The One-Problem Rule: Why Helping Everyone Helps No One with Katie Weiss

Katie: [00:00:00] it's that curiosity moment of getting the people in front of you so you can help them with more. Because if they're not curious, if they not ever coming to you, then you don't get the opportunity to help them with all these other things.
Katie: 'Cause I can do a lot of other things. There's a lot of other things I'm great at. There's a lot of other things that Dustin's great at, and he actually does help service his clients with that. But in order to get them there, you have to let them... The light bulb has to turn on. The survival mode light bulb.
INtro/Outro: You're listening to the Seven Figure Leap podcast. We're here to leverage rich relationships and smart strategies to take your business to the next level. Here's your host, Dustin Riechmann
Dustin: If you wanna be seen as the go-to expert in your industry, you've got [00:01:00] to own one problem. That's what we're gonna focus on today.
Dustin: I'm super delighted. I'm joined by a good friend of mine, Katie Weiss from Golden Edge Strategies. So Katie and I actually met through StoryBrand, I don't know, at least, 18 months to two years ago. she's been part of our community and been through our Podcast Profits Accelerator program, and we're finally, getting her here on the podcast to unpack her story, unpack her expertise, as a StoryBrand guide and a marketing strategist, and help you as the listener really understand what it takes and practically how to get to the point where you understand the problem you own and how to market that and how to get new clients with it.
Dustin: So Katie, I'm super excited, to unpack this with you. Thank you for being here.
Katie: Well, thank you for having me, Dustin. I'm super excited to be here. I, ha- kind of an interesting story of how I came to where I am today.
Dustin: Yeah, I was gonna say, like, you, like me, it's like you didn't go to school for marketing or business.
Dustin: You have a way cooler story than I have, and a way more,yeah, just very personal story. So I'm gonna, yeah, I wanna just give you the mic and let you [00:02:00] give us context for your background and like how you got to this place that you're serving people today.
Katie: Yeah. So I spent over a decade in Washington, DC.
Katie: I threw up, threw, flew out to Washington, DC after graduating, from Baylor and without a job or a place to live, but I just felt the Lord calling me to be there. So I hit the ground, running with my resume and started connecting with people, and, said I was gonna be there for a year. found a, job very quickly, about three days after moving up there, and secured that and secured some housing quickly after that.
Katie: But, somehow one year turned into ov- over a decade in Washington, DC. So, and my job was just staying three steps ahead of, congressmen pretty much at all times. I managing chaos f- and I thought that I knew what chaos looked like, being there for in, the heart of where the laws are being made for, about 12 years.
Katie: and I loved it. It was a dream job. I mean, in the rooms with lots [00:03:00] of people, where laws and just things were happening, and-
Dustin: Laws and things. We'll leave it, we'll leave it like that so we don't incriminate anyone, right? And
Katie: you learn very quickly at that point that, if you are not clear, and you are not, you don't know what you're talking about and how to get it across really fast and in a few words, eyes glaze over and you're not listened to really fast But, fast-forward, so I thought what ca- I knew what chaos looked like, and then overnight my life kind of blew up, and, fell apart, and I found myself as a single mom, with a little two-year-old and, one on the way.
Katie: And, I had to figure out life all over again. And, that was very abrupt, and I knew that the Lord was slamming s- closed a door at that point in time, and made it very abundantly clear to me that, in order that clarity, was, is not a luxury in life. That [00:04:00] it is- Yeah ... really a survival, aspect.
Katie: And so I figured out, after lots of work and internal,searching, I knew I didn't wanna go back to politics. that was a great chapter in my life, but it was closed. And I,started thinking about, "Okay, I've always loved marketing." It was something that I felt called, to do, and I was like, I just felt like the Lord, "Hey, you're closing the store.
Katie: It's a great opportunity for me to explore this and to figure out, how do I do this and raise a family, and m- put, start putting food back on the table," to be honest. Like, and so, from that, I knew I was really great at solving problems, and seeing the problem before, actually sometimes the client even noticed that there was a problem.
Katie: And so I, That's where Golden Edge Strategies was born from, is that I invested deeply in getting myself certified in a bunch of different, StoryBrand, Business Made Simple, and Unreasonable Hospitality. I feel like the three are all very important and, because you need [00:05:00] the words, the message to be clear so that you're attracting the right people in.
Katie: You need, the Unreasonable Hospitality so that they are, your clients want to, stay around and refer you to other people out there. and then the Business Made Simple aspect of it just helps it to be able to go... You can continue to grow and scale at the pace in which you want it to do. So, I just found myself now in a world where I love helping coaches and consultants and small businesses, clarify their message so that they're no longer confusing, their clients.
Katie: They own one problem and, it just really makes clear words, real care, and a plan. and that's, what I've built my life on now, and
Dustin: that's what I help people do, so. Well, thanks for sharing a little bit of your story. I mean, we could literally talk for two hours about your story. It's incredible. It's, We'll save it for, a mi- a biopic or whatever they call... Like, a deep dive documentary at some point. 'Cause there's a lot there, but I think the big idea here, which is gonna really relate, relates to me, it relates to probably [00:06:00] most of our listening audience, is many of us have a chapter of our professional life, right?
