1 00:00:00,360 --> 00:00:04,860 Janice Porter: Chris, Okay, hello everyone, and welcome to 2 00:00:04,860 --> 00:00:09,120 this week's episode of relationships rule. Today I'm 3 00:00:09,120 --> 00:00:13,080 joined by Chris Jones, a seasoned branding expert, story 4 00:00:13,080 --> 00:00:17,820 brand guide, and now author of a new book, from click to client 5 00:00:18,540 --> 00:00:21,740 has a subtitle, but we'll get into that in a minute. So from 6 00:00:21,740 --> 00:00:24,800 click to client, Chris has helped powerhouse brands like 7 00:00:24,800 --> 00:00:28,580 Nike and Adidas in her early days, I think before, she went 8 00:00:28,580 --> 00:00:31,880 out on her own, as I recall, and now dedicates her time to 9 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:35,540 Empowering Entrepreneurs with her signature story selling 10 00:00:35,540 --> 00:00:39,920 system. And in this episode, she shares how to replace all your 11 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:43,300 marketing with a single story that sells and how to build a 12 00:00:43,300 --> 00:00:48,160 website that works for you. 24/7 so first of all, welcome back to 13 00:00:48,160 --> 00:00:50,740 the show. Chris, thank 14 00:00:50,740 --> 00:00:53,200 Kris Jones: you. Janice, I am thrilled to be here today. 15 00:00:53,980 --> 00:00:55,900 Janice Porter: Well, first of all, congratulations on your 16 00:00:55,900 --> 00:00:59,200 book. I know it was a long time coming and pretty exciting to 17 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:03,420 have that out there. I looked back that we had spoken earlier. 18 00:01:03,540 --> 00:01:08,700 You were on my on my podcast back in I think it was May 2023 19 00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:13,080 it was episode 205 we're now up to in the three hundreds, I'm 20 00:01:13,080 --> 00:01:17,460 proud to say. So that's kind of cool. And in that episode, we 21 00:01:17,460 --> 00:01:21,560 talked about writing compelling copy, which was part of the 22 00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:25,100 website journey and so on. But today, I think we're going to 23 00:01:25,100 --> 00:01:27,980 focus on your book, because there's more to it than just 24 00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:30,680 writing compelling copy, right? 25 00:01:31,160 --> 00:01:33,200 Kris Jones: That's true, yep. So 26 00:01:33,440 --> 00:01:35,780 Janice Porter: first of all, what inspired you to write your 27 00:01:35,780 --> 00:01:38,840 book now you've been in the industry 20 years. What inspired 28 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:40,160 you to write your book now? 29 00:01:40,460 --> 00:01:47,620 Kris Jones: Well, in the last five to seven years, I've really 30 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:53,320 incorporated storytelling into every project that I do. So I 31 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:57,520 really started out in the early days as a visual storyteller, 32 00:01:57,880 --> 00:02:03,300 and then realized over time in marketing that the visuals 33 00:02:03,300 --> 00:02:08,400 really aren't effective if they're not working with really 34 00:02:08,400 --> 00:02:11,880 compelling copy. So now everything I do is based on 35 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:15,540 telling a very compelling story that's actually going to 36 00:02:15,540 --> 00:02:21,080 motivate your potential clients to know confidently that you're 37 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:24,440 the one they want to work with. So I may I've made that 38 00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:29,720 transition over time, and now everything I do is really about 39 00:02:29,720 --> 00:02:34,520 the story and design is secondary to that, and that's 40 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:40,660 the way that my clients get the greatest results. So the way the 41 00:02:40,660 --> 00:02:45,760 book was born is because over the last handful of years, I've 42 00:02:45,820 --> 00:02:50,080 really streamlined my process, which is the signature story 43 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:57,940 selling system, and I've been able to work with my clients in 44 00:02:57,940 --> 00:03:05,700 a very efficient way, in a very deep, a deep way, and a in a way 45 00:03:05,700 --> 00:03:10,440 that gets them the results that they're really hoping for. But 46 00:03:10,500 --> 00:03:16,200 essentially, I honed my process to the point that if you don't 47 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:20,040 have the budget to work with me one on one, I still want you to 48 00:03:20,040 --> 00:03:24,920 be able to get the results that my clients get. And so I was 49 00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:29,780 able to with a process that I know is proven to work time and 50 00:03:29,780 --> 00:03:32,840 time and time again. I was able to just take all that 51 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:37,640 information in my head and put it into a book, and that way I 52 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:42,040 can help more people, reach more people and and honestly, it was 53 00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:46,120 something that I've been wanting to do for a long time, but it 54 00:03:46,120 --> 00:03:51,220 all just kind of came together as things do when the timing is 55 00:03:51,220 --> 00:03:51,700 right 56 00:03:51,879 --> 00:03:54,159 Janice Porter: right and the time is right for sure. Well, at 57 00:03:54,159 --> 00:03:58,119 the beginning of your book, you talk about something that, that 58 00:03:58,119 --> 00:04:01,139 I talk about when I'm doing LinkedIn training as well, 59 00:04:01,799 --> 00:04:05,339 especially with the part that's about, called the about section, 60 00:04:05,339 --> 00:04:09,779 which is not really about you, but you have seven seconds to 61 00:04:09,779 --> 00:04:12,539 make that first impression, whether it's on that LinkedIn 62 00:04:12,539 --> 00:04:17,939 profile or it's on your website, and why you talk about why 63 00:04:17,999 --> 00:04:21,859 traditional websites fail and the mistakes that people make 64 00:04:21,919 --> 00:04:26,119 based on the fact that that things are different. Now, can 65 00:04:26,119 --> 00:04:28,099 you speak to that to the audience? 