Donald Miller's 5-Soundbite Method That Doubles Sales  🔗 **Source:** [Donald Miller's 5-Soundbite Method That Doubles Sales](https://share.snipd.com/episode/3d7e6fe7-7165-426c-8680-5fcb49e97581) ## Highlights - **One Sentence That Stops Scrolling** - Do craft a single short soundbite that makes the right person stop scrolling and want to know more. - Donald Miller says one sentence can turn attention into action and should live in your headline, bio, and everywhere you repeat your message. Transcript: Amy Porterfield That sentence is your soundbite. So the short repeatable phrase that makes the right person stop scrolling and say, that is exactly what I need. Without it, it doesn't matter how good your offer is, how consistent you are, or how hard you're working. Right now, your most ideal customer, the one who you know your offer is perfect for, is moving on before you even get a chance to invite them into your world. My guest today, Don Miller, has spent more than two decades finding that sentence for experts, authors, celebrities, and more. He's the CEO of StoryBrand, the author of the million copy bestseller, Building a StoryBrand. And he's helped over 100,000 businesses find the words that finally make their marketing work. And he is my dear friend. Today, he's sitting down with us to teach you what a soundbite actually is, why you probably don't have one yet, and exactly how to find yours. ([Time 0:02:22](https://share.snipd.com/snip/fb3ee65a-03e5-4115-80d6-327da8cd15ab)) - **Protecting Refinery Throughput Example** - Donald Miller helped a $300M oil company distill its message to Protecting Refinery Throughput and saw immediate client interest increase. - The three-word soundbite clarified their role and triggered existing clients to take meetings they previously ignored. Transcript: Donald Miller Dramatically. Let me give you an example. I'm on the board of an oil and gas company out of Houston. I've been on the board for about a year. And so it's taken me a year to understand the oil and gas industry, how it works. And this is an interesting firm. They're about a $300 million organization. And they shut down refineries, clean them, and then get them back online. Every hour that a refinery is down could cost $20 million. So they've got to get this thing shut down, clean, back up, meet government compliances, and then got to get the throughput back up. But they also, in that process over the last 20 years, have created chemicals where they can clean fin fans. They can do all sorts of stuff without shutting down a refinery. And some of those chemicals work to clean airplane engines. And some of those chemicals work to clean data center cooling systems. So all of a sudden, they can't explain what they do. Yeah. Does that make sense? Yes. And so over the course of just recently, just a couple weeks ago, we sat down with their executive team, and I asked some questions. How much of your money comes from refineries? 95%. Okay, well, I'm not worried about data cooling centers. How much room do you have to grow? Hundreds of millions of dollars. Okay. And at the end of the day, we came up with three words, protect refinery throughput. And so their new tagline is going to be protecting refinery throughput. Now, to your audience, that may not mean much, but the word protecting triggers curiosity because the human brain is designed to survive and it's designed to over-index on potential Threats. Alert. For example, if I said, if I, we were at a cocktail party and, and I kind of slid up to you and said, Amy, um, I'm just going to stand between you and this guy because I want to protect you. You are extremely alert. You're wondering who's the guy. So we know that that word, along with a lot of other words, it's not the only word, that's not a magic word, but that, but that word, we can use it. It's going to get their attention. Refinery says who they are. So as soon as they hear protect refinery, they hear protect me and they listen. And then throughput means how many barrels of crude you can get through that refinery per hour, which is the equivalent of revenue. Okay. So really what we're saying is we're protecting your ability to make money. Amy Porterfield Interesting. Donald Miller And what they saw in the two weeks since we came up with that, they saw a dramatic increase in interest among their existing clients because their existing clients couldn't really figure Out what they did. ([Time 0:06:24](https://share.snipd.com/snip/94b0017c-d733-4969-adaf-bb006726944a)) - **Frame Your Offer As A Survival Asset** - People pay attention when messaging signals survival value, so frame your offer as a survival asset. - Miller explains even status and comfort tie back to survival, so Transcript: Donald Miller Only thing anybody has ever purchased, they purchase to increase their chances of survival. You know, even like we're talking about the clothes we're wearing, there's a little bit of status there, there's a little bit of