CTC Ep. 42 | The 4-Part Website Formula That Makes Your Clients Say "Yes"

Kris: [00:00:00] Welcome to from Click to Client, where we transform a confusing message into a clear, compelling story that sells. I'm your host, Chris Jones, StoryBrand marketing expert. I'm here to help you attract more dream clients with the power of story.

Speaker: Hello there. Today we are gonna talk about how to turn your website into a client generating machine using the StoryBrand strategy. Your website should act as your top sales employee, and if it is not doing its job, I'm gonna break down the exact structure I use to fix that for good. I get the same questions over and over again.

So I'm just going to answer them here for you today, and we're gonna keep it real casual. So let's go, number one. Is the problem. So every story, every book, every movie you've ever seen begins with a hero that has a problem. That means it begins. We need to begin our communication [00:01:00] with your hero's problem, meaning your client's problem.

So we always wanna start that way. That's how we kind of hook them in and get them engaged in the story. And the reason we do that is because when we articulate their problem really well, they feel seen, they feel heard, they feel not alone in their struggle, and most importantly, they feel like you are the best one to fix it.

If you are in their head and you understand them so well, then you are obviously the best one to solve the problem for them. So people think that they're gonna hire you to solve an external problem, meaning their, let's say their business isn't profitable or they, uh, they're not healthy, they're overweight.

Um. Whatever the problem is, right? They think they're hiring you because of an external problem. They're actually gonna hire you based on an internal problem, meaning an emotion. people buy. [00:02:00] Based on emotions and they justify it with, credentials. facts, figures, external problems.

But the real reason that they're gonna wanna hire you is because of an internal problem, which is it could be, um. Self-doubt. It could be shame, it could be frustration, it could be times running out. Um, there's all kinds of internal struggles that people have, emotions that they have that they want to not have anymore, and they're working with you to be able to overcome.

one of the questions I get a lot is, what is the number one mistake most websites make when it comes to naming their problem? And the answer to this is just being too vague. Just being too vague, and maybe hitting those external problems, but not the internal problems, not the emotions underneath that external problem.

So we want them to. Really feel like we're in their head. And [00:03:00] one of the mistakes that happens a lot is that as a coach or consultant, we know what the real problem is. they might come to us talking about a problem that they're having and we might be able to identify, oh, I hear that problem. But underneath that is a different problem because, you know, you've solved this problem.

Many times before. so. What? The reason I'm sharing that with you is because we wanna articulate their problem in their words, the problem that they think they have. Even if we know differently, we wanna meet them right where they are and talk to them in the language they use. And so the question I ask to kind of pull this information out of you is when you get on a call with a potential client, what are they complaining about?

What are they griping about? What are they frustrated by? And you can even go back to discovery calls that you've had and try and pull out the actual language that that they're using when [00:04:00] they talk to you. the other question I get is how do you know if you're only scratching the surface? And you know that because you are talking about external problems.

So things that are happening in the 3D world and not more in internal emotions. It's good to talk about both, but you, you really want to connect with them on an emotional level because that's really what's gonna drive their ultimate decision to wanna work with you. So once we've articulated their problem, we, we've shown them that they matter to us, that we care, that they are the central figure in this story.

And they're nodding their head, yeah, this is the problem. Yeah, this is my reality, that this is just the way it is. And when we communicate their problem well, when we articulate it really clearly, they really feel like they're not alone in their problem anymore. They feel like somebody really gets them.

So they're nodding their head. They're fully engaged, they're reminded about. How frustrating this problem [00:05:00] is. And they're reminded that they're, they're, they've been stuck with this problem for longer than, than they'd like probably years. And they're nodding their head going, yeah, this is just the way it is.

And so the section following that is what I call the. Success section, and This is your opportunity to really put your stake in the ground around what you believe. So I like to lead this section with a philosophical statement, that when I say philosophical statement, what I mean is that you're putting your stake in the ground around what you believe to.

To be true what you believe they deserve. This is often like, this is right, this is wrong. It's just plain wrong. That fill in the blank, right? So, I'm going to share some examples with you of a client that I recently worked with. Her name's Andrea. And she is an infidelity coach and she works with women mostly.

She does work with some [00:06:00] men, but she typically works with women who have been cheated on and they're trying to figure out what to do. What is their next step gonna be? Are they gonna stay, are they gonna go? How are they gonna rebuild their life? Um, either way. And so. FF for an example. Um, the problem section for her begins with the overarching problem, which is be betrayed.

