IF YOU WANT TO START A MOVEMENT YOU MUST HAVE A COMPLETE BUYERS’ JOURNEY

IF YOU WANT TO START A MOVEMENT YOU MUST HAVE A COMPLETE BUYERS’ JOURNEY

“A movement consists of emotionally charged, inspired, fearlessly active believers who support the cause as you have articulated it. The buyers’ journey melds message and mechanics to accomplish this.” J Loren Norris

I give full credit to the concept of marrying message with mechanics for the purpose of driving emotions to Justin MacDonald who used it when defining the buyers journey. It was a revelatory moment for me. With a background and history in both marketing communication and sales, I am very familiar with the process of persuasion and the language of sales. The sales cycle as defined by time from lead to close is also something I have taught and observed closely for decades. Marrying the two together is equal parts art (language) and science (sales tracking data).

THE BUYERS’ JOURNEY OF A MOVEMENT

Another clever articulation of Justin’s idea was expressed like this. “You must get them to believe what they need to believe, to think what they need to think, to do what they need to do.” The application of this philosophy in creating a movement is profound. If you blend this practice with the mental positioning of the “infinite game”, you will begin to understand that preplanning the conversation which WILL HAPPEN IN 15 YEARS is as critical to your success as anything you are doing in the moment. The action you want them to take: complete a customer survey, post an online review, refer a new customer, speak out against injustice, vote in a particular way is driven first by helping them to “believe what they need to believe.” It is an infinite game look at preprogrammed behavior in the future casting of your customers or vocal proponents.

WHAT MESSAGES HAVE BEEN MECHANIZED?

The number, diversity and perceived ambiguity of messages which bombard the minds of today’s youth are staggering. From elementary ages to college age, the media, the social media, sports coaches, class room teachers, peers, personal experiences, and eye witness accounts all present some significant concerns for them to consider and adopt. Some of these messages have been well thought out, well planned for the eventuality of activation 15-20 years in the future. Certain messages have been mechanized, repeated, expounded upon, repeated in other social circles, even placed in the subconscious in a way as to neither know nor truly understand the message and yet regurgitate it anyway.

Many of these messages have a deep counter intuitive meaning. They are strategically placed, tactically deployed and deeply engrained for a future use. One such phrase is this: “The system isn’t broken, it was designed to work this way.” Is this a statement about the International Monetary Fund, The World Bank, The Military Industrial Complex, The Deep State of Information and Secrets or is it a statement about institutionalized racism, police brutality and the intentional demise of people of color socially and economically? The presumed meaning and implication of this statement is as varied as the narrative it is surrounded by and as diverse as the audience and situation it is applied to. There are dozens, if not hundreds or thousands of these planted messages which have future application, but have been utilized for decades to erode trust, build barriers, breakdown relationships and bring vehement disunity.

MESSAGE OF HOPE AND A MOVEMENT OF TRANSFORMATION 

Those of us who believe in unity, harmony and compassion among all humans are not altruistic fairytale believing fools. We are however, late to the party when it comes to mechanizing our message. For decades, school children of every walk have been filled to overflowing with these messages which do not promote equality, compassion and purpose. They have been indoctrinated with messages of division, comparison, unfairness, separation and distrust. It is time we counter this battle for the mind of young people. It is time we begin to plan not to REACT TO THE CRISIS OF CONSCIENCE we are facing in the moment, but plan to reinforce messages which lead the story path for an eventually expected conclusion in the next decade, in the next generation and for generations to come.

ACTION ITEMS FOR YOU TODAY

Ask yourself with regard to those you lead or influence:

• What do they need to do to see a radical transformation of society in the next 15 years?
• What do they need to think before they will do that?
• What do they need to believe (about themselves, about others) before they will think like this?
• What actions can I take TODAY, what words can I speak TODAY, what message do I need to start and repeat until they repeat it as often and as loudly with as much conviction as I do?
• How can I mechanize this message to keep them on the journey toward this predicable outcome?

One tool for you to employ is this Leading Leaders Podcast and blog. Read, view, study, share and comment on the content you find at www.leadingleaderspodcast.com. It’s one thing to be AWARE, but the next level of commitment is to ENGAGE. Another tool is the mentors‘ training program found on https://www.jlorennorris.com/live. You can learn and actively utilize these nine lessons immediately for $7. You can even be trained to integrate your own life experiences, personal stories, culturally relevant adaptations and to use all of those for your own income creating mentorship program. 

We can bring transformation and hope to the next generation. #StoryPower is an inside job, it is also a tool for leadership, communication, sales, and training. Together we are transforming stories and transforming lives.