comfort, a little bit of self-esteem. All that is connected to survival in a first world economy. If we were in a third world economy, we'd be talking about food and shelter. But human beings are drawn to survival. So unless you have a soundbite that helps me understand how you can help me survive, I am probably going to ignore you. Amy Porterfield Okay, that's big because is that what you mean by I saw you once talk about the problem? It needs to be problem focused. Donald Miller The quickest way to trigger a survival instinct to somebody is to say, uh, here's this problem, which is a threat to your survival. And I've made a product that helps you mitigate that threat or conquer that threat. Yes. And so, uh, if you can put, you know, protecting refinery, we'll think about the word protect. Yeah. We're protecting something's coming after your throughput. Yes. Yes. So it's triggering a, and also if I'm protecting you, I am your guard. You are the hero. I'm the guide helping you win the day. ([Time 0:12:30](https://share.snipd.com/snip/841e4076-11c5-4dab-b1b8-73df40d77d05)) - **Use The PACE Five Soundbites** - Do use the PACE five soundbites: Problem, Empathy, Answer, Change, End result. - Donald Miller says the Problem soundbite is ~50% of messaging; empathy bonds, answer throws a rope, change is aspirational identity, end result is the happy ever after. Transcript: Donald Miller Well, the most there's, there's, I want to talk about five. Okay. The first one is the problem soundbite and it's by far the most important. Okay. Uh, I would say it's 50% of your messaging campaign is just getting the problem soundbite right. Okay. And then there's the empathy soundbite answer change and end result. So let me go through them really quick. The problem soundbite is, is, is you articulating what problem you help people solve. And so when I, I'm a messaging guy. So if I say something to the effect of a lot of people have trouble describing what they do in such a way people are interested or describing their offer in such a way people want to buy it Or communicating their idea in such a way people want to engage when they can't figure out what to say they call me so that's a problem they can't figure out what to say and i've just positioned Myself as the solution to the problem yes now when i say that to somebody when i say i'm a messaging guy when people can't figure out how to talk about what they do in such a way people listen, I'm the guy they call. I've never had anybody not sort of turn down the radio and say, tell me about this, you know, or will you look at my website? Because we assume that people, products, ideas that are solutions to problems are worth more. Yes. In other words, the value, literally the reason people value your podcast is because it's solving problems for them every time they listen. Okay. Amy Porterfield That makes perfect sense. Donald Miller Yeah. It makes perfect sense for women. You know, women feel like, well, you know, we're different. It's a different world for us. All of that, by the way, completely true. I need a perspective that I trust, somebody who's done it before me, somebody who can curate wisdom that would give me a strategic advantage as I try to build my company. You hear what I'm saying? Survive, survive, survive, survive, survive. Amy Porterfield Yes, I'm hearing it. Yes. Donald Miller And so I, you know, that's the first thing you want to do is you want to get that problem sound bite right. Okay. And that often takes a minute. Amy Porterfield Yeah. Donald Miller You know, it takes a minute to figure it out. In fact, when I talked to my group at RTI, I said, hey, what's the differentiator with RTI? Why do people keep doing business with you? What's the controlling idea that make refineries want to do business with you? And they came back with, it's our people. And they wanted, you know, a tagline, it's our people and our people are great. And I said, you sound like a staffing firm. Amy Porterfield Yes. Donald Miller Is not a clear articulation of what you actually do. What you actually do is make refineries more money. So how can we articulate that in such a way that, and that's how we came up with protecting refinery throughput. Amy Porterfield How do you know if you've got that right? Donald Miller The number one way to know is your sales skyrocket. Okay. I mean, that's really it. Okay. At the end of the day, you don't really know. Okay. Now, I can tell you, because I've done this long enough, I can go, that's not going to work. Okay. But you do have to test it a little bit. And, you know, it takes some back and forth and you dial it in. The nice thing is once you dial it in, you're done. You're done. Yeah, it'll work forever. Amy Porterfield Okay, so that's the problem one, but you mentioned others. Donald Miller Yeah, so the next one is empathy. Okay. And so effectively, what you're doing these five soundbites is you're inviting the customer into a story. Amy Porterfield Oh, you