So it depends on the atmosphereas well.
If I'm speaking to a room fullof executives, I might be a
little different than if I'mspeaking to a room full of.
I'm speaking to teenage girls.
(42:35):
In March at a young women'sconference and so I'm going to
probably be a little differentthan if I was speaking to a
bunch of buttoned up CEOs.
So I think it's it's have avariety of elevator pitch, uh
tones.
Maybe your message doesn'tchange, but your delivery might,
Right.
Such a good tip for a firststep.
Well, tell me a little moreabout how people can find you.
(42:57):
If they're interested intalking to you about branding
and stories, how can they findyou?
Beth Carr (43:03):
Our website is fortifiedbrandingcom.
There'll be a link, probablybelow, and you hit the button
saying let's talk and we willhop on a phone and figure out
what is going on for you andyour business where we can help
you grow by acquiring more salesand customers.
(43:24):
Grow by acquiring more salesand customers.
Also, probably Stephanie is areally great resource as a
partner where you never know,she and I might be working
together.
Stefanie Couch (43:34):
It could be Absolutely, and you also are on
LinkedIn.
I see you there all the time.
You post and talk about how youcan do this on LinkedIn, and I
love that's actually how weconnected.
So I will say just to end thisif you aren't telling your story
on LinkedIn and you're a B2Bperson in most industries, try
it out, because I think peoplestill think that LinkedIn is for
(43:57):
resumes, and when you need ajob and even if you do need a
job, don't wait until you needit to post you can make amazing
connections on LinkedIn.
This is one of mine that I'vemade over the last two years
since I've been posting, and I'mreally grateful for you being
on the show today.
So thank you so much.
You are a great storyteller andI do want to ask you one
(44:17):
closing question what is yourfavorite story or brand that
tells stories right now, today?
What?
Beth Carr (44:25):
sticks out to you.
It's really interesting thatyou asked that, because you know
Nike is one of my faves.
Yeah, but I want to.
I'm trying to come up withanother one.
I think another one, sincewe're kind of thinking about
like athletic wear.
Kuma does a really good job ofthat.
The way they tell stories, theway they illustrate what success
(44:46):
looks like by wearing theirgear, the way they're involved
in community, the way theysupport teams right, it's an
overall great feeling to beconnected to.
Stefanie Couch (44:58):
I love it.
I will say that for me it is theOlympics this year had a female
rugby player athlete I'mprobably going to butcher the
name I think it's Ilma, I thinkit's how you say her name, but
I'm not sure and she ended upgoing on Dancing with the Stars
and she's, like, done all thisamazing stuff with her social
media and she really just tookthat to like a whole nother
(45:20):
level and created this thing outof a sport that was probably
not very publicized with herbrand and she's funny, witty.
She's just exactly who she isand I love when people show up
that way and I always want totry to show up as exactly who I
am, so I'll just leave theaudience with.
If you aren't like everyoneelse, great, that's an awesome
(45:43):
way to share your story.
Don't try to be someone elsebecause you are unique for a
reason and it's so stinkingboring to show up like everyone
else thinks you should.
So be you and embrace youruniqueness, and the story that
you come out with will be a lotmore memorable and probably a
lot more fun for you to tellthan if you try to be super
corporate and buttoned up.
Beth Carr (46:04):
Amen.
Stefanie Couch (46:06):
Awesome.
Well, thank you so much, Beth,for spending time on the Grit
Blueprint, and we will catch allof you listeners on the next
episode.
Thank you, that's it for thisepisode of the Grit Blueprint
podcast.
For more tools, training andindustry content, make sure to
subscribe here and follow me onLinkedIn and other social media
(46:28):
platforms To find out more abouthow Grit Blueprint can help you
grow your business.
Check us out at our website,gritblueprintcom.
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