Stop Explaining Your Business. Start Telling a Story with Wael Mckee

0:02John Lee Dumas:Who's ready to rock today, Fire Nation? JLD here and welcome to Entrepreneurs on Fire, brought to you by High Level, the all-in-one sales and marketing platform. Today we'll be breaking down how to stop explaining your business and start telling a story. To drop these value bombs, I brought Wael Mckee and EO Fire Studios. Wael is a brand storytelling strategist helping entrepreneurs turn businesses into narratives people remember. Founder of Mars vision, blending psychology, positioning, and design to build brands that command authority and emotional connection. We'll be talking today about the over-explaining trap, information versus storytelling, why stories sell, and oh, so much more.

0:39John Lee Dumas:And a big thank you for sponsoring today's episode goes to YL and our sponsors. Stop duct taping your business together. High Level runs your website, your funnels, email, automation, scheduling, payments, and memberships all in one place. And when you sign up at highlevelfire.com, you get a 30-day free trial plus my exclusive bonus stack that includes weekly office hours with me and much more. Visit highlevelfire.com. highlevelfire.com. Fire Nation, are you ready to build something special in the next 50 days? Check out my free YouTube series, 50 Days to Something. Short and strategic step-by-step videos by me, JLD.

1:18John Lee Dumas:On day 50, you'll have a valuable asset. And the best part is it's completely free. Visit eofire.com slash YouTube and start day one today. Yael, say what's up to Fire Nation and share something that you believe about becoming successful that most people disagree with. What's up, Fire Nation? All my life, I believed success in general you know is a big spectrum of the word it is but i believe success i always believe success is not about doing more and i'm not talking about uh don't work hard work smart i'm not talking about the efforts i'm talking about doing more or doing less i would rather always to do less with absolute clarity.

2:10You know, most people think success comes from stacking, you know, like strategies, tools, hacks, trends, maybe. They keep adding, they keep adding, they keep adding. I kind of used to do the opposite. I remove, you know, because the more noise you have, I believe the weaker signal becomes. It's like an old school radio, right? when you have more noise you're not tuning in properly when you have more clarity all you need is probably just two sentences and it tells you what it is so i always thought success is not about doing more it's like doing the right thing make it more more clear you know think about it like it can go from artists you know authors it's not about doing more uh and well in my field in branding maybe in business even in life clarity has always been power you know the people who win are the ones who know exactly who they are what they stand for what they don't do you know these are the people we connect with you anyway so the level of restraint most people can't handle it they always feel like they have to do more you know and this is what i always thought like people are disagreeing with me because they always feel like they're missing out like no no no no we can do more we can do more i always want to do more but more of what maybe i have to think about what's more that's good and what maybe we need to you know hide and remove like an old post that doesn't relate anyway to anything nowadays so this is how i see i see that's how success work from a different perspective.

4:02John Lee Dumas:You nailed it, brother. That's a powerful start to an episode that's all about stop explaining your business and start telling a story. And I love the word story. There's a reason why history is his story, her story. This is how we grew up, Fire Nation. These are generations upon generations of just innate soul that we have passed along to each other. And that's why I want to talk about the over-explaining trap. Why does over explaining our business, why does that actually weaken our brand positioning? Every time I talk about even businesses or brands in general, I always say like project the same thing on people.

4:44Over explaining is insecurity in disguise. Literally, I always say it. The moment you start over justifying, which is over explaining what you do, you subconsciously telling people, I need you to believe me. I need you to know this. This is real. That's why I'm repeating the same sentence in different meanings. I'm over-explaining. So strong brands don't explain everything. They create clarity, but not clutter or noise like we said previously. Think about it in real life. The more someone tries to convince you with something, the more they over-explain it, they over-justify it, the more you pull back.

5:26And same thing in business. And even in business, I'm sure one of us faced this during some cold call, you know, and you feel like this over explanation. You're like, oh, I'm pulling out. Like, I feel what's the catch? I don't I don't see like it's just a bunch of facts repeating in different words. When you over explain, you kill curiosity. This is a big deal for brands. You remove that space for people to feel something, you know, to want to lean in, to want more. so if i over explain to you it's you just feel like you want to take a step back and look at the whole picture you know you feel like i'm trying to impulsively take you into something which you wouldn't do strong brands just say enough to make you feel it not enough to make you analyze it let's leave that to the r &d team they analyze it people you don't want them to analyze.

6:23That's why you don't over explain. You actually sit with clarity enough to make them feel.

6:29John Lee Dumas:Fire Nation, again, this is a powerful conversation we're having about how you can start telling a story in a meaningful way. And I want to get into information versus storytelling YL because there's a critical difference between just sharing information, marketing, and telling a story that actually converts. Can you break that down for us? Information is raw. It's data. But not data like how, okay, originally in the technological world, we saw data is like very, very raw data. And then we process it and it becomes information. In this world, information is still raw to us for brands. It's specs, it's facts, it's rules.