66 00:04:28,580 --> 00:04:32,840 Kris Jones: Yeah. I mean, one of the biggest mistakes that happen 67 00:04:32,900 --> 00:04:37,880 is that, if it's our website or our LinkedIn profile, we 68 00:04:37,940 --> 00:04:41,440 automatically and understandably would think, Okay, I've got to 69 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:46,000 write about myself here. It's about me, but really your your 70 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:50,980 messaging. The way you make it compelling and make it engaging 71 00:04:51,220 --> 00:04:55,660 and make it interesting is to really talk about your hero, and 72 00:04:55,660 --> 00:05:00,360 your hero is your client. And so it's a very different way. Way 73 00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:06,960 of of sharing your message about your business, because you're 74 00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:11,100 really making your potential clients the central figure of 75 00:05:11,100 --> 00:05:15,360 your story. And you are in the story. You're of. You're the 76 00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:20,180 most powerful, strongest character in the story. You are 77 00:05:20,180 --> 00:05:24,020 the guide, you are the Mr. Miyagi, or you are the Yoda, 78 00:05:24,020 --> 00:05:30,860 right? But your clients are the hero. And so what happens is, 79 00:05:30,860 --> 00:05:34,880 all over LinkedIn, I would say 99% of LinkedIn profiles are 80 00:05:34,880 --> 00:05:40,280 doing this, and 99% of websites are doing this. They're the 81 00:05:40,280 --> 00:05:44,140 business owner is making themselves the hero of their own 82 00:05:44,140 --> 00:05:48,040 story, because they're talking all about themselves. And when 83 00:05:48,040 --> 00:05:52,000 you're the hero of your own story, you literally kick your 84 00:05:52,420 --> 00:05:56,320 potential clients out of the story. You kick them out of 85 00:05:56,320 --> 00:06:00,600 engaging with you. And when you flip the script and you really 86 00:06:00,600 --> 00:06:05,280 look at your business with a new lens, a lens where you're the 87 00:06:05,280 --> 00:06:09,900 guide and they are the hero. What you're doing is you're 88 00:06:09,900 --> 00:06:13,500 inviting them into a narrative with you. You're inviting them 89 00:06:13,500 --> 00:06:17,400 into a story where they play the hero. They're the central 90 00:06:17,400 --> 00:06:20,480 character, and you are the strongest character. You are the 91 00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:26,960 guide. So it's it's a totally different way to put yourself 92 00:06:26,960 --> 00:06:31,760 out there. And for the person who's coming to your website or 93 00:06:32,180 --> 00:06:37,160 visiting your LinkedIn profile, it feels good. They don't know 94 00:06:37,160 --> 00:06:40,420 why, necessarily, it feels so good. They don't know why 95 00:06:40,420 --> 00:06:43,780 they're feeling such a connection with you, but we do. 96 00:06:43,960 --> 00:06:48,340 It's because that's what story does. It cultivates authentic 97 00:06:48,340 --> 00:06:53,440 connection. It builds authentic trust, and it allows them to 98 00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:58,300 really envision what their life would be like if they decide to 99 00:06:58,300 --> 00:07:00,600 work with you, and what their life would be like after they 100 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:03,840 work with you, all the wonderful things that are going to happen 101 00:07:04,080 --> 00:07:06,180 for them if they engage with you, 102 00:07:06,540 --> 00:07:11,340 Janice Porter: right? And just very simply put, I think if, if 103 00:07:11,340 --> 00:07:18,480 we start by writing about how who we serve and how we serve 104 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:24,200 them, or what I'm just generalizing here, or even the 105 00:07:24,200 --> 00:07:30,260 pain points that they have that we we come and guide them away 106 00:07:30,260 --> 00:07:36,080 from to success. Then they say, Hey, that person's talking my 107 00:07:36,080 --> 00:07:40,360 language. They get me. Maybe I should talk to them, rather than 108 00:07:41,020 --> 00:07:45,160 us starting about all about us and our background and our, our, 109 00:07:45,220 --> 00:07:50,380 you know, our, our accolades and things like that that doesn't 110 00:07:50,380 --> 00:07:54,400 mean anything to anybody until, like it's the expression that I 111 00:07:54,400 --> 00:07:57,160 always use right that I don't care about you until you care 112 00:07:57,160 --> 00:08:02,520 about me. And so you have to make the reader, the viewer, the 113 00:08:02,520 --> 00:08:09,840 listener, feel as though you're caring about them first. Would 114 00:08:09,840 --> 00:08:11,100 you agree with that? Oh, 115 00:08:11,100 --> 00:08:13,440 Kris Jones: I would totally agree with that. People, people 116 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:17,400 don't actually want to work with the best person they choose to 117 00:08:17,400 --> 00:08:21,140 work with, the one they feel the most connected to, right? And 118 00:08:21,140 --> 00:08:24,860 the way we cultivate that connection is by showing that 119 00:08:24,860 --> 00:08:30,080 they matter to us the most there we we understand their struggles 120 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:34,700 and when we articulate their struggles, and we start our 121 00:08:34,700 --> 00:08:37,940 messaging in that way, by showing them that we get them 122 00:08:37,940 --> 00:08:41,680 like, just like you said, they feel seen, they feel heard. They 123 00:08:41,680 --> 00:08:44,620 feel not alone in their struggle, but most importantly, 124 00:08:44,620 --> 00:08:50,080 they feel like Janice is in my head. She must be. She must be 125 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:54,220 the one that I need to work with. She's clearly the best one 126 00:08:54,220 --> 00:08:57,220 to solve this problem, because she understands it so intricate, 127 00:08:57,460 --> 00:08:58,480 intricately. 