Franchising guru Ian Christelow makes an interesting connection between the tale of Cinderella and building business success.
Once upon a time there was a Fairy Godmother. She was amazing, top of her class. She provided all kinds of services, from designing dresses for princesses, to creating golden carriages out of pumpkins – and all with the wave of a wand. She also fitted shoes and trained bluebirds for good measure.
Her interventions in the once dull lives of scullery maids were legendry. She attended the best Fairy Godmother school in the universe and graduated with honours. With a staff of six special rats, and beautifully crafted offices, she was the true ‘Special One’. Forget Jose Mourinho and all that! She could provide all downtrodden girls with the opportunity of a lifetime. To summon this wonderful Fairy Godmother, all anyone had to do was utter a handful of ‘magic words’ and their lives would change for ever.
Sadly, it’s not a story I’m familiar with. We all want Cinderella to find true love. She’s the star of this tale, and her life becomes transformed in a flash by the Fairy Godmother. However, it leaves the reader with no-one to root for, no one to empathise with, and subsequently no perilous journey to go on.
And this is where many companies come unstuck. As Donald Miller points out in his great book, Building A Story Brand, the tale focusses on the wrong character. Instead of making the central character the company, it should turn the spotlight on its customers.
If we take this story as being an advert for the Fairy Godmother, then it clearly needs to be unpicked and re-written. What do trained bluebirds even do? And what benefits do they have? How will turning a pumpkin into a golden carriage help scullery maids? Who cares about her six special rats or even what her office looks like? What opportunities does she provide? And, most infuriatingly, ‘what are these magic words’?
Back in the real world, how has ActionCOACH used this blueprint and turned it into marketing success? To start with, the ‘Hero’ is undoubtedly our client and we focus all of our energy on their journey. Understanding the ‘Hero’s’ perspective guides everything we do. At ActionCOACH, we exist to help our clients find their ‘happily ever after.’
We understand their external and internal issues. This could be stress caused by ‘lack of time’ or ‘lack of money’. It may even concern under-performing team members. And we offer ourselves as experienced guides, helping to fix all of these complications with proven solutions. We build their trust and show competence through testimonials from delighted clients. We may highlight awards, as further proof of our success. By demonstrating we understand their problem, we can empathise with their plight.
In our story, we also make it clear that not everyone is up to the job. This ensures we only select the most committed ‘Heroes.’ Those who are determined to make a difference. As for ActionCOACH, we paint a detailed and inspiring picture of the outcomes our clients can enjoy, going forward, if they engage with us.
Cinderella did not want a new dress, but rather a new life. The outfit and carriage were simply part of The Fairy Godmother’s role. Yet the benefits she provided were to give Cinders the opportunity to meet her Prince. In other words, sell your benefits, not your features.
Once we’ve explained the benefits, we advise our clients what action should be taken in order to achieve these outcomes. These are our ‘magic words.’ We share the biggest secrets in business with every business owner. Follow these ‘magic words’ and you can take both your business and your life to the next level. But it does require the business owner to participate, typically starting with a 90-minute meeting.
We also remind clients of the stark statistics relating to business failure. By highlighting that 90% of businesses fail inside 10 years, we establish the stakes before showing clients how to avoid this terrible catastrophe. Then we show them a clear and inspiring vision of the future with us by their side.
We explain ‘this is what success looks like and this is how to achieve it.’ It’s about growing your business, changing your life and creating a legacy. Life starts to change for the better when you invest in an Action Coach. With our ‘magic words’ we show you how to achieve your goals and dreams.
It’s then time to make it happen by providing our client with a regularly updated plan. They will be assigned one of our trained and talented Action Coaches who has access to over 3,500 business improvement strategies and tactics to help them solve their business challenges.
It’s little wonder that Rainy Bradley (ActionCOACH Recruitment Co-ordinator since 2007), Julie Wagstaff & I love recruiting new franchise partners and Action Coaches. We get to find and meet people who are going to be incredible guides to their hero clients. And our joy is doubled as we see our Action Coaches lead clients along the road to both business and personal success.
Our franchise partners become ‘fairy godmothers’ to clients whose business and life is transformed by working with an Action Coach. It’s ‘win-win-win’ all round, you could say.