7:11while marketing is structured information. You know, it's how you present those facts to sell something. But storytelling, well, storytelling is something else. Storytelling is where the brand becomes a personality, real personality. It's where people don't just understand what you do. They feel why you exist. Furthermore, they relate to you as a brand. so in short i would tell you we can we can make it like this simple information tells me what i'm buying what i'm buying marketing tells me why i should buy storytelling makes me want to belong so i'll buy today i'll buy tomorrow i'll advocate it today after tomorrow and i'll keep talking about it like some episode of game of thrones and that's the shift you're not selling a product anymore.

8:09You're building a world people want to be part of. So that's why storytelling, you can compare it to series and movies.

8:19John Lee Dumas:Fire Nation, this is the power of talking to somebody who actually lives this experience and can talk about the why as well. And that's what, well, where I want to move to next is like, why? Like why stories actually sell? Like what is this psychology behind why customers actually buy stories instead of buying features very simple we still are discussing humans right as we all are humans don't make decisions logically most of the time uh wait this might sound controversial but i'll tell you we justify them logically after since you said psychology i believe this is called cognitive dissonance you know you you want to think but then after your brain tells you logically why it makes sense why it's good why it's perfect why you need it but all those whys your brain tells you those whys after you already made the decision in your mind you want to buy it the best example of this any impulsive decision you make while you're purchasing something and then after you do you'll be like yeah but it was on discount yeah but they are good yeah but my friends told me about it stories tap into identity you see marketing again like we talked about it before but stories they tap into identity when someone connects with this story they're not thinking oh this has five features they're thinking this feels like me this is so me this is my style this is my look this is my thing but then the logical brain says okay you know rationally speaking this has five features but originally you just your brain just says this feels like me that's a completely different level of connection features give you a transaction stories give you a memory and memory is what builds brands over time if i can make you feel you belong in my world you'll come back you'll talk about it you'll defend it oh furthermore you'll advocate for it right that's not marketing anymore I would love to coin this name.

10:41That's emotional ownership.

10:43John Lee Dumas:See, I love that, Fire Nation, because that word memory, we can all resonate with. I mean, we all have memories. We all have these core memories we can think back to in our childhood, in our youth, growing up, et cetera. You can become part of those memories if you're doing this process right. And there is a three-step story framework. There are lessons from aviation. and a lot more that we're going to be talking about Fire Nation when we get back from thanking our sponsors. If you've ever tried to secure a traditional bank loan for your business, then you know the process is slow, complicated, and it rarely moves at the speed you need.

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12:32John Lee Dumas:Everything works together seamlessly. Plus award-winning 24-7 support so you are never stuck. And when you go through my link at highlevelfire.com, you unlock my full bonus stack, a 30-day free trial of High Level with full access, a private 50-minute coaching call with me, weekly live office hours with me, a digital copy of my book, The Common Path to Uncommon Success, my 50 Days to Something execution, roadmap, and more. Stop piecing tools together. Start building momentum. Visit highlevelfire.com and start building your something today. All right, well, we are back. And I teased that three-step story framework before the break, but I want to dive into it now because you have a simple three-step framework that entrepreneurs can use to turn their business into a compelling narrative.

13:23John Lee Dumas:So can you share that with us now? It is simple because it really is simple. You know one of those hacks when you think you have to do a lot, but actually it's very clear, it's very simple, and you can just take those steps really easily. Mainly, let's say, like every time I deal with any client, this is the easiest way I give them these three steps and it's already clear in their mind. Step one, define the character. Your brand has a character. Again, remember we're projecting it has to have a personality. Your brand is not a company. It's a personality. How does it speak? What does it believe?

14:06What does it reject? You know, all these that used to be, you know, mission, vision, and values of the company. So you have to take something similar like a mission, vision, and values of the brand itself. this is how you define a character the character or the personality of the company i always like say it's it's like a puzzle so i just have to ask you the right questions to put the pieces together i know we built the personality step two build the story what's the journey what are you inviting people into not what you sell but what they experience with you so focus on this that's your story.

14:48It doesn't matter what field you're in. It doesn't matter what your business is about, services, products, anything, literally. You need to know the journey that you take people into. So it's not what you sell, it's what they experience with you. Step three, easily enough, which many they miss, stay consistent about that. Everything, marketing, visuals, tone, decisions must reflect that same personality, that same character. Because the moment you break consistency, you break trust. And we know this even with people, right? People don't follow brands. They follow personalities. They recognize.

15:31So the moment you break this consistency, you break trust. And that's really like some brands without mentioning names faced that. And it was catastrophic because we're connecting like with personalities and we are personalities. So consistency after building this story, being consistent with the story, being consistent with the character you have is the main thing. That's the step three. They're really simple three steps, but committing to them is up to the businesses.

16:07John Lee Dumas:See, this is powerful Fire Nation. I mean, why do you think that Nike and Adidas, Reebok, Under Armour, why do they spend literally hundreds of millions of dollars to have athletes represent their brands, their shoes, their gear? Because they know that people are drawn towards people, towards influencers, towards those people they look up to, so they admire. So that is such a powerful way of looking at things as you're building your story, your business. And something that I'm kind of interested in is you have a background in aviation, Al. So what did building a global aviation brand actually teach you about both emotional authority and about standing out?