Women often lose trust in their intuition because they were intentionally deceived. So this is really a fact, right? I mean. We stated it as a fact, and this is because this is the theme that she witnesses over and over and over again. Betrayed women often lose trust in their intuition because they were intentionally deceived.

So we began with that big overarching problem, and then we follow it up with a handful of bullets underneath that Our brains love bullets because they can quickly be stand without loading us up with a lot of [00:07:00] copy to sift through and read. Our brains love bullets, so use them as much as possible.

In the problem section, you can have three to five bullets just going deeper into the problem. So, for Andrea, we've got, are you struggling with intense emotions that cycle between anger, blame, embarrassment, and shame? Are you struggling with indecision about your relationship and its future? Are you struggling with the inability to trust your own judgment or intuition?

And we go into a couple more. but that gives you a little taste of what this actually looks like. So, like I said, they're nodding their head, yep, this is my real reality. This, this is just the way it is. And so then we wanna move from here into that success section, and

We wanna begin that with a philosophical statement. So for Andrea, that statement is, I believe this crisis is a doorway to becoming exactly who you were meant to be. And this is really her stating what she believes to [00:08:00] be true. This statement can also work. When it starts out with, you deserve, fill in the blank, right?

So these are overarching philosophical statements around what you believe or what you believe they deserve. And then what we wanna do is follow that with success. And when I talk about success, I'm really talking about. What is their life gonna be like after they've worked with you? Not during, but after.

And I want you to like imagine this journey that they're going on up, up a mountain, right? So what is at the peak of the mountain for them? What is. The best of the best possible thing that they could hope for. And your job as the guide is to remind them of what is possible for their life. They've been, they've been stuck marinating in this problem for a long time, and it's your job to point up to the peak of that mountain and remind them of what is possible.

So for [00:09:00] example, for Andrea, we've got Rebuild self-trust. Find emotional stability and make clear decisions. And then I have a little bit of a description underneath each of those, but those are the three kind of pie in the sky. This is what her client wants more than anything. The biggest mistake here that I see a lot is that coaches and consultants fill this section with features.

Features of working with them, like features of what they offer for their clients, and. I wanna remind you that features are very different than success, and this section in particular. We really wanna lean into success and not features because features are about you and we're not quite ready to talk about you yet.

we haven't fully earned the right to step into this story as the guide yet. [00:10:00] Um, but that is coming soon. first. We really wanna connect with them and we really want to establish a resonance with them. And we do that by beginning with the problem that they're struggling with in their words, and then following that with pie in the sky, reminding them what is possible for their life and what their life is gonna look like

After they've worked with you. And I want you to get detailed and granular here. Again, we wanna lean into those emotions that, that they're gonna be able to feel after they have solved this problem. So what you are doing here by talking all about them at the beginning of your website is showing them that they are the central figure of your story.

That they matter, their struggles and their success matters more to you then me and my wonderful way of solving this problem. So we wanna really help them feel seen, heard, even hugged, like even held on this page. And we do that by talking about them first and foremost. So when they [00:11:00] come to your website, their, their brain's asking three things.

What's in it for me? What's in it for me? And what's in it for me? And that's why we very early on show them what's possible and what's gonna happen for them once they work with us. Once you do that, you've got those two sections up top. Now you have finally earned the right to step into this story as the guide,Now, here's where a lot of coaches mess up. They make their website all about themselves. And so as you can tell, StoryBrand really flips that around. So your website is really about your client, and then about a third of the way through the page, you step in. As the guide right around that time is when it's okay to start talking about yourself and. This is true for even if you watch a movie, a third of the way through the guide enters in. Same thing for any book that you've ever read. Same thing for your, your messaging for your [00:12:00] business and your website in particular. So at this point, we've talked about the problem. We've talked to the about the success.

Now it's your time to enter into the story as the guide. True guides do not need to brag or boast. You do not need to lay it on thick with all the certifications and qualifications that you have. those do matter, but they matter much less than you probably think that they do. true guides are so confident in what they do.

And they have such empathy for their hero because many of us as guides have been through that journey that our clients have, have been through. We've been on that path and we've come out the other side, and now we're helping other people do that. So. The best guides don't brag or boast. They show up with pure and total empathy.