Dustin: And we gain these skills, and we have this different calling where we're like, "We need to go do something new," and a lot of times that looks like coaching, consulting, maybe starting a service business, an agency. and I think- clouded in that, we kind of wanna solve all things for all people because we're really enthusiastic and we really want to make a difference.
Dustin: And one thing that I learned from you, Katie actually hosted a workshop in our community a few months back, and it was one of our most popular workshops, and the whole idea was how do you define the one problem that you wanna own and then use that messaging, using her StoryBrand training and her own personal experience working with clients, like, how do you do that well?
Dustin: So maybe to start unpacking that so we can, help the listener make progress with this,if you think of, like, a coach or a consultant or even some of your own clients, Katie, like, why do you think we struggle so much, with committing to or defining one problem? I feel like that is- w- even when I say that, I bet [00:07:00] people, like, their heart rate starts to go up.
Dustin: They're like, "Ooh, only one problem?" Like that sound, that sounds r- like a lot of pressure, I guess. But, like, why do you think people struggle so much, with this idea of owning one problem in the marketplace?
Katie: I think the, to be honest, it's most, m- the response I hear immediately when you say that is, "But I'm so much more."
Katie: and so you are allowed to be so much more. There is so much more to me than just helping, helping clients stop confusing their customers. There's so much more to me than that. But you have to own one thing, in order so that everyone else... So that is a compounding aspect to it. So, like, when you own that one thing, then people can refer you.
Katie: They know how to talk about you. They... You know how to talk about you and other people know how to talk about you. But, they also have that fear of missing other opportunities. Like, if I own this one problem or I own this one niche, then, this one problem for this one [00:08:00] niche, does that mean I can't help all these other people out there?
Katie: No, it doesn't mean that you can't help them. It just means that you're gonna own this lane so the right people are coming in to you so that you can start really, supporting that, and really helping. Because if you help everyone, the help everyone trap is you end up helping no one. And if you're too vague, you're just not gonna have anybody that's gonna...
Katie: You're just not attracting anybody. So your leads are gonna, your referrals, your leads, everything, it's just, it's, in the AI world, you're gonna get, you're gonna get lost. So you just have to lean in. So-
Dustin: So yeah, I can totally relate to this. even in the way you and I met, ironically, right? Like, I think there was a conversation going on about podcasting or getting on podcasts or virtual stages, those sort of things, and someone, like, turned and was like, "Katie, you should talk to Dustin."
Dustin: why is that? It's 'cause, like, I own a problem, In the marketplace, specifically within the StoryBrand community, if the word podcast or specifically [00:09:00] podcast guesting comes up, people are like, "Oh, you gotta talk to Dustin." And as you were saying that, I'm like, I feel so seen. Like, yeah, because, I've done digital marketing for 16 years, I have a lot to offer that's not just podcast guesting.
Dustin: However, a lesson I've learned the hard way is it's super valuable to own that one problem, So, like, resisting the urge to try to own all the problems in a public way. Now, to your point, when someone comes to me and says, "Hey," like, "help me with podcast guesting," of course we'll help them with that, and typically the experience is we end up helping them with a lot more than that.
Dustin: But if I started by saying, "I can help everything in your business, in sales, in marketing, in offers, in, branding, in operations, in messaging," and it's like, okay, well, you don't really solve anything well because you're... Like, what do you, what are you known for? So, I think I'm a live example.
Dustin: You're a live example. But I think anyone listening to this would relate, right? So yeah, please, give me your thoughts on that.
Katie: I think as someone within the, our, the community, the viewers too, it's like you sell them the chocolate, so, [00:10:00] you sell them chocolates, but then you actually give them the broccoli.
Katie: like,[00:11:00]
Katie: You're like, "Oh, I can actually become the true expert in this."
Katie: Like, and
Katie: I'm like... And you get deeper, and you learn more, and you just... But you learn more about yourself and how you click and how you operate and how, where is it best for you to be showing up, Like, and how do you serve others best?
Katie: And that problem helps guide that, Like, and everything just flows better, and you are heard and seen more, so
Dustin: Yeah. I'm so glad you brought that up. So like we'll talk more about the external, which is what people would expect us to talk about, right? Like getting clients, and being known, and getting invited on stages, and referrals.
Dustin: All that is super important. I think it makes, sense though for us to double-click on something you just said, which is what owning a problem does for you internally, [00:12:00] right? So confidence, clarity, focus, like there's so much that happens to you as an entrepreneur when you decide, and sort of declare, and commit to like, "I own this problem."
Dustin: and maybe it's, "I'm gonna own this problem for the next 90 days as like a trial," right? But something shifts inside of you. and when that shift happens in you and your identity about like, "I am a expert at solving this problem," God, the universe, magnetism, whatever you wanna call it, like things become...
Dustin: You become attractive to people looking for that problem to be solved, right? and so I think that internal shift is really important. That's a little harder to describe. but yeah, like tell me what you... What comes up for you when I talk about it that way?
Katie: I see like...