16:50Honestly, the biggest lesson, simplicity wins. Sometimes we spend time, you know, crafting something complex, layered, perfect. And it performs average. Then something simple, almost too simple, connects on a completely different level. That taught me something important. Emotional authority does not come from complexity. It comes from clarity. Again, I'm not talking about minimalism in general, but clarity. It's not complexity. And it's a long game. You don't build it in one campaign, honestly. No. You build it over time. Through consistency, again, through repetition, through a feeling people start to recognize.

17:39It's when people don't question your brand anymore. They just feel it, you know, they belong to it, they relate to it. But all of that happened over the past eight and a half years. I saw simplicity was always the best answer. Stay simple, stay elegant. And complexity is not what people are looking for.

18:02John Lee Dumas:Stay simple, stay elegant. I love that phrase, Fire Nation. I mean, it can just really sink in and stay there for obvious reasons. And one thing that you've done that I really want to talk about is standing out fast. I mean, what is one storytelling shift that entrepreneurs can apply immediately to their life, to their business that's going to help them rise above the noise and the crowded markets that we live in? It's great. question. I did this actually even personally, not only with brands. I realized something. Stop trying to perfect everything before you start. You know, I see many people, many companies even, or many, let's say, founders, overthinking names, logos, tiny details before they even start.

18:50Like that's what will make them successful. I'm sorry, it's not. Some of the smartest brand details, people talk about today were noticed after the brand made it you know like after the brand made it we're talking about it like years after that's not what the what made the brand successful the real shift in this pick your direction define your story and stay consistent same three points because consistency builds recognition right recognition builds trust and trust builds brands You can have any name, any color, any identity. Honestly, I challenge you. If you tell this story well enough and you stay true to it, it will work.

19:38I'm not mentioning examples, but there are tons and they're big. And if you try to rejudge their names even, you'll be like, oh yeah, I would choose a different name. But I don't know, I love their name. Of course you love, because you love their brand.

19:54John Lee Dumas:I mean, how weird did Google sound when people first heard it? You can't go back there because now you just understand that you know what Facebook sounds so dumb if you take it apart. I mean, you go back all the way, even like Nike and all these words that we love now, if you were to hear them for the first time, you'd be feeling differently. And I love how you said that as well, which is consistency builds recognition. Recognition builds trust. trust, build brands. I mean, that's just powerful. So listen, we talked about a lot of amazing things, lessons from your aviation days, your three-step story framework, which I loved, why stories sell, information versus storytelling, the over-explaining trap.

20:36John Lee Dumas:If Fire Nation could just take away one thing from our entire conversation today, YL, what would that one thing be? I would say it's really dry. Branding in general, corporate branding, luxury branding, personal branding, same. Branding in general is very underestimated. And whoever is missing this, they are really sleeping over it, not knowing what exactly could make you pop out of the crowd. Personal experience, professional experience. Branding. keep your brand shining like a red cube among many black cubes. I don't know why I thought about this. I love that though. It's like the purple cow that Seth Godin talks about.

21:24John Lee Dumas:You notice that purple cow. It's such a powerful image. So, Wael, if Fire Nation could take one call to action, they want to connect with you, learn more from you, what would your call to action for our listeners be today? As a call to action everywhere, online, hopefully. I have also, I've opened a boutique agency called Mars Vision, which is literally run by me. We look for brands. We fix brands. We just do everything we talk about now, mainly. We're not a marketing agency. We're not just creative agency. We just discuss your brand, tell you how to step out of the crowd in a world that everything else is a business.

22:12So while mckay.com is my personal website, marsvision.ae is the boutique agency. We're always ready for any consultation, even online. And of course, we will go through it and you will see it's simpler than it looks.

22:33John Lee Dumas:Fire Nation, you're the average of the five people you spend the most time with. you've been hanging out all day today with my man YL and JLD. So keep up that heat. And for links to everything that we talked about, visit eofire.com. Just type YL, that's W-A-E-L, in the search bar and the show notes page will pop right up. And YL, thank you for sharing your truth, your knowledge, your value with Fire Nation today. For that, we salute you and we'll catch you on the flip side. Thank you, John. It's been an honor. Hey, Fire Nation, a huge thank you to our sponsors. and YL for sponsoring today's episode.

23:10John Lee Dumas:And Fire Nation, are you an entrepreneur on fire who's looking to share your amazing message with the world? If yes, we are now accepting applications for EO Fire. To learn more about becoming a guest, visit eofire.com slash guest. And I'll catch you there or on the flip side. Stop duct taping your business together. High Level runs your website, your funnels, email, automation, scheduling, payments, and memberships all in one place. And when you sign up at highlevellfire.com, you get a 30-day free trial, Plus my exclusive bonus stack that includes weekly office hours with me and much more. Visit highlevelfire.com.

23:46John Lee Dumas:Highlevelfire.com. Fire Nation, are you ready to build something special in the next 50 days? Check out my free YouTube series, 50 Days to Something. Short and strategic step-by-step videos by me, JLD. On day 50, you'll have a valuable asset. And the best part is it's completely free. Visit eofire.com slash YouTube and start day one today.