128 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:03,360 Janice Porter: So do you ever come across clients when you're 129 00:09:03,360 --> 00:09:05,640 starting to work with them, even though they've come to you 130 00:09:05,640 --> 00:09:09,360 because you get them, they feel it, they've they've chosen you 131 00:09:09,360 --> 00:09:13,020 because there is a connection of some sort. Now you start to work 132 00:09:13,020 --> 00:09:18,540 with them about shifting the way they write about themselves, the 133 00:09:18,540 --> 00:09:21,980 way they position things on their website and so on. Do you 134 00:09:21,980 --> 00:09:26,780 ever come across people that fight that because they feel 135 00:09:26,780 --> 00:09:31,580 that they're they, I don't know how to say it without, without, 136 00:09:31,940 --> 00:09:36,620 like it's so important, they hang on to things that really 137 00:09:36,620 --> 00:09:39,860 aren't that important, but they think they are. Does that make 138 00:09:39,860 --> 00:09:43,360 sense? Like, maybe you don't because you've got the right 139 00:09:43,360 --> 00:09:47,560 people, but sometimes I find, for me anyway, that if I say 140 00:09:47,560 --> 00:09:51,700 something about, you know, like you've got these letters after 141 00:09:51,700 --> 00:09:55,480 your name on your on your LinkedIn profile, just, can only 142 00:09:55,480 --> 00:10:00,660 use my example. Yeah, you know, there's a zillion. Coaches out 143 00:10:00,660 --> 00:10:03,660 there. And yes, I know you've got the recommend or the 144 00:10:04,260 --> 00:10:07,920 credentials to be a coach, and I love that. Let's put that here 145 00:10:08,040 --> 00:10:12,360 and here and here on your profile, not there where it's 146 00:10:12,360 --> 00:10:16,140 not supposed to be. Sometimes they, you know, you can feel 147 00:10:16,140 --> 00:10:20,120 them tense up because that was so hard for them to get or they 148 00:10:20,120 --> 00:10:23,300 wanted it so badly. Do you know what I'm saying? Like, 149 00:10:23,480 --> 00:10:26,780 Kris Jones: I yeah, I really do know what you're saying. I think 150 00:10:26,780 --> 00:10:33,920 that part of my process is really about educating people to 151 00:10:33,920 --> 00:10:38,060 think differently about their messaging and so really, by the 152 00:10:38,060 --> 00:10:42,460 time we get into the deep work together, they're really aware 153 00:10:42,520 --> 00:10:49,480 of what works, what doesn't, and they're ready, you know, they're 154 00:10:49,480 --> 00:10:54,040 ready because that time, because they also know, okay, I've had 155 00:10:54,040 --> 00:10:57,820 it that way for the last two years, and I haven't gotten one 156 00:10:57,820 --> 00:11:03,660 new Client from my website. So it's not working, and so they, 157 00:11:03,720 --> 00:11:09,960 they are typically open and eager to make those shifts and 158 00:11:10,380 --> 00:11:12,300 follow my guidance. 159 00:11:12,360 --> 00:11:14,520 Janice Porter: Um, yeah. They trust you by that time, by the 160 00:11:14,520 --> 00:11:15,480 time you get to that, 161 00:11:15,480 --> 00:11:17,520 Kris Jones: yeah, yeah, yeah, 162 00:11:17,940 --> 00:11:23,000 Janice Porter: does? Um, does? Does SEO still matter when 163 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:25,280 you're doing those things, when you're doing websites? Is that 164 00:11:25,280 --> 00:11:27,080 still important? You know? 165 00:11:27,140 --> 00:11:32,360 Kris Jones: I mean, the the online space is so saturated 166 00:11:32,360 --> 00:11:37,460 that you could pour 1000s of dollars into SEO every month, 167 00:11:37,880 --> 00:11:41,440 and maybe you'd come up on like the fifth page. You know what I 168 00:11:41,440 --> 00:11:48,100 mean? It's kind of like a drop in the ocean. So it's, I think, 169 00:11:48,100 --> 00:11:51,340 in the earlier days, like you could really, if you had the 170 00:11:51,340 --> 00:11:57,520 money, you could really pour gas on the fire and get your SEO to 171 00:11:57,520 --> 00:12:01,080 work for you. And I'm not saying that SEO isn't important, I 172 00:12:01,080 --> 00:12:07,020 think it is. But I had a client come to me. He was a mortgage 173 00:12:07,020 --> 00:12:13,500 broker, and he was pouring like $2,500 a month into SEO, and he 174 00:12:13,500 --> 00:12:18,240 was getting a great amount of traffic to his website like it 175 00:12:18,240 --> 00:12:22,880 was totally working. The only problem was the messaging on his 176 00:12:22,880 --> 00:12:28,340 homepage was written for bots. You know, it was written for the 177 00:12:28,520 --> 00:12:32,960 Google algorithm, and so it was working. But then when people 178 00:12:32,960 --> 00:12:35,960 were coming to the website, they were not at all connecting to 179 00:12:35,960 --> 00:12:41,380 him, and so he wasn't getting any lead calls. He wasn't 180 00:12:41,380 --> 00:12:45,280 getting people to take that next step. So it's doing the good 181 00:12:45,280 --> 00:12:50,920 work of of, you know, being strategic with SEO. But I 182 00:12:50,920 --> 00:12:55,000 really, I write for