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THE NEWS

It's the first time we've done this format, and I want to thank you for being responsive and participating. We received a lot of questions. I had to pick the 10 most relevant, but this is something we will do again.

And yay, there are 5000 of you reading this every Sunday, so thank you for your support.

AMA

#1 I know my story, but I freeze when someone important asks me to explain what I do. Why does it fall apart in the moments that matter most?

We see that a lot, it’s borderline therapy, but here is the pattern. We have a need. Most of us need to get the bucks. When we talk to someone, we label them, a big red label: “ potential money!!” And that’s unsettling almost instantly, because we don’t want to fail. However, as the founder, we are scared, and fear is in the driver's seat. So, in the matter of story, how to do it is to break it down to the most minimal explanation that isn’t an explanation. With Montblanc, for example, we said, you don’t sell pens, you defend the power of words. And when you say that to someone, they are intrigued, conversation starts. You don’t have to say a lot.

#2 You always talk about stories, but it can feel a little bit abstract for someone like me who sells something very specific in a conservative industry. How do you bring it up without falling into a credibility trap?

In that case, you think in plain terms that still carry the same impact. Why? Who? What? And today, what people want you to articulate properly is the reason why they should get on board with you, or why you are doing what you are doing. This is the story in that case, it doesn’t have to be a grandiose explanation, and more importantly, we shouldn’t make the parallel between story and artistic work. A story as creative as it can be can carry all the properties of conventional work.

#3 I've been posting consistently for six months, and nothing is moving. At what point do I accept that my story isn't working versus that I just haven't been patient enough?

There are different layers here. Posting consistently is fantastic. Where you post is also important, but the issue is that this game isn’t in our hands anymore. Not mine, not yours. Just posting won’t solve anything. You need to find a way to own the distribution channel, either by talking directly to the person you want to talk to or by accepting the long drag of organic content. I’m not a social media expert, and I don't want to say something too vague or absurd. All I know is that platforms don’t reward content the same way they used to. Paid ads are taking a tremendous place and rewriting the rules of the game. Make sure that every single time you communicate something, your first goal in mind is to deliver value and open a conversation. Those conversation kickers are your north star. If there are none, absolutely blank, well, something might be wrong, you might want to work on character tension and purpose. But if you have talks, that’s the direction you want to lean forward.

#4 Everyone tells me to niche down, but every time I do, I feel like I'm leaving money on the table. How do I know when niching down is a strategy and when it's just fear?

By focusing on a niche, you are doing yourself a service. First, you are making yourself an expert in a field, you rehearse and know exactly how to talk about something, and second, you create a connection with the person that is on the receiving end of your talk. Because they can instantly put you in a case and feel relatable to you. That doesn’t mean you have to just stay there, it depends on what you are bringing to the table. If you are fantastic at two things, well, yes, do both of them. However, if you think that it's good to keep all doors open to potentially make money, you will end up in a place where everything that you say won’t really be impactful anymore, and it might create more harm than good.

#5 I have two completely different audiences, investors and customers, and what works for one alienates the other. How do I build one narrative that serves both without sounding schizophrenic?

If one story works and alienates the other, there is something untrue somewhere in the mix. At the same time, you will never speak to investors and customers in the same way. When we train our clients to approach investors, we do it deliberately, knowing how those individuals react and what they want to hear. It’s a whole different game than your clients who want connection. So your investor's presentation is mostly different than your customers' one, but what doesn’t move is the essence of the business itself.

#6 How do I talk about what I do without sounding like I'm selling? Every time I try to be authentic, it either sounds too vague or too salesy.

Just don’t sell. Don’t think about selling. Focus on two things: value and conversation. If you start a discussion, that’s already a win.

I know it can be counterintuitive because what you want is for the client to say yes. Authenticity is not about being vulnerable in a dump therapist sense. I had that conversation earlier in the year. A client was facing a long sales cycle; what was needed besides due diligence for their counterpart was urgency. They were selling amazing services; it was mandatory that in their narrative, they stop saying "we are good, maybe great, actually the best at this", and start saying, "without us, you are facing tremendous losses within 18 months." It’s why I often bring tension in stories. It's totally borrowed from the film industry, but if there is no urgency, there is no need to buy.

#7 How do I build narrative equity when I'm still figuring out what my company actually is? Do I wait until I have clarity or start now?

If you don’t know what your company is, it’s indeed a stretch to build narrative equity on the business. But do you know who you are? That might be the door to get the flow going. Ask yourself the right question, and start working on your story. The founder story is the journey we bring our clients into, where they go to dig deep into the reason behind their business, and within a few weeks, we get answers that felt really blocked at first. So yes, ask yourself the question before the business, and you will get answers for both.

#8 You talk about the story as a strategic asset, but my investors want numbers. How do I make the case internally that narrative work is worth the investment?

Look at all the successful brands. They are going beyond marketing, they are looking beyond storytelling in the traditional sense, they are building a world that surrounds their company and that opens doors to the customers. You can do that at your own scale by treating the story as a strategic asset. The latest example is Adidas, which made a 5-minute short film, where there are 3 unknown players facing the biggest names of all time, and they keep winning. The tale is told by Timothée Chalamet and feels like a true story. You can find it here. By bringing all these names and circling different generation they not only put Adidas on the map but they are telling us “hey, we own football”. Can’t wait for Nike’s answer to that.

#9 I've worked with a branding agency, a copywriter, and a positioning consultant. None of it stuck. What do they all miss that narrative equity actually solves?

It's not quite the same thing; we don't physically design your brand. If you need a logo or a website, that's not something we do, but we create the container, the bible, to use a TV show term, that has all the ingredients for the branding agency to deliver.

Often, what happens is that branding agencies look at your brand and give you different options. They try to understand what you do genuinely, but what we do is from the inside out; it's not that they miss anything, it's just that we are talking about two different jobs. Delivering your story, sharing it as we say, requires skills that we work on together. Shaping your story requires a dig that isn't just something that a color palette will change. It's all about the medium, and we want the medium to be fully yours; that's what we do.

#10 You talk about tension and urgency in storytelling, but I'm in a B2B space where everything needs to feel safe and reassuring to close. How do you create tension without scaring people off?

They probably need to be scared a little bit. Tension happens around three pillars. Time, Money, and Life. You talk about it with your own framing. Keep in mind, your goal should be to create a vision that they couldn't articulate before. It's why it's so powerful to create an image, a before and an after, so the person in front of you can have a glimpse of what is happening in their own mind. In B2B, it can be more conventional, yes, but their problems are the same.

— Théo

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