You read the book. Now let’s make it work.
As the Lead Strategist for StoryBrand, I help leadership teams make the strategic decisions first, so the message finally sticks.
The BrandScript is in a folder somewhere.
A lot of the CEOs who call me already believe in StoryBrand. They’ve read Building a StoryBrand, sent a few people to the workshop, or tried StoryBrand.ai. Somewhere on a shared drive, there’s a BrandScript with their name on it.
And the website still sounds like everybody else’s, while the sales team describes five different companies. You’ve watched StoryBrand work for other companies, and it’s starting to feel like the problem might be you.
Usually the trouble sits upstream. Nobody decided who the company was for or which problem it would own, so the BrandScript tried to speak to everyone. Meanwhile, confusion keeps costing you customers, on a framework you already paid to learn.
A BrandScript can only be as clear as the decisions underneath it.
StoryBrand in plain English
People don’t buy the best products or services. They buy what they understand the best.
Donald Miller built StoryBrand on the way stories have worked for thousands of years. Your customer is the hero, and you’re the guide who helps them win. Here’s what I’ve learned about each part after using it with more than 350 companies.
A character who wants something
Describe your customer by what they want, in their words. A CEO wants to stop losing deals because her team can’t explain what they sell.
Has a problem
External, internal, and philosophical. The internal one, how the problem makes them feel, is the one that opens wallets.
And meets a guide
Empathy first, authority second. Most companies flip the order and open with their awards.
Who gives them a plan
Three steps a new hire can repeat on day one. The companies that grow fastest have the simplest plans.
And calls them to action
Ask clearly, and more than once. Nobody ever got down on one knee and said “learn more.”
That helps them avoid failure
A pinch of what’s at stake, like salt in a pound cake. The whole shaker ruins dessert.
And ends in success
Paint the destination with specifics your customer can picture, like a team that describes the company in one sentence.
Where StoryBrand gets stuck
It stays on the website.
The biggest returns come when sales calls, hiring, and the all-hands run through it too.
It gets used once.
One BrandScript session is a starting point. Across hundreds of companies, the pattern holds: the more you use the message, the more money it makes.
It tells the wrong story.
Perfect messaging about a problem nobody cares about goes nowhere. I’ve seen beautiful BrandScripts fail because they were aimed at the wrong audience.
All three come back to decisions, so my work starts with the Clarity Cascade before we write a word.
Why leaders pick me over another Guide
There are a lot of good StoryBrand Guides, and if you’re comparing, you should. Here’s what you get with me.
- We make the strategic decisions together, then we write. The words come out faster, and they hold up.
- The message has to work on sales calls. I see marketing through the lens of sales, and my scorecard is your checking account.
- You get help through the work. The day kicks off 30 days of finishing the message and the plan, and I’m happy to work alongside your agency.
- You get the longest-serving Guide. I’ve been certified since 2016, I’ve coached at StoryBrand Live since 2018, and I run the StoryBrand Mastermind with Donald Miller.
- You get a call back. One CEO hired me because the other Guides he contacted never returned his call. It’s a low bar, and I’m happy to clear it.
Two ways to work with me on StoryBrand
The Strategic Clarity Engagement
One full day with your leadership team, then 30 days. We make the decisions, build your StoryBrand message, and leave with a plan. Most clients start here.
See the Strategic Clarity EngagementAn Official StoryBrand Private Workshop
For larger teams who want the full StoryBrand curriculum, taught by me, so they can apply it to everything they write.
Video slot: Donald Miller’s testimonial (Vimeo embed with captions on the live site).
“Go with Wes. He knows how to get a return on your investment.”
Ready to make StoryBrand work for your company?
You already believe in StoryBrand. Schedule a call, tell me what you’ve tried, and let’s make you the best understood company in your market. If a full engagement is more than you need, I’ll tell you.