Two Words That Will Grow Your Business

Today I want to talk about two words that [music] will grow your business. If you follow my channel at all, you know I am a big believer in sound bites. That is short repeatable messages that you can say over and over that just allow anybody to understand why they should do business with you, what problem you solve, how you can change their life. I think the problem is in most businesses we're explaining things in too nuanced of a way. We're not using the same words and it's very difficult. we sort of fumble over our words when we're trying to explain why people should buy our product or service or or whatever that is. I want to talk about two words that you should incorporate in your vocabulary, especially in persontoperson interaction with a new client. I think this is going to be really really helpful for you. Anything where you're you're interacting with a personally in order to deliver the product. These two words will work in marketing copy. It'll work in product descriptions, all that kind of stuff. And the words are really going to surprise you. I guarantee you if you try to guess what these words are right now, you will not guess them. They are going to surprise you. But we've already seen it work in one of my mastermind clients. They're using these two words and they're seeing an a pretty big uptick in business. All right. What are the two words that will grow your business? I'm not going to tell you yet. That's called opening a story loop. I am going to show you in just a few minutes, though. But first, I want to talk about why really simple words and repeated words work to grow a business. When it comes to messaging, the simpler the ideas, the better. Why? Because high cognitive load messages get ignored. What's a high cognitive load message? A high cognitive load message is a message that I have to think really hard in order to understand what in the heck that you are talking about. I shouldn't have to think. I should know very, very quickly what it is that this is going to get me and what I'm going to have to pay. What negative thing is going to happen if I don't buy your product? Don't make me think about that. I want you to explain it to me in a relatively short, simple way. Single words can trigger emotion, memory, and action. Like politicians use words like fair and just. And you know, I remember uh when the Republicans changed the estate tax to the death tax, all of a sudden everybody was against it. Well, why why should you be taxed for dying, right? and well we should tax people's estates is different than we should tax people for dying and take away the money that they should be able to give to their kids. You know those that simple you know change in language uh affected uh tax policy like crazy. So these words matter a lot and the words that you use to talk to your clients with really help them understand very very quickly what it is that you offer especially if they emote some sort of uh some sort of emotion. The human brain craves simplicity. Complex ideas cause confusion and hesitation. So when you're talking and explaining, if you're a doctor and explaining a procedure to your patient, you've got to use really, really simple language, otherwise they're going to get nervous. I remember I went and got knee surgery. I got double knee surgery several years ago. And I went to the first doctor and he tried to explain it and blah blah blah. And the next doctor that I went to didn't try to explain how the procedure worked. He just said, "Look, we're going to straighten up that knee and it's not going to hurt anymore. You're going to be able to ride a bike for 25 miles." You know, to use the kind of language that I would understand, I'm like, "Okay, this is my guy." So, the human brain craves simplicity. Complex ideas cause confusion and hesitation. In marketing, clarity beats cleverness every time. There's a temptation when we talk about our brand to be clever. And here's another temptation. It's really important. If you have a complicated product and you want people to buy it, you're going to be tempted to sound smart. You're going to be tempted to use language that makes you sound smart. I want I don't want you to think of it that way. Every time you use language that makes you sound smart, here's how I want you to think of it. You're making your customer feel stupid. So, why not? By the way, really, really intelligent people can explain things in simple terms. Uh, people who want to sound smart, they just confuse people and make them feel dumb and that costs you sales. The science behind simplicity is really awesome. Cognitive load theory by sweller. This is back in 1988. Mayor and Moreno repeated in 2003. Found some things. Key finding. Human working memory is limited. When too much information is presented, comprehension and decision-making suffer. When you share too much information with your customer, they have trouble comprehending it and remembering it. And let me just tell you this, they have trouble telling their friends about it. So word does not spread about your business. Studies in cognitive psychology show that people remember short emotional