have multiple soundbites? Donald Miller There's five. Amy Porterfield Okay, gotcha. Donald Miller Yeah, there's the problem, empathy, answer, change, and end result. And you want all of them. Peace. P-E Okay. Amy Porterfield And you want all five of them. Donald Miller You want all five of them. ([Time 0:14:26](https://share.snipd.com/snip/6d37e0cf-f2fd-49f3-956e-b5538bdf2474)) - **Choose One Controlling Idea** - Do pick one controlling idea for your business and make everything revolve around it; if you have a second thing, start a second business. - Miller explains RTI framed one controlling idea (protect throughput) and sold three product lines as defenses against specific enemies. Transcript: Amy Porterfield Okay. If you have a second thing, start a second business. This is really big what you just said. Yes. Because many of the people listening right now, they're going to say, well, wait, but I have two different audiences. I have this person and that person. And I'm always saying, let's just choose one. And do you agree with that? Like we have, well, maybe you don't. One audience that your business says one thing. Donald Miller Well, it's contextual. Okay. Amy Porterfield Talk to me about that. Donald Miller So let's go back to the RTI, the oil and gas board. Protecting refinery throughput is the one thing the business is about. Okay. Now, conveniently, the three enemies of refinery throughput are akin to the three products they sell. Oh, well, works. So for instance, and it just happens to be true because they create products that increase, you know, refinery throughput, but the three enemies are downtime. So the longer that refinery is down, the worse your throughput is because your throughput is zero. Well, they do a turnaround service that costs millions of dollars. And that is what we do to keep you, to defend you against downtime. Okay. Also constraints. So the amount of crude and petroleum that you can get through the refinery, if the refinery is not in optimal condition, lessens. And there's a constant war on that. So they're cleaning chemicals that clean fin fans and all sorts of things, constraints. And then the third is complacency. That is not really wanting to figure out what new technologies are out there or what processes we can use. And their consulting arm tackles complacency. So it's about one thing in three ways. Does that make sense? ([Time 0:25:38](https://share.snipd.com/snip/5a699d8c-0fc0-4410-b0bf-5274bf832d12)) - **Pass The Five Second Homepage Test** - Do pass the five-second test on your homepage by answering three silent questions: what you offer, how life gets better, and how to buy. - Miller emphasizes the header's job is curiosity; use zero cognitive load language and clear buy action like Add to Cart or Join Waitlist. Transcript: Donald Miller Three are what do you offer so a lot of people even mess this up i will go to their website i've gone to websites before and spent seven, eight minutes, and I still don't know what you sell. Really? I know how long you've been in business. I know how long, you know, you, the struggles that you've had, you're trying to increase your great places to work metric. You were featured in USA Today, but you're not telling me what you sell. And so you've got to actually make it really, really clear. You know, for example, I have a client, uh, in my mastermind who helps the parents of children struggling with anxiety. Okay. So if your kids are struggling with anxiety, he gives you some parenting coaching and some things like that, but you would go to his website and you would know that he's somehow dancing Around the world of mental health for kids, but I can't figure out what I would pay him to do. Amy Porterfield Okay. So when you say it does, but when you say what you sell, do you mean like, do you have a course or a membership? Yes. Donald Miller Okay. Or you can buy hours from me as a counselor or something like that. Amy Porterfield So you need to make it very clear what, not just what you do, but what you sell, like what they can buy. Yes. Donald Miller Okay. That's exactly it. It's a jar of peanut butter, but it's amazing how many people don't do it. Amy Porterfield I see that. Yeah. Donald Miller Yeah. So that's, that's the easy one. Okay. That's the first one. So what do you offer? And now here's, this one is extremely important. How will it make my life better? So your jar of peanut butter will not raise my cholesterol. Yes. Or your jar of peanut butter will not include the preservatives or whatever that could make me sick. Amy Porterfield So that thing you sell, how will that make my life better? Donald Miller How will it make my life better? The best tasting peanut butter you've ever had. Okay, well, that makes my life better because I happen to like peanut butter. I love peanut butter. They'll fail to put that on there. And then finally, what do I need to do to buy it? And I literally mean add to cart or buy now or go to the store and