humans. I write for human connection. I'd 183 00:12:55,000 --> 00:13:00,480 much rather you have, you know, 50 visitors that come to your 184 00:13:00,480 --> 00:13:04,260 website and and identify and connect with you than 1000 185 00:13:04,860 --> 00:13:09,840 visitors who come and don't feel a connection. And so there is a 186 00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:15,060 work around to that. I mean, I still really, I'm all about you 187 00:13:15,060 --> 00:13:19,380 got to write for humans like we can sniff it out when we can 188 00:13:19,380 --> 00:13:25,700 tell a website has been written for SEO. It feels off. It 189 00:13:25,700 --> 00:13:32,360 doesn't feel quite right the way that I implement SEO on my own 190 00:13:32,360 --> 00:13:37,940 site. I write everything that people are going to encounter. I 191 00:13:37,940 --> 00:13:42,940 write it for humans. I write it for them, and then I have a blog 192 00:13:43,300 --> 00:13:49,960 in which I post podcast episodes, articles, just kind of 193 00:13:49,960 --> 00:13:53,800 whatever I'm up to. I post on the blog. But I don't have that 194 00:13:53,800 --> 00:13:57,220 blog in my upper navigation because I don't necessarily want 195 00:13:57,220 --> 00:14:00,460 people to get bogged down with all the information that's in my 196 00:14:00,460 --> 00:14:05,040 blog. I put it, I tuck it, I I don't like hide it, but it's in 197 00:14:05,040 --> 00:14:08,700 my footer. And if somebody wanted to find it, they totally 198 00:14:08,700 --> 00:14:13,860 could. But nobody wants to read a blog these days. They want to 199 00:14:13,860 --> 00:14:17,460 be efficient with their time. They want to get to the heart of 200 00:14:17,460 --> 00:14:21,680 the matter. They want to get to the essence of who you are, what 201 00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:24,920 you do, can you help them? And what do you want me to do next, 202 00:14:24,920 --> 00:14:30,320 to engage with you? And so when, when we offer our blogs in the 203 00:14:30,320 --> 00:14:33,680 upper navigation, or we like we feature that in a big way on our 204 00:14:33,680 --> 00:14:38,480 website, what happens is, it might be a well written blog. It 205 00:14:38,480 --> 00:14:41,680 might be very interesting, it might be very educational. But 206 00:14:41,980 --> 00:14:46,000 when that person, your potential client, is at your website, 207 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:48,340 they're reading your blog, and they're like, Wow, this is good 208 00:14:48,340 --> 00:14:52,960 information. I'm learning a lot. I'm going to come back to this 209 00:14:52,960 --> 00:14:56,980 when I have more brain capacity, like right now, have to go make 210 00:14:56,980 --> 00:15:00,360 dinner and I You're I'm feeling my brains full for. The day, 211 00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:02,880 right? So, yeah, they're like, I'll come back tomorrow when I 212 00:15:02,880 --> 00:15:06,360 have some more time. And guess what, they never come back. So 213 00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:10,620 you've just information overloaded your potential client 214 00:15:10,620 --> 00:15:15,540 into not taking action when they might have if you had not thrown 215 00:15:15,540 --> 00:15:16,500 all that information at 216 00:15:16,500 --> 00:15:19,140 Janice Porter: them. We really have to be mind readers, don't 217 00:15:19,800 --> 00:15:24,500 we, as well as everything else. So how does someone go about 218 00:15:24,500 --> 00:15:27,500 uncovering their signature story? You talk about your 219 00:15:27,500 --> 00:15:28,640 signature story? 220 00:15:30,020 --> 00:15:34,040 Kris Jones: Yeah, well, the first thing that I do is called 221 00:15:34,100 --> 00:15:40,100 mine for gold. That's mine for gold. Your story is inside you. 222 00:15:40,100 --> 00:15:45,220 It's in your head, it's in your heart. And we dig deep to pull 223 00:15:45,220 --> 00:15:49,240 out those golden nuggets and that golden thread that is your 224 00:15:49,240 --> 00:15:52,900 story. Your story is not something that's created or 225 00:15:52,900 --> 00:15:57,280 invented outside of you. It's already inside of you. And it's 226 00:15:57,280 --> 00:16:02,280 my job to kind of clear out the clutter and identify what are 227 00:16:02,280 --> 00:16:05,700 the golden nuggets of your story. So can 228 00:16:05,700 --> 00:16:07,740 Janice Porter: I just ask for clarification? Then here, 229 00:16:07,740 --> 00:16:11,400 because when you say your signature story, I would think 230 00:16:11,400 --> 00:16:15,300 like your bio in a sense, right? But you don't mean that, do you 231 00:16:15,360 --> 00:16:21,500 this is a is this in reference to putting the the hero first 232 00:16:21,500 --> 00:16:22,040 still? 233 00:16:22,640 --> 00:16:25,700 Kris Jones: So, yes, heroes first, right? So 234 00:16:25,700 --> 00:16:30,620 Janice Porter: in a signature story, for example, Humor me 235 00:16:30,620 --> 00:16:36,860 here for if it were me, would it be something that speaks to like 236 00:16:36,860 --> 00:16:39,500 you would draw out of me? Stories and things that I have 237 00:16:39,500 --> 00:16:42,880 experienced over the years that maybe show that I'm all about 238 00:16:42,880 --> 00:16:48,460 relationships, or that these are the things that that, is it 239 00:16:48,460 --> 00:16:50,920 things that I help with, or is it things 240 00:16:50,920 --> 00:16:54,040 Kris Jones: that, yeah, it's it's not necessarily, like 241 00:16:54,040 --> 00:16:57,820 digging up stories from your childhood right background. It's 242 00:16:57,820 --> 00:17:03,120 really asking you the questions that I know how to ask to pull 243 00:17:03,120 --> 00:17:08,280 that story out of you and those components are your hero, what 244 00:17:08,280 --> 00:17:13,020 they're struggling with? Who are