and clear messages far more than rational or complex ones. These two words, by the way, posit a lot of emotions. The brain's amygdala, our emotional center, reacts faster to emotional words than logical words. You trying to sound smart goes the opposite direction. Logical words. Also, simplicity equals speed and speed equals sales. The sales process speeds up when you use and repeat simple [snorts] words and ideas. All right, what are the two most powerful words nearly any brand can use? Are you ready? What did you guess? I'm curious. What? Put in the comments what you guessed the two words were. And I guarantee you very few of them got them. Don't cheat because you can watch the next slide and get them. What do you think they are? Well, here they are. Shouldn't and won't. Shouldn't and won't are two of the most powerful words you can employ to build a business. What am I talking about? You shouldn't have to deal with that and after you buy my product, you won't or some variation of that. You shouldn't. You are suffering an injustice by having to deal with that and I'm going to stop that injustice from happening. You have now positioned your product as the end to a pain as the end to a frustration as and as the end to an injustice that is happening to your customer. That is a very very powerful sentence. Why is it so powerful? Well, it's a motivating sentence. Human behavior is driven by two primal motivations. Avoiding pain, negative outcomes, and seeking pleasure, positive outcomes. The most powerful marketing messages connect to both. you shouldn't experience this and instead you should experience this. The words shouldn't and won't do exactly this. Let's look at some more science behind the words shouldn't and won't. In a Stanford behavioral study on decision framing, people were two and a half times more likely 250% more likely to act, thus pull out their credit card when language framed a problem as a loss avoided rather than a gain achieved. What does that mean? Don't lose your savings is stronger than save more. People are more motivated to not lose something than they are to gain something. You shouldn't have to deal with that. And if you buy, you won't. Leverages the exact same principle. Now watch how this is employed in a specific industry. There's a friend of mine who coaches a an orthodontist in Chicago. They sell the number one most Invisalign treatments in the world. So they are the highest selling Invisalign. the nurse practitioner or the dental hygienist when doing the intake session, cleaning their teeth or whatever, says to the patient, "Does the crowding in your lower teeth bother you?" Of course, it bothers you. If you say that to me, it would bother me. Uh, and they admit that it does. They say that it does. And then say, "Well, I'll ask the doctor to tell you about something that can fix that." And then the doctor comes in and talks about Invisalign. First of all, does that sound manipulative or deceptive? No, it's not manipulative or deceptive. The person doesn't want crowding in their lower teeth. So this is just a a dentist doing what a dentist does but doing it helping the invite the customer into a story in which they identify that they have a problem crowding in their lower teeth and the dentist throws a rope down into the hole and says use Invisalign to get out of that hole and now you're changed and you don't hate your your bottom teeth anymore and you really like your smile. A lot of people more than any other dentist he's helped them like their smile more. Isn't that what a dentist is supposed to do? The two words that can transform your marketing are shouldn't and won't. The first shouldn't shines a light on the pain or problem your customer is experiencing. It names what feels unfair, frustrating, or unacceptable. The second won't delivers the promise of relief and transformation. It paints the picture of life after your product or service has solved the issue. Used together, they form a powerful emotional bridge, moving your audience from discomfort to satisfaction and positioning your offer as the clear path between the two. You can do this. You can use you shouldn't have to uh you shouldn't have to experience a leaky roof. You shouldn't have to go without power when the power grid goes down. Shouldn't and won't can work all over the place. In fact, let's look at some examples. Here's another medical example. A doctor. In fact, this example is a doctor in my story brand mastermind and we came up with shouldn't and won't for them and it's working really well. Your legs shouldn't look like that and after my varicose vein surgery they won't, right? Like if you're if he's meeting with a client, just look at your legs, say, "Hey, I you know, do your legs bother you?" They actually shouldn't look that way and they don't have to. And here's the surgery that I can do and when I'm done they won't. If you don't have a shouldn't and won't for your business, my question is what are you selling? Right? Like it's very hard for me to even think of a single business that doesn't have a shouldn't and won't. So, you can actually use shouldn't and won't to explain anything to anybody in very short