CHAPTER 14

Brand/Product Vision Myth

The most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight but no vision.

—Helen Keller

Sometimes, we tell stories in business to inspire and create myths or, in other instances, we develop stories to defuse or tame legends. This chapter will use the rules and tools already given in the earlier chapters to look at how stories can create heroes and bond teams together, leading to greater collaboration, greater success, and a deeper understanding of what your company represents.

Sometimes the hero of your story is one of your consumers. Look to your testimonials to get these stories. For example, take NutriBullet, “The world’s first nutrition extractor.” Now, whether NutriBullet really emulsifies plant matter better than your teeth can is up to you to decide, but either way, if you go to NutriBullet’s Website, you can find some great stories in the testimonial section that tend to be brand/product vision myths with a bit of origin stories thrown in for good luck.

For instance, a consumer named “Etienne B.” tells a story about all the ups and downs of trying to be healthy. He talks about diets he has tried and supplements he has used without being able to maintain his weight. Finally, he tells of how things got so bad that he knew he needed to make a change in his life. After a visit to the dentist and getting his teeth pulled, he had to purchase a blender because he wouldn’t be able to eat solid food for a while. He visited blogs and learned about NutriBullet. He bought one and he said that it was, “Just the ticket off the roller coaster. Being able to mix green, raw vegetables with my favorite fruits and adding boosts really turned my life around. I couldn’t believe how great it tasted. As if the taste wasn’t good enough, I started noticing changes immediately.”

He looked better, felt better, and had more energy. He made better eating choices and stopped putting junk foods in his body. He even started getting his family and friends to use NutriBullet and eat better. Today, he still uses NutriBullet and it’s an important part of his life.

This is powerful stuff. We see the problem and we get a solution. It is passionate and exciting, and there is even a great before and after picture of him looking much healthier and leaner. It is good marketing and it sells a lot of NutriBullets.

Case study: financial planning

In the world of financial planning, a savvy planner must be able to tell stories that endow potential clients with a vision of the future that is comforting. This skill is crucial and, as you may have already guessed, it usually involves brand/product vision myths. Therefore, I turned to a friend, Frank Myer, a financial analyst, and he shared two stories with me about just such a situation:

Frank’s story one: not knowing the characters:

I often worked with a financial advisor who would bring me in to ensure that his clients purchased the right instrument to give them financial security in the future. In this case, we met with one client, a very successful business owner in the oil and gas service industry. Let’s call him Mike.

In our meeting, Mike tells us a story. When his dad passed away, the man was worth about $4 million dollars. $2 million was to go to his current wife, not Mike’s mother, and then Mike and his brother were each to get $1 million.

Mike adds: “That was eight years ago. Neither my brother nor I have seen a penny of that money. What I want is something that, when I die, will pay my two daughters $2 million each.”

We wrapped up the meeting a few minutes later and Mike left the office. I turned to my financial advisor (FA) friend and said, “Mike just told you he wants a $4 million life insurance policy.”

FA: Well, I’m not so sure.

Me: He just told you he wants $2 million for each of his daughters. There is no better way to do this. What are their names?

FA: I didn’t know he had daughters until today.

That man had no idea about the story of his client. And, you guessed it, we never ended up closing a deal or doing any business together with Mike.

Frank’s story two: using a story well

I was called by another financial advisor to go with him to visit one of his clients. He had made several proposals to this client. Nothing was happening and he hadn’t been able to close any deals. He was doing a little business with this client, a woman in her late 60s, but the financial advisor here wasn’t seeing the movement he knew that should be happening.

I went with him and we met with “Miss B.” She was very nice and you could tell she was searching for answers, but not hearing what she felt like she needed.

After hearing about the meetings where nothing happened, Miss B assured me she liked working with the financial advisor, and would continue to do so, but felt like the solutions offered weren’t really for her.

Me: You like the advisor. He likes working with you. You feel like he does a good job, but something is missing. What’s missing?

Miss B: I have four daughters. They keep showing me how to split my assets four ways. I don’t want to do that.

Me:       It’s your money. You can do what you want. What’s the issue that’s stopping you?

Miss B: Two of my daughters work with me here. A third daughter is an ICU nurse and, unfortunately, my fourth daughter doesn’t have a job and has alcohol and drug problems. If I give $3 million to her, I know it will be gone in a year.

Me:       Why don’t we set up a special trust fund for her that can keep that from happening?

Miss B: No. Forget it. I am not giving her a nickel.

Me:       When you say, not giving her a nickel, if she got sick, would you help with medicine?

Miss B: Yes. Of course.

Me:       And if your granddaughter needed a new sweater to go to kindergarten, would you pay for that?

Miss B: Yes. I would be happy to do that.

Me:       What you are telling me is your daughter can’t be trusted with money. You want to help, but don’t want to let her have cash?

Miss B: Yes, that is what I would like.

Me: Okay, so let me tell you two stories. The first is a story about one of your daughters getting a nice chunk of cash and spending it all quickly on drugs and stuff that you’d rather her not buy. The other story has a happier ending. It’s a story about you setting up a trust fund specifically for her. In this story, you can control what money she gets and how she spends it, and you will have the peace of mind knowing that the money will be there for your granddaughter or even your daughter if she gets sick.

Result: We helped Miss B set up a trust for the fourth daughter. She was happy and felt a sense of accomplishment by doing something she knew in her heart she should do, and was protecting her daughter for the long term.