you as the guide? What is what 245 00:17:13,020 --> 00:17:17,160 is the plan like? What's your process? What do you want them 246 00:17:17,160 --> 00:17:23,300 to do next? So we really uncover all those components of story by 247 00:17:23,300 --> 00:17:25,880 doing that mining for gold process, 248 00:17:26,180 --> 00:17:28,160 Janice Porter: that makes total sense. Then, okay, thank you. 249 00:17:28,160 --> 00:17:30,980 Yeah, no, that makes that that's important, though. I think that, 250 00:17:31,220 --> 00:17:34,400 you know, people see that that's what you mean by the your 251 00:17:34,400 --> 00:17:38,120 signature story store or your signature story telling system, 252 00:17:38,120 --> 00:17:38,480 really, 253 00:17:38,480 --> 00:17:42,340 Kris Jones: yes, yes, it's, it's, it's really, I want people 254 00:17:42,340 --> 00:17:45,940 to think of it as, this is a narrative that you have for your 255 00:17:45,940 --> 00:17:49,780 business that doesn't this is not your founder's story. It's 256 00:17:49,780 --> 00:17:54,040 not how you kind of got into this industry. It's really a 257 00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:57,940 narrative that we craft, a narrative that your potential 258 00:17:57,940 --> 00:18:02,880 clients are the hero and you are the strongest character as the 259 00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:08,340 guide. So it's a narrative that we craft. That narrative lives 260 00:18:08,340 --> 00:18:12,540 on your website. The same narrative lives on your 261 00:18:12,540 --> 00:18:17,280 LinkedIn. That same narrative lives like in a video that you 262 00:18:17,280 --> 00:18:22,280 might have. What any all of your marketing, right? Your your 263 00:18:22,280 --> 00:18:26,780 signature story, when it's done well, it contains all of those 264 00:18:27,020 --> 00:18:31,280 Hero's Journey components. But the reason that we can use one 265 00:18:31,280 --> 00:18:36,500 story in all your marketing is because it, it really works like 266 00:18:36,500 --> 00:18:40,660 an accordion, right? It it can stretch out, it can go in, it 267 00:18:40,660 --> 00:18:45,520 can go middle and it just like an accordion. Your your 268 00:18:45,520 --> 00:18:49,360 signature story never changes. It just depending on where it 269 00:18:49,360 --> 00:18:52,840 lives, right in LinkedIn, it's going to be the same story 270 00:18:52,840 --> 00:18:56,620 components, but it's going to you have a different word count 271 00:18:56,620 --> 00:19:00,540 that you have to work so those are, those are kind of the ways 272 00:19:00,540 --> 00:19:07,620 that we do it. So step one is my name for gold process. We pull 273 00:19:07,620 --> 00:19:13,560 that story out those raw, rough golden nuggets, and then that's 274 00:19:13,560 --> 00:19:17,400 Once that process is is done, your story has really been 275 00:19:17,400 --> 00:19:21,380 pulled out from your head and heart. Then I polish up that 276 00:19:21,380 --> 00:19:26,840 gold and I write your story for you. If you're reading the book, 277 00:19:26,900 --> 00:19:30,380 I show you how to do it yourself. But this is the way 278 00:19:30,380 --> 00:19:35,360 that I work with my clients, and it's the same as in the book. So 279 00:19:35,360 --> 00:19:39,440 I write your story for you, I polish up that gold, and then we 280 00:19:39,920 --> 00:19:43,420 get on a call together, a 90 minute call, and we refine the 281 00:19:43,420 --> 00:19:47,500 story together. So I walk you through your signature story, 282 00:19:47,800 --> 00:19:51,700 and the goal of that is to really help you understand the 283 00:19:51,700 --> 00:19:56,440 thinking, the strategy behind every word that I've written, 284 00:19:56,440 --> 00:20:00,180 because I believe every word is guilty until proven. And 285 00:20:00,180 --> 00:20:07,020 innocence. So less, less is more, but it also the reason the 286 00:20:07,140 --> 00:20:11,820 signature story feels so good and it feels so aligned with who 287 00:20:11,820 --> 00:20:17,400 you are is because every step of the way we're collaborating, I'm 288 00:20:17,400 --> 00:20:21,800 pulling the story out from within. You on step one. Step 289 00:20:21,800 --> 00:20:25,520 two, we're collaborating and refining the story together, so 290 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:32,000 it really allows us to craft a story that feels really 291 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:39,740 authentic to you, as opposed to often as business owners, we'll 292 00:20:39,740 --> 00:20:43,540 hire a copywriter, they'll go right in a silo, bring the copy 293 00:20:43,540 --> 00:20:47,260 back to us, and we read it, and we're like, Huh? Just kind of 294 00:20:47,260 --> 00:20:50,680 feels off. It just doesn't feel right. I'm going to make a bunch 295 00:20:50,680 --> 00:20:53,980 of changes, and then it's like a back and forth change, a THON, 296 00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:58,720 and it ends up, you know, being number one, expensive, and 297 00:20:58,720 --> 00:21:03,720 number two, time consuming. And number three, you probably could 298 00:21:03,720 --> 00:21:06,000 have done it quicker if you just did it yourself. 