succinct language. It is a great soundbite. Let's let's look at something even more complicated complicated. An insurance advocacy example. This is an actual sound bite that we're using for another member of my mastermind. She gets insurance companies to pay pediatricians what insurance companies owe them. Pediatricians, a lot of times insurance companies try not to pay the pediatrician for services that they have provided because they're trying to save money, right? They're trying to make more money. And if they pay pediatricians, they're not going to make money. And my client, my c my client in my mastermind gets them to pay. And so this is something she could use on her website. You shouldn't get ripped off by insurance companies. And if you hire us, you won't. I'm going to get them to pay. Now, my wife said to me, "Don, that's great for like medical and insurance, but what if it's like a luxury item, like a handbag?" And I immediately said to her, "Oh, that's easy. You shouldn't feel guilty about buying something you love or you want. And when you buy our handbag, you'll be too busy loving it to feel guilty." Right? There it is. You shouldn't feel guilty about buying something you want. And when you buy our handbag, you'll be too busy, in other words, you won't. You'll be too busy loving it to feel guilty. All right, let's look at a B2B example because some of you some of you are saying, "Look, I'm business to business. Will this work for me?" Your sales team shouldn't waste hours on manual reports and with our automation platform, they won't. Again, shouldn't and won't. Let's look at a real estate example. You shouldn't settle for a home that doesn't feel right. And with our agents, you won't. What about a financial adviser? Just keep going, right? You shouldn't have to guess if you're ready for retirement. And with our planning process, you won't. You see how this works in just about anything. I can't think of a single industry that shouldn't and won't wouldn't work for to be a very powerful soundbite that grows your business. Fitness and wellness, you shouldn't feel exhausted all the time. And with our program, you won't. What about hospitality? A restaurant example. You shouldn't have to choose between healthy and delicious. And at our restaurant, you won't. Here's an education example. Your child shouldn't dread learning. And in our classroom, they won't. Here's a home service example. You shouldn't worry about who's coming into your home. And with our background check team, you won't. A SAS example, a startup example. You shouldn't lose customers because of slow onboarding. And with our software, you won't. It'll work for you. What is your shouldn't and won't? Do me a favor in the comments. Write your should. You shouldn't have to whatever. And with us, you won't. By the way, that's the beginning of you using the soundbite to grow business because people read those comments and they may click on you and find out a little bit more about you and buy your service. Shouldn't and won't are very powerful words. All right, where should we use these words? Use these two words in all of your marketing and messaging collateral, including Facebook ads, website headers, intake forms, billboards, email campaigns, video scripts, sales presentations, phone scripts, casual conversations, and repeat your sound bites over and over. Now, a lot of you are saying, "Don, this is on YouTube. Everybody's going to start using shouldn't and won't." You know what? If everybody uses shouldn't and won't, everybody's going to be communicating much more clearly. Don't if everybody's doing it and everybody's using it and it's it's working for everybody, why wouldn't you want to use it? And first, and also just be the first to use it. Like, be the first in your industry to use it. And then what's going to happen is you're going to be more clear than your competitor and you're going to beat them. Repetition is key to effective communication because the human brain typically needs five to seven exposures to form a lasting association by consistently repeating your message across every touch point that is used shouldn't and won't on Facebook ads on your website in your emails and your lead generators on your social media in-person conversations. By consistently repeating your message across every touch point you create a sense of familiarity and reinforcement. Your marketing should sound like an intentional echo. Resist the urge to change your message too quickly. Giving it time to sink in allows your audience to truly absorb and remember that message. Okay. If you want more help and more examples of great soundbite strategies to grow your business, I send out a weekly video that is not on YouTube. It is only for people who subscribe to my weekly series and you can find it at weekly soundbite.com. I send that out at weekly soundbite. If you're watching this on your computer, just pick up your phone, scan that QR code, or go to weekly soundbite.com, and I will send you a weekly soundbite strategy teaching you how to use sound bites as the foundation of any marketing and messaging campaign. Go to weekly soundbite.com and I will see you again soon.