Hi Reader,

At least once a week, usually around dinner time, the doorbell chimes.

I glance at my phone, pull up the doorbell camera, and there they are: a salesperson making their rounds. Solar panels, new windows, knives, car detailing — you name it.

Most of the time, I ignore them. But when I do engage, the tactics are predictable: quick attempts at trust, appeals to social proof — “we just helped your neighbors save a ton of money.”

To me, it feels no different than a spam call, a cold DM, or a billboard you speed past on the highway. It’s like walking through a department store and having someone shove a perfume sample in your face.

It’s disorienting. My brain was in one place — cooking dinner, catching up with my family — and suddenly someone’s asking me to context switch into whatever their thing is. It’s dizzying.

This is what not to do in your sales and marketing.

For the month of September, we're focused on strengthening your sales & marketing through storytelling. Each week, I'll offer tips, questions, and activities to help you refine your approach. Missed a week? Find all past newsletters right here. ​

Marketing, as Seth Godin says, is a contest for people’s attention.

So, how do you capture attention?

With a good story.

Think about the energy of that door-to-door pitch: a jarring switchover.

Now think about the energy of a great story: magnetic, inviting, the feeling of being seen and understood.

Which energy is more likely to build not just transactions, but loyalty? Not just a swing of the bat, but a home run?

That’s the power of storytelling.

Notice even in this email, I started with a story.

My goal was to show you how a story can pull you in, and ultimately set you up to learn something new. You can try this too!

The best stories balance three things, often called the rhetorical triangle:

• Build trust (ethos) — you might have trusted what I had to say because I shared a real, everyday experience instead jumping in right away with abstract advice.
• Stir emotion (pathos) — you could feel the annoyance, the disruption, maybe even the humor of dodging the doorbell or the unwanted perfume.
• Make sense (logos) — it 's obvious: you don't start a relationship by annoying your customers.

The right balance of these depends on your audience. But when you hit all three, your message won’t feel like an interruption, it will feel like an invitation.

Take a moment to pause & reflect. When people come across your marketing, do they feel disrupted (like a door-to-door pitch) or invited in (like a good story)? Think of one time you shared your story and someone leaned in with curiosity. What made that moment click?

Actions, experiments, & things to try next. Draft a 100-word story you could share with a potential customer. Use the rhetorical triangle: A detail that builds trust (ethos) A moment that stirs emotion (pathos) A fact or insight that makes sense (logos)

Until next time,

Michael

Michael Schefman | 321 Liftoff​

Copyright © 2024 by 321 Liftoff LLC

​​​​​​