299 00:21:06,060 --> 00:21:09,360 Janice Porter: Yeah. Do you still do you do websites for 300 00:21:09,360 --> 00:21:12,060 people too, though, or do you just deal with the copy? 301 00:21:12,240 --> 00:21:16,740 Kris Jones: Yes, so step three is really taking your signature 302 00:21:16,740 --> 00:21:21,260 story and integrating it onto your website. Lot of my clients 303 00:21:21,320 --> 00:21:26,720 have their website in like a Wix or a Squarespace or Kajabi or 304 00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:29,540 whatever. I don't care what platform you're in, I'm platform 305 00:21:29,540 --> 00:21:33,620 neutral. But whatever platform you're in, it's very easy to 306 00:21:33,620 --> 00:21:38,060 copy and paste the story, the words over into whatever builder 307 00:21:38,060 --> 00:21:43,420 you're in, and then I work with my clients to make sure that the 308 00:21:43,420 --> 00:21:46,360 visual story that they're telling is really in alignment 309 00:21:46,360 --> 00:21:49,240 with the written story that we've so carefully crafted. So 310 00:21:49,540 --> 00:21:52,960 they'll send me the link to the page once they've integrated the 311 00:21:52,960 --> 00:21:57,520 news story, and then I record a loom video giving feedback on 312 00:21:57,760 --> 00:22:03,480 photos, colors, fonts, spacing, flow, all those details, and we 313 00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:06,720 usually go back and forth a couple of times just to get it 314 00:22:06,720 --> 00:22:10,740 totally dialed in. Because if you're if your story is great, 315 00:22:10,740 --> 00:22:15,720 but your visuals are are mediocre or don't look 316 00:22:15,780 --> 00:22:20,120 professionally done, people aren't going to take you as 317 00:22:20,120 --> 00:22:24,080 seriously, they're not going to trust you as as much, right? So 318 00:22:24,560 --> 00:22:28,460 the visual story is, is as important as the written story. 319 00:22:29,120 --> 00:22:31,220 Janice Porter: I You've got a new website since the last time 320 00:22:31,220 --> 00:22:37,640 we we met, and it, it feels like it's leveled up. Yeah, yeah, 321 00:22:37,640 --> 00:22:44,260 yeah, yeah. So that's cool. Um, the so in your book, you talk a 322 00:22:44,260 --> 00:22:49,420 little bit about confidently charging premium prices. How 323 00:22:49,420 --> 00:22:51,280 does storytelling support that? 324 00:22:52,720 --> 00:22:57,640 Kris Jones: Well, premium prices, really. It comes down to 325 00:22:58,360 --> 00:23:03,540 building trust. Number one, we build trust by really showing 326 00:23:03,540 --> 00:23:07,980 the hero that we understand their problem, reminding them of 327 00:23:07,980 --> 00:23:12,120 what's possible for them in their life. Should they solve 328 00:23:12,120 --> 00:23:16,260 this problem, really taking the time to show them that they 329 00:23:16,260 --> 00:23:23,600 matter most, and then really people pay for problems based on 330 00:23:23,600 --> 00:23:28,280 how badly they want to solve them. So if you solve a really 331 00:23:28,280 --> 00:23:34,880 important problem for me, I'll, I'll happily pay for you to do 332 00:23:34,880 --> 00:23:39,800 that. You know, like I have a, I have a seven year old little 333 00:23:39,800 --> 00:23:45,460 boy, and he's been having some behavioral challenges, and it's 334 00:23:45,460 --> 00:23:50,980 been a couple years now, I've been kind of looking for a 335 00:23:50,980 --> 00:23:54,520 guide, you know, I've been looking for someone who can help 336 00:23:54,520 --> 00:24:00,420 me parent him in a way that's really Effective for him and for 337 00:24:00,420 --> 00:24:05,580 me, and so, you know, like many people, they've tried a lot of 338 00:24:05,580 --> 00:24:09,060 different things. They, you know, I've di wide it, I've 339 00:24:09,060 --> 00:24:16,380 taken courses, I've hired coaches, and I'm still, I have 340 00:24:16,380 --> 00:24:22,940 still been at this place where I'm like, Okay, this is a really 341 00:24:22,940 --> 00:24:28,640 big problem, and I really need to solve it. And I finally found 342 00:24:28,700 --> 00:24:33,860 I actually read a book. Again. This is the power of like, what 343 00:24:33,860 --> 00:24:38,000 a book can do for your business. I read a book, and it's called 344 00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:44,680 Raising lions, and then I went to the author's website, and I 345 00:24:44,680 --> 00:24:48,700 booked a call with him, and now I'm working with him, and I have 346 00:24:48,700 --> 00:24:53,500 finally found the person to guide me through this. Now, if 347 00:24:53,500 --> 00:24:58,840 he had told me that he charged $10,000 to do this work and to 348 00:24:58,840 --> 00:25:02,580 work with me, and. And he could guarantee that he that he was 349 00:25:02,580 --> 00:25:06,960 going to turn things around. I would have, I really would have 350 00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:10,380 paid it. I mean, that's a lot of money, but honestly, to me, 351 00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:15,060 it's, it's so important, yeah, and so yeah, that's worth it to 352 00:25:15,060 --> 00:25:21,620 me. He, he didn't charge me that much, but, but I would have paid 353 00:25:21,620 --> 00:25:25,100 it. So that's, that's kind of what I'm talking about. 354 00:25:25,340 --> 00:25:28,640 Janice Porter: Okay, yeah, and I, I just did an interview with 355 00:25:28,700 --> 00:25:34,460 a gentleman who wrote a book called The generosity mindset. 356 00:25:34,580 --> 00:25:39,920 His name is John Ray, and he's a wonderful man, and he talks 357 00:25:39,920 --> 00:25:45,520 about value and your value, and in the sense of pricing, right, 358 00:25:45,520 --> 00:25:48,640 you have to believe in yourself, and then people have to see the 359 00:25:48,640 --> 00:25:51,760 value that you bring to the table. So I just wanted to hear 360 00:25:51,760 --> 00:25:52,840 what your take on that was, 361 00:25:52,840 --> 00:25:55,480 Kris Jones: well, you I love that you brought that up, 362 00:25:55,480 --> 00:26:01,080 because you know, charging, what you want to charge, is half the 363 00:26:01,080 --> 00:26:04,260 battle. You have to really believe that you deserve that. 364 00:26:04,320 --> 00:26:09,360 And I've gone through certain iterations of the work that I do 365 00:26:09,540 --> 00:26:14,280 like I charge right now, that the price that I charge is 366 00:26:14,280 --> 00:26:17,760 different than what I was charging two years ago. I also 367 00:26:18,300 --> 00:26:23,300 added a lot of value to my offer, but I remember the first 368 00:26:23,300 --> 00:26:24,320 few calls, 369 00:26:24,860 --> 00:26:27,500 Janice Porter: how you're choking. Yeah, 370 00:26:27,500 --> 00:26:31,220 Kris Jones: I liken it. I told my partner, I'm like, it's like, 371 00:26:31,220 --> 00:26:38,300 I'm doing acrobatics, like I'm throwing in free things and, you 372 00:26:38,300 --> 00:26:42,340 know, and like, it's, it's funny, and I don't think there's 373 00:26:42,580 --> 00:26:44,560 really any way around that, other than 374 00:26:44,560 --> 00:26:47,260 Janice Porter: have to speak it enough times and you start to 375 00:26:47,440 --> 00:26:49,540 Yeah, it starts to become more comfortable, for 376 00:26:49,540 --> 00:26:52,600 Kris Jones: sure. And I think your website, I found this to be 377 00:26:52,660 --> 00:26:59,560 true. My website and my clients websites, it can help. It can 378 00:26:59,560 --> 00:27:02,820 help you step into those bigger shoes when you know you're 379 00:27:02,820 --> 00:27:07,080 ready. Your website can kind of be like your front your front 380 00:27:07,080 --> 00:27:10,380 man, or your your bodyguard. It can put you out there and the 381 00:27:10,380 --> 00:27:15,960 way that you you want, or at the rates that you want. And even 382 00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:20,480 if, like, for example, I have a hidden page on my website that 383 00:27:20,480 --> 00:27:23,660 outlines all the pricing and what I charge and everything, 384 00:27:23,660 --> 00:27:27,620 right? So if you have a page like that that you can pull up 385 00:27:27,620 --> 00:27:33,740 during a sales call and the prices right there in writing, 386 00:27:33,800 --> 00:27:36,860 you know it's it takes the the pressure 387 00:27:36,860 --> 00:27:39,440 Janice Porter: off. Yeah, I've the same. You can sometimes feel 388 00:27:39,440 --> 00:27:44,860 them asking, wanting to ask, but they haven't yet. And, and, and 389 00:27:44,860 --> 00:27:48,520 so sometimes I might ask them, you know, would you like me to 390 00:27:48,520 --> 00:27:52,780 talk about pricing? You know, yes, you know, because they want 391 00:27:52,780 --> 00:27:55,420 to, but they don't want to. And then I don't show it to them 392 00:27:55,420 --> 00:27:59,080 right away, and then I I say it, I'll give a a range or 393 00:27:59,080 --> 00:28:01,920 something, and then I'll say, you know, if you'd like, I could 394 00:28:01,920 --> 00:28:04,740 bring up the pricing page or something, you know, but, yeah, 395 00:28:04,740 --> 00:28:09,300 it's interesting. I know we and we have to grow into it, which 396 00:28:09,300 --> 00:28:17,220 wherever we are, for sure. Okay, so I'm gonna put you on the spot 397 00:28:17,220 --> 00:28:20,420 for a second. I'm sure you have many stories, but can you share 398 00:28:20,420 --> 00:28:23,540 a transformation story from one of your clients who's used your 399 00:28:23,540 --> 00:28:24,140 system, 400 00:28:24,920 --> 00:28:30,020 Kris Jones: who you Yeah, absolutely. I worked with a 401 00:28:30,020 --> 00:28:38,120 client named Andrea, and she had a great coaching business. She 402 00:28:38,120 --> 00:28:41,860 did, she was an infidelity coach, and what she would do, 403 00:28:42,940 --> 00:28:47,440 really interesting and very focused talk about solving a 404 00:28:47,440 --> 00:28:52,000 problem. She her program was called no in 90 know if you're 405 00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:57,520 going to stay or go in 90 days. And so she had this beautiful 406 00:28:57,520 --> 00:29:01,920 program and and she was, you know, she's a confident person, 407 00:29:02,820 --> 00:29:08,160 but she found herself on her sales calls kind of selling, you 408 00:29:08,160 --> 00:29:13,260 know, and she didn't like how that felt, and she she didn't, 409 00:29:13,680 --> 00:29:17,820 she wasn't stepping into her story on her website and in her 410 00:29:17,820 --> 00:29:22,760 real life as the Guide. And so we work together, and we really, 411 00:29:22,940 --> 00:29:27,440 you know, mind for gold. We got her story. I polished it up for 412 00:29:27,440 --> 00:29:30,980 her and and we got it to a point where, like, it felt really 413 00:29:30,980 --> 00:29:34,340 good. And she came to me because she wanted more clients, you 414 00:29:34,340 --> 00:29:38,060 know, she wanted to reach more people. What she didn't realize, 415 00:29:38,600 --> 00:29:42,340 and honestly, it wasn't until working with her that I really 416 00:29:42,340 --> 00:29:47,320 realized, you know, the gravity and how good this, this little 417 00:29:47,320 --> 00:29:52,000 byproduct is of getting clear on your story, is she became so 418 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:56,260 much more confident, and she started when she had the words 419 00:29:56,260 --> 00:30:00,420 to communicate what she did, and she knew in her bones how. How 420 00:30:00,420 --> 00:30:03,360 powerful it was and how important the work she was 421 00:30:03,360 --> 00:30:07,560 doing. Was she her website started working right? She she 422 00:30:07,560 --> 00:30:11,220 started getting a lot more calls booked, but then when she would 423 00:30:11,220 --> 00:30:17,580 show up on those calls, she was calm because she knew she didn't 424 00:30:17,580 --> 00:30:21,800 have to sell anymore. She was using her signature, signature 425 00:30:21,800 --> 00:30:27,620 story in her sales calls like her value, right to show her 426 00:30:27,620 --> 00:30:32,540 value. She knew she knew her her value, and really it was less 427 00:30:32,960 --> 00:30:37,040 about her talking and more about her asking the right questions 428 00:30:37,040 --> 00:30:41,680 to her clients in the call. So prior to working together, she 429 00:30:41,680 --> 00:30:48,040 was closing about 20% of her calls, meaning for every 10 430 00:30:48,040 --> 00:30:53,440 calls she booked, she was getting two clients. After our 431 00:30:53,440 --> 00:30:59,560 work together, her her close rate went up to 95% so for every 432 00:30:59,800 --> 00:31:03,660 10 clients. She was getting nine and a half for every 10 calls. 