#292: How to Create Simple Messaging that Cuts Through the Noise and Leads Your Clients to Take Action with David Mann

“Take your customers through a journey by telling a story” is a phrase we have all heard before, but have you ever learned how to actually put storytelling into action that generates the results you want in your business?

On today’s show, David Mann — who is a leading expert in creating simple messaging — shares with us how to master your sales and marketing by turning your IDEAS into WORDS that inspire ACTION.

David believes in opening opportunities — and therefore growing the value of your business — by closing communication gaps. When David graduated from Northwestern University's theater program more than three decades ago, he has earned an enduring reputation as a dynamic theater artist, author, educator, speaker, and the creator of storytelling programs for lawyers and business leaders.

David’s philosophy:

If it's clear, they'll understand. If they understand, they'll care. If they care, they'll take action.

What You Will Learn

How much time you actually have to capture someone's attention, no matter their level of interest
How one person shows force you to grab - and keep - an audience's attention, and how that helps David create stories for businesses and lawyers
How to tie your marketing and messaging to your products and services and ultimately to the EBITDA and value of your business
The role practice, revision, and truth-seeking play in creating your business message and how that imitates art
Why it’s so important to talk to your customers and understand what they really want
How to balance your message so it speaks to a very specific audience but also presents a generic statement that the audience relates to
What it means to sell with a good story and how to apply it to your business
Why every product or service you offer needs to link back to the core idea of what your business does and how it helps your customer make progress towards their goals
Why the first words a customer reads should speak about them, not you
The truth about authenticity and why being authentic and gaining trust takes practice
What role messaging has in defining your business
How just talking about what you want for your customer is a great exercise to find your message

// USE YOUR FINANCIALS TO CLARIFY A PATH TOWARDS A MORE VALUABLE BUSINESS: Intentional Growth Financial Assessment

Bio:

David Mann is a story specialist who teaches leaders and attorneys how to make an impact by clarifying their message. He has used his skills as an actor, director, and playwright to help business leaders and attorneys win cases and grow their businesses.

David teaches at Loyola School of Law in Chicago and the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. His case story guidance has produced winning verdicts in cases ranging from medical malpractice to securities fraud. For business leaders, David has created executive presentations and impact messaging for companies in finance, construction, medical devices, airlines, strategic planning, and IT.

As a professional theater artist, David has directed or acted in productions ranging from Shakespeare to Disney. He has created six critically acclaimed one-person shows, and he is a recipient of a Bush Artist Fellowship for Storytelling.

Quotes:

13:10 - “You felt dumb too? I felt dumb. It felt like there was this big secret.” - David Mann

15:15 - “From the point of view of the person putting out the material, you can control how clear and not clear it is.” - David Mann

17:10 - “Everybody is an audience when you want to connect and make somebody care about what you have to offer.” - David Mann

18:27 - “Chris Voss, the FBI investigator, says you have seven seconds to get them to pay attention so they give you another ten seconds, so they can give you another 30 seconds. It expands.” - David Mann

19:00 - “Everybody walks away mentally when they’re not interested and they’re going to be doing that after seven seconds if you don’t get their attention.” - David Mann

28:50 - “It should say it in words and ideas; it should say, ‘This is about you.’ That’s why I chose the phrase, ‘Own your stage.’” - David Mann

35:07 - “The process might be something you can articulate very quickly.” - David Mann

43:45 - “You need to have the data of who your customers are and what they think. You need all that. But that’s not going to lead to a message. That just sort of stays in a vault. The message is a whole other step.” - David Mann