Give Your Audience a Plan Like Kimmy Schmidt
Part 5 of the StoryBrand Framework
People assume that doing the work is hard. Calling the place is hard, working with someone will be complicated, scheduling an appointment sounds too-quickly-committed, etc. They often wonder,
“What’s going to happen after I schedule a call?”
“How is working with you going to make my life easier?”
“Getting an increase in leads seems complicated, I don’t know how you’ll make it easy.”
The list goes on and on. How do you relieve the tension? By removing all of the friction to working with you – AKA, the next part of the StoryBrand Framework, the Plan.
Wait a sec. 😅 What’s the StoryBrand Framework?
The StoryBrand Framework is a proven marketing framework built around the 7 elements of story - Identity Transformation, Hero, Problem, Guide, Plan, Success, or Failure. Essentially, it takes your brand’s message and frames it in a story-like format, so that your customers connect deeper with your brand, right from the start.
(P.S. Want to work directly with our StoryBrand Certified Guide on your brand’s story? Schedule a call here.✨)
The ~ Perfect ~ Plan.
If you’ve ever watched any kind of TV show or movie, then you’ve watched it play out: The hero (a weak character) has a problem, and meets a guide (someone who can help them). Then, that guide shows them the way to success. How do they succeed? By following some kind of plan.
A lot of times, our clients have a 6-step process to working with them, and they think that all of the steps are important – but none of them are listed on their site.
So essentially, there’s a couple of things that may be happening here:
They aren’t telling their customers what it’s like to work with them at all, so the customers that DO come through the virtual door are walking into the process seemingly in the dark.
They are overcomplicating the process by giving the full 6-steps on the website or on sales calls and overwhelming potential customers with every step in the process.
And truth be told, neither option is actually helping the hero reach their desired success.
While every step may feel important, they aren’t. When our clients sort through the important information and just give the steps that are necessary, it ends in easier sales processes and ultimately, more leads.
Don’t believe that your customer actually needs a plan? Let’s take a look at the ~ unbreakable ~ Kimmy Schmidt.
The Plan in Action ~ Kimmy Schmidt.
I love Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. It’s Tina Fey at her most Tina Fey. It’s the perfect mix of dark humor and incredibly light-hearted comedy. It’s ridiculous and hilarious all at the same time.
If you don’t know Kimmy Schmidt, it’s about a 30-year-old kidnapping victim who’s been locked in a doomsday bunker for fifteen years. (As I said, the premise is dark, but the show is anything but.) After being found and saved, she moves to New York City to try and start a new life and live like a normal human. You know, one that hasn’t spent the last 15 years in a doomsday bunker thinking that the world had ended.
Here’s where the plan comes in: As any normal adult would know, you have to have a job and proof of income in order to be approved for a place to live. Of course, Kimmy has neither. Her crazy landlord tells her to come back with a job and the place is hers.
So, here’s Kimmy’s plan:
Get a job
Get an apartment
Get to live a normal life
With the help of her landlord, intensely dramatic roommate, and filthy rich boss, she begins to learn how the world works outside of a bunker and starts to live her “normal” life.
So, What Does This Mean for YOU?
For Kimmy, her plan was a simple 3-step process plan, with the ultimate goal of getting to just live a normal life. Simple, yet significant. But for businesses (like yours), there are three different types of plans that might work:
Purchase Plan - “How do I buy this thing?”
For example, ours is:
Step 1 - Schedule a call.
Step 2 - We’ll write your words.
Step 3 - Get more leads than you can handle.
Process Plan - “How do I achieve this result?”
Example for a landscape designer:
Step 1 - Share your ideal landscape vision with us.
Step 2 - We’ll design your dream yard.
Step 3 - Reveal your favorite new outdoor space.
Agreements - ‘What agreements can this business make with me?”
This is a little different than other plans because it’s not necessarily a step-by-step order of things. It’s a list of promises you’re making with your clients/customers so that it’s easier to make the decision to do business with you.
Such as:
A Money-Back Guarantee
Free 2-Day Shipping
90-Day Support Included with Every Purchase
Guaranteed ROI
Whatever plan you use, or if you use all three, plans are in place to help relieve the friction for your ideal customers so that working with you is a no-brainer.
How to Build YOUR Plan
Here’s a few thought-starters to help you build out the perfect plan for your business.
Think about your purchase process. List all of the steps to doing business with you. Then, limit the steps to just the MOST IMPORTANT ones that your client needs to know upfront. This should be limited to 3-steps, 4 at the ABSOLUTE most.
Think about the actual process of work after they hire you. What happens after they sign the contract? What are the most important things your client needs to know about your process? What are the steps that get them to their ideal result? Again, limit to 3-4 steps.
What are your brand promises? What agreements can you make with your customers that make deciding to go with you an easy one?
Set them up for success, and you’ll succeed too.
When you understand that you’re the guide - not the hero - and that you get to help set your customer up for success with a plan, you end up succeeding too. Not just because you made a sale, but because you got to help someone transform their life. And personally, what’s better than that?
Need some guidance on how to build a plan that compels your customer to take the first step? Schedule a call with our StoryBrand Certified Guide. And may you never ~ever~ forget the words of Titus Andromedon – “You’re pretty and tough like a diamond. Or beef jerky in a ball gown.” (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Season 1, Ep. 1) ✨