433 00:31:03,720 --> 00:31:08,880 She was getting nine and a half clients. But mostly she just 434 00:31:08,880 --> 00:31:11,820 told me, because I talked to her a couple months later and she 435 00:31:11,820 --> 00:31:17,100 was like, You cannot put a price tag on this work like it just 436 00:31:17,100 --> 00:31:22,940 the confidence that it's allowed her to step into the world in in 437 00:31:22,940 --> 00:31:26,780 such a more profound way and impact more people, like people 438 00:31:26,780 --> 00:31:30,080 need her help so and now 439 00:31:30,140 --> 00:31:33,980 Janice Porter: as your as your book says, from click to client, 440 00:31:34,040 --> 00:31:38,180 how to easily create a story driven website that turns 441 00:31:38,180 --> 00:31:44,500 visitors In to clients love it, which is so true. Your dream 442 00:31:44,500 --> 00:31:47,140 clients visit your website and quietly click away to 443 00:31:47,140 --> 00:31:54,820 competitors. I'm looking at the back now. I'm sorry, and what? 444 00:31:55,360 --> 00:32:01,680 What would you say is one step that our listeners can take 445 00:32:01,680 --> 00:32:05,340 today to start applying the story selling, selling system to 446 00:32:05,340 --> 00:32:06,120 their brand. 447 00:32:07,320 --> 00:32:11,520 Kris Jones: Well, yeah, the first thank you for sharing 448 00:32:11,520 --> 00:32:17,880 that. Janice, the very first and most important thing you can do 449 00:32:17,880 --> 00:32:21,620 is just shift the lens in which you look at your business, in 450 00:32:21,620 --> 00:32:26,360 which you talk about your business and really get clear on 451 00:32:26,360 --> 00:32:30,380 who your hero is, what they're struggling with, and what 452 00:32:30,380 --> 00:32:33,740 they're wanting. And then in all your all the materials that you 453 00:32:33,740 --> 00:32:37,760 create for your marketing, be consistent, be congruent, like 454 00:32:37,760 --> 00:32:40,400 people don't want to find you on LinkedIn and then go to your 455 00:32:40,400 --> 00:32:44,140 website, and it's like a complete disconnect like Troy, 456 00:32:44,140 --> 00:32:46,960 that's leaking trust. We don't want to leak trust. We want to 457 00:32:46,960 --> 00:32:52,840 build it. And ironically, having a consistent message is less 458 00:32:52,840 --> 00:32:55,960 effort. But we somehow, as humans, we think, Oh, that's 459 00:32:55,960 --> 00:32:59,260 lazy. We gotta, we gotta be fresh and clever everywhere we 460 00:32:59,260 --> 00:33:03,960 show up. Well, the The more consistent you are, the more you 461 00:33:03,960 --> 00:33:07,500 can beat that drum over and over and over, just the more people 462 00:33:07,500 --> 00:33:09,420 are going to remember you. They're really going to 463 00:33:09,420 --> 00:33:14,220 understand what it is that you do. So the number one thing you 464 00:33:14,220 --> 00:33:18,900 can do is really step into this story as the guide and identify 465 00:33:18,900 --> 00:33:22,040 your potential clients as the hero. And if you want to do that 466 00:33:22,400 --> 00:33:25,520 for free, you can go to my website, Red doorstories.com, 467 00:33:26,780 --> 00:33:30,320 and I have a freebie on there called How to write compelling 468 00:33:30,320 --> 00:33:35,960 copy in five minutes. It's just a very short video with a little 469 00:33:35,960 --> 00:33:39,200 worksheet on it, and it will get you going. It will forever 470 00:33:39,200 --> 00:33:41,080 change the way you talk about your business. 471 00:33:41,560 --> 00:33:43,240 Janice Porter: That's great. I'll put that in the show notes. 472 00:33:43,240 --> 00:33:46,600 Thank you so much, Chris. Well, this has been a delight. I'm 473 00:33:46,600 --> 00:33:50,680 very excited for you with your book and I are we allowed to 474 00:33:50,680 --> 00:33:52,600 talk about that? You're writing another one. 475 00:33:54,220 --> 00:33:56,740 Kris Jones: It's in the works. Okay, so, yeah, we'll talk 476 00:33:56,740 --> 00:33:58,720 Janice Porter: about that when the time comes. But it sounds 477 00:33:58,720 --> 00:34:02,520 pretty exciting with what you shared with me. So a huge thank 478 00:34:02,520 --> 00:34:05,460 you to you for sharing your wisdom and for showing us that 479 00:34:05,460 --> 00:34:09,360 marketing doesn't have to be complicated to be powerful. Your 480 00:34:09,360 --> 00:34:12,720 signature story selling system reminds us that the right story 481 00:34:12,720 --> 00:34:16,320 told simply and clearly can do the heavy lifting in our 482 00:34:16,320 --> 00:34:20,480 business. And if you want my audience, if you want a website 483 00:34:20,480 --> 00:34:23,600 that truly converts and messaging that reflects the real 484 00:34:23,600 --> 00:34:28,040 value that you offer. Chris's book is a must read, and you can 485 00:34:28,040 --> 00:34:31,820 find it on her website and on Amazon, I'm guessing anywhere 486 00:34:31,820 --> 00:34:36,200 that books are sold, and we'll put the link to it in the show 487 00:34:36,200 --> 00:34:38,300 notes as well. So thanks for being 488 00:34:38,300 --> 00:34:40,600 Kris Jones: here. Thank you, Janice, 489 00:34:41,679 --> 00:34:43,959 Janice Porter: thank you, and thank you to my audience. And if 490 00:34:43,959 --> 00:34:47,319 you like what you heard, please let us know and check out. I 491 00:34:47,319 --> 00:34:50,139 encourage you to check out Chris's book and her website as 492 00:34:50,139 --> 00:34:56,859 well, to see a true example of her storytelling system, and 493 00:34:56,859 --> 00:34:59,259 remember to stay connected and be remembered. You.