The Hero Filter: Who Your Content Is Really Calling In

Over the long holiday weekend, I was “actively resting,” which means I was crocheting my latest project while also binging my fav podcasts.

Donald Miller has his Story Brand podcast, and if you have ever listened to him teach, you already know the core point of his message.

The prospective client is the hero. You are the guide.

I swear I have heard that a hundred times, but this weekend it landed differently, probably because I have been wrestling with this behind the scenes.

Here is what I see happening in my business (and I would bet happens in yours too)…

I will talk to two prospects who look almost identical on paper: smart, capable, overwhelmed. Their backend is messy, and their front is suffering because of it. They want to “get organized” and know they need better systems. They want it fixed YESTERDAY.

One becomes a client. One does not.

But why?

Now, you might assume that the one who didn’t does not have either the time or the money, but I assure you that is NOT really it.

The fact is that people MAKE time and FIND money for things they find highly valuable.

I say that from personal experience, both as someone who has clients who have done so to work with me, as well as being the client who moved mountains to be a part of programs that I believed would propel me in the direction I wanted to go.

So what tips the balance for some and not others?

On a call with my coach earlier this week, I did an exercise where I compared two real prospects, one who bought and one who did not. Same stage, same mess, same desire for more ease, both eager to book calls.

The conversations I had with each were extremely similar, and yet we ended with different outcomes and, at the time, I genuinely couldn’t figure out why.

It wasn’t until I reheard Donald’s message (AGAIN), followed immediately by my coach’s exercise, where I asked myself the same questions about each prospect, that the nuance, and ultimately, the differentiator, jumped out and smacked me across the face.

The prospect who bought was definitely on the struggle bus, but not looking for someone to rescue them.

They could see the future they wanted, and they were willing to do the work to become the CEO who could hold it. They wanted a plan they could execute, even if it meant changing habits and building new processes, and the accountability they needed to not give up when it felt hard.

The prospect who did not buy wanted “the easy button.”

They wanted AI to be a magic wand that fixed the backend without requiring any real change in how they ran the business. No new rhythms, no new decisions, no uncomfortable leadership moments.

The prospect who became a client was already acting like the hero of their business. The one who didn’t was more like a damsel in distress.

The first wanted a guide, and the second wanted a savior.

At that moment, it hit me that the StoryBrand “hero/guide” message isn’t just a cute marketing concept I should consider trying. It’s a filter I need to start implementing stat because it helped me name what I have been seeing all along…

My best clients are heroes in the middle of a hard chapter who want a guide, not a knight in shining armor.

And that matters, because when your messaging makes you the hero, you attract people who want rescuing.

When your messaging calls them forward as the hero, you attract people who are ready to lead.

And that is where I realized I have been a little too vague in my own messaging. I have been great at calling out the pain point and the transformation, but I have not been clear enough about the mindset of the person who is actually going to work with me.

Three takeaways to steal for your own messaging

First, messaging is a filter, not a net.

If your words are trying to catch everyone, they will, including the people who want the easy button.

Second, your offer is not always the differentiator.

Two prospects can have the same mess and want the same outcome. The difference is usually whether they are willing to become the person who can hold the outcome.

Third, stop selling the tool and start calling the leader forward.

If you sell your solution like a magic wand, you will attract magic wand buyers. If you sell it like a guided path for an action taker, you will attract CEO energy.

That is also why my work is done with you. Done for you can be a great fit for the right person and the right season. I am not here to judge that. Heck, I used to sell that! I just know how I get the best results with my clients now.

I want you to learn how to think, decide, and build the system, so you can run it, maintain it, and eventually hand it off when you hire humans.

That is a guided tour, not a rescue mission.

This week’s challenge

Do a quick audit of your messaging this week, and be brutally honest.

1. Pull up your website, your last three posts, or your last sales email.
2. Read it and ask, “Who is the hero in this story?”

If the answer is you, rewrite one section so the client is clearly the hero and you are clearly the guide.

Then ask two reflection questions:

• Are you positioning your offer like a rescue or like a guided path where the client has to show up and do the work?
• Are you calling forward the action taker, or are you accidentally making the easy button sound like the goal?

If you want to take it one step further, do the prospect comparison exercise too.

Pick two prospects from the past 60 days, one who was a real buyer and one who was a tire kicker, and look for the mindset difference that actually decided the outcome. That is the nuance your messaging needs to speak to.

A little teaser for June…

In June, I’m relaunching my program with a clearer focus on the kind of leader it is built for…

the solopreneur or small agency owner who sees themself as (or is becoming) the CEO… and wants to do more than just “use AI to get more done.”

It’s for the person who wants to:

• Get the entire business organized in one place (yep, inside Notion)
• Set up AI like a team that supports how the business actually runs
• Scale without hiring humans yet (and build something you can hand off when you are ready)

Here’s the core of it:

Most entrepreneurs are scaling a business that still runs entirely on them, and things are constantly falling through the cracks.

I help them get their whole business out of their head and into one place so they can leverage AI to help them run it, before they’re ready to hire.

If that hit a nerve (in the best way), reply and tell me you are ready to be the hero of your business who wants to work with a guide that will show you exactly how to take control of your day-to-day operations so you can scale faster.

Just a heads up that this relaunch comes with a new price tag, so if you want to get in at my current rate, you only have until May 31st!

So DM me the word HERO right now and let’s jump on a call and make sure that you are the right fit for this program (and if you are, I’ll probably steal your wording for my next round of messaging work. 😄)