make sure to put this in your cart. ([Time 0:32:55](https://share.snipd.com/snip/ebf491db-9f72-4e06-8f53-2750f68b578b)) - **Three Phases Of Messaging** - A messaging campaign has three phases: curiosity, enlightenment, commitment. - Miller says most brands excel at enlightenment but fail at curiosity and commitment, which is why sales lag despite good content. Transcript: Donald Miller There is, we're getting into the advanced stage, but there are three phases of a good messaging campaign, curiosity, enlightenment, commitment. Okay. So the, the job of the header of your website is to peak curiosity. That's it. Now, the only thing that peaks curiosity is a zero cognitive load message that convinces me you are a survival asset. Okay. Amy Porterfield Say that one more time. Donald Miller The only thing that will peak my curiosity is a zero cognitive load message that convinces me you are a survival asset. That's it. That's it. And so if you do that, then I move into the enlightenment phase. And really what I'm doing in the enlightenment phase is saying, okay, I suspect that this person is a survival asset. Let me do some due diligence here. And so I'm going to watch some YouTube videos. I'm going to read the rest of your book. I might read your book, whatever it is. I'm getting time with you and I'm becoming enlightened about whether or not. And then the commitment is the third phase and that's where I give you money. So most brands listening to me, they do a really good job at enlightenment. They do a horrible job at curiosity and they do a horrible job at commitment. And that's why your sales are bad. ([Time 0:36:52](https://share.snipd.com/snip/ce8b4a2e-940f-470b-8b1d-4fd2fba2f978)) - **Oura Ring Focused Messaging Win** - Oura simplified positioning from many features to 'a sleep lab on your finger' and sales skyrocketed after focusing on one clear benefit. - Miller uses this to show that pretending a multi-feature product does one thing reduces cognitive load and boosts purchases. Transcript: Amy Porterfield Okay, because it doesn't feel simple. Donald Miller It does not feel simple. Aura rings are these, it's a Fitbit for your finger. I used to wear one, but there's not an Aura ring. Aura rings do a lot. I wore one for like a year. They measure your heart rate. They measure your steps. They measure- Your sleep. Your HRV. They measure your sleep. They were doing fine. They did a bunch of, of, uh, focus groups and realized that if they focused only on sleep, that that would be a differentiator from Fitbit and these other things. Okay. So they were, they released a big giant multimillion dollar campaign that positioned the aura Ring as a sleep lab on your finger. Amy Porterfield That's what I actually thought it was. So they must have got that message in front of me. Donald Miller Yes. But before that, that's not what it was. Amy Porterfield Oh, I didn't know that. Donald Miller No, it's like 12 things. But they realized we're going to sell a lot more of these if we pretend that this thing that does 12 things only does one thing. Amy Porterfield And what do you, did it work? Yes. Okay, good. Sales skyrocketed. Okay, I could see that. Okay. That's a great example. And the reason is the human mind, uh, is not attracted to nuance. Donald Miller It's attracted to simplicity. So when they said it's a sleep lab for your finger, it's going to give you a lot of sleep. And then people bought it to get better sleep and realized it also counts. ([Time 0:38:23](https://share.snipd.com/snip/5617ed17-cb25-44aa-b8b4-4f31b03b8d33)) - **Use Zero Cognitive Load Labels** - Do use zero cognitive load phrases that think for the customer and remove decision friction. - Miller notes Liquid Plumber labeling 'dissolves hair' beat many competitors because it solved the exact problem instantly for shoppers. Transcript: Donald Miller Right. And, um, uh, it got bad. It got to where it's like, Hey, this is actually taking about 10 minutes to drain here. I need to do something about this. So I'm down at the local grocery store, grab my oat milk, grab my peanut butter, whatever. And I come to the aisle with the liquid plumber and similar products. There's like 30 of them. Amy Porterfield Yes. Donald Miller And I'm just going, you got to be kidding me. Like, I don't know. I look down and one of them, a brand that liquid plumber sells on the big letters on the bottle, it says dissolves hair. Amy Porterfield And that's exactly. Donald Miller And that's what I bought. Yeah. I grabbed it, put it in the cart and walked away. Let me ask you this, along with all your listeners, just guess. And I actually don't know the answer, so I shouldn't ask. Do you think over or under that those two words make them more than 10 million extra dollars a year? Absolutely. Yeah, I would say probably 50. Yeah. Just a guess. Why? A zero cognitive load message about how you can solve my problem. ([Time 0:43:17](https://share.snipd.com/snip/748936e9-2b2a-4066-b84f-35402455aeaf))