And this can be so simple, it doesn't have to be [00:13:00] complicated. for Andrea, the example that I have to share today is this is her stepping into this story as a guide. The headline is, I get it. Navigating the aftermath of betrayal is intense, and that says it all. When you lead with empathy, you step in with such confidence that people don't even need to know your qualifications honestly.

Um, it's so powerful to lead with empathy as a guide and so. After this headline, we go into a little bit of a narrative around Andrea and. what she knows about her clients and this overarching struggle and the way to solve it and how she has navigated this path herself, and also how she is different from everybody else.

Another question people are asking when they come to your website is, how are you different than the next person? So we really want to make sure that the guide section highlights All the ways in which you're [00:14:00] different and why this matters to you so much. Why does this work matter to you so much that you've dedicated your life to helping your clients solve their problem? Okay.

Before I wrap up this section, I want to answer this question that I get a lot, which is, how do you balance empathy and authority? And the truth is, you lead with empathy. Empathy is gonna get you way farther than bragging about your qualifications and certifications.

I do wanna share though that your authority is important. It just doesn't need to take up a bunch of real estate on the page. So I have a section for this, for your certifications, for your years of experience, for your education, the number of clients that you've worked with. There's all kinds of ways to build authority.

And I keep this section very short and narrow. It doesn't take up hardly any room on the page, but it allows the visitor to really [00:15:00] check that box in their brain that you know what you're talking about. So that's how I weave in the authority. I lead with empathy and then I follow that section up with a very short, narrow section with just three.

Little bits of information that speak to your experience. Okay After the guide section, so you've stepped into this narrative as the guide, and one of the most important things that you can do as the guide is to give your hero a three step plan. The plan is so very important because without it, you're asking the visitor to click on a call to action. Which they don't know where that's going to, right?

You're asking them to take a, a step forward, in essence, blindly jumping off of a cliff. That's what you're asking them to do, with just a blanket call to action throughout the page. So what the plan really does is it calms their nervous system and it shows them step one. Step one is always to [00:16:00] click on that call to action.

Step two is always about engaging in work with you, and step three is always the happy end result. Our brains really wanna know where is the carrot at the end of this journey? When am I gonna reach the, the end result, that happy end result. And so when we include the result, step three of your three step plan, you're just reassuring them there is, there is an end in sight and this is the way we navigate the path.

one of the things that's important to know is that. We are building trust throughout the page by talking about their problem, by showing them what's possible. By stepping in as the guide with empathy and authority, we're really building a lot of trust. And once that trust is built and that resonance is established and that connection is made.

Really, your hero is ready to take the next step. They need [00:17:00] a clear path forward. And so that's why the plan is such an important thing to include just after the guide section that we talked about. And the plan really needs to be ridiculously simple. We do not wanna overwhelm people. They're already overwhelmed.

And if your plan is. Eight steps long, they're gonna think, oh my gosh, this is too complicated. I don't have the bandwidth for this right now. So the plan really needs to be three steps max. And of course we know once you get into working with somebody, there's more than three steps in the journey. But we wanna take a 30,000 foot foot view of the plan here and just break it down into three simple steps. So step one, always gonna be your call to action. For most of my clients, this is book a call. Book a discovery call. Book a money making messaging call. Book a clarity call. Whatever you wanna call. Your call infuse the benefit into it. [00:18:00] So step one is always gonna be your call to action.

Step two is always going to be about engaging with you in whichever way you engage with your clients. And then step three of your plan is the happy end result. The, the mistake that I witnessed the most around the plan is, number one, there is no plan. You're just asking your potential clients to click on a call to action without telling them what to expect.

And then the other mistake a lot of people make is that they don't make step three of their plan, that happy end result. And so the brain is left with more questions, like it might be step one, book a discovery call. Step two will, fill out the intake. three, get started. Um, that might be true, but it doesn't reassure my brain that there is a happy end result at the end of this engagement.

So we just wanna really [00:19:00] make sure that we set up our three step plan in, in a way that is really gonna work with our visitors' brains. All right. We have covered a lot today. I hope this has been helpful. I'm going to continue this series for one more episode because we have a few more sections to cover, but I don't wanna overload you with too much information.

Kris: So hopefully this has been helpful and if you need any help with this kind of stuff, don't hesitate to reach out and book a call with me. Alright, thank you. Is your website turning away Potential clients? I can help you turn that around. Book a moneymaking messaging call with me today and we'll transform your story into your most powerful sales tool. That's all for this episode of From Click to Client. Don't forget to subscribe and follow. I'm Chris Jones and I'll see you next.