Katie: Yeah, and over in the last like year and a half as I've really been leaning into this more for myself even personally, I've even seen like comments that come back to me that it's interesting.
Katie: It's like, "You seem so much more confident in the way you carry yourself and what you're [00:13:00] talking about," because, and when you're helping somebody, it go... I actually heard the comments,you're really good at this. Did you know that you're really good at this?" And I'm like, "Oh, actually, I am." Like because you've taken the time and you've invested all these hours of like you really deep dive into that. Like what does this really look like? And the problem is like is I'm hearing my customers say this over, and over again, so like I'm gonna... It ma- it makes you, as you're owning that and you're publicly going out there, you're wanting to surround yourself with more of those types of people so you can learn more, so you can help more, and you can just dig deeper, and deeper.
Katie: And it doesn't mean that you can't do all these other things, but it's that curiosity moment of getting the people in front of you so you can help them with more. Because if they're not curious, if they not ever coming to you, then you don't get the opportunity to help them with all these other things.
Katie: 'Cause I can do a lot of other [00:14:00] things. There's a lot of other things I'm great at. There's a lot of other things that Dustin's great at, and he actually does help service his clients with that. But in order to get them there, you have to let them... The light bulb has to turn on. They have to... The survival mode light bulb.
Dustin: Let's talk, yeah, let's talk about, so we're sort of shifting now to- why you should own a problem sort of externally, like what that does for you and for your business and the marketplace for awareness. You just said curiosity, which I think is like a super important, term for us to talk about. So let's talk a little more about that, sort of like finish making the case for why you really need to own a problem, like what that is gonna do for your business, and then maybe, in the last half of the time that we have, we can talk a little more about the how.
Dustin: Like how do I actually, like, define a problem, talk about it, et cetera. But like before we switch to the how, a little more of the why. based on what you've seen with clients and within the StoryBrand world and your own journey, when someone does commit to owning a problem and they actually start doing that [00:15:00] well, like why is that important?
Dustin: Like what are some of the benefits from sort of a business building standpoint?
Katie: from a business building standpoint, it's amazing to see-
Dustin: It's like everything, right? Unlocks
Katie: literally everything. Because then you're like, wow. Like, I literally had a client come to me, and she was like, I love this.
Katie: Like, I now know exactly what to say. Like, I'm not struggling to write these pitches for my podcasts that I wanna go on anymore. I'm not struggling to figure out where... l- like, who I'm marketing to and how I'm marketing to them." And she's like, "It's just all clicking because these sound bites are there, and I know this problem.
Katie: I own, and I feel it in the core. I am sitting in that problem with that client as I'm writing all these things. I'm thinking of them, and I'm sitting in it so that it comes out with a different life." And you're able... Everything just starts clicking, and the marketing there is just so much [00:16:00] easier. And, they see...
Katie: And that level of confidence and that level of just excitement radiates off of you, so you start attracting the right people in, and they want... They're, "Tell me more." They lean in and say, "Tell me more," because it's just like, you overhear someone in the... Like, they start talking about it randomly.
Katie: Someone asks them what they do, and they s- they are able to state off their problem, and someone just happens, what happened with us. Jon. It's like someone overheard, and they're like, "Hey, have you met Dustin?" And you turn around, and there it is, The solution to my problem is literally standing right behind me.
Katie: but so, like, it's, makes... It just unlocks so people can refer you. You can... You have that level of confidence to be able to talk about you. But those partnerships that you so desperately need in order to continue to grow and scale your business, people, those partners are able to talk about you in a way in which is consistent, and it's [00:17:00] clear, and the right people are coming there.
Katie: Like, so, coming to you. They're not... And 'cause sometimes if you're not owning a problem, you can get people referred to you. You're like, that's not what I do." Like, or it's you're out in the middle of... I mean, quite honestly, you could be meeting with somebody, and I had this happen the other day.
Katie: I was talking to a potential customer, and they were like, "Well, I was having a meeting with a client and they said, "Wait, you... Wait, I didn't know you, you do that?" Like, this big piece of their whole business, like literally what their business is built on. They're like, "We didn't know you did that." And, and he was like, "Wait, no.
Katie: Yes, we do. That's like a huge... That's our whole business. That's our whole livelihood." And it's because they haven't owned that problem. And they, and I was like, "Well, what you're explaining to me is not a marketing problem, it's actually a messaging problem." And that's where people get m- kind of confused and can l- like, they're like, "Oh no, we have marketing."
Katie: But if you have [00:18:00] a messaging problem, it's the foundation of everything. And so therefore, if your messaging is confusing, it just compounds over time. So your marketing is never going to work. It just compounds the problems and compounds the, issues. And so that's a huge piece, and I was like, what you need is, your marketing's not bad, you're just marketing the wrong thing.
Katie: Therefore,
Katie: it's going to not bring in the right people, or the right people are gonna go seek it elsewhere. They're gonna come to you for one... they're gonna come to you, but then you don't know how to talk about what you do in a clear, concise way, so they're gonna go over... Because people are buying solutions to, their problems, and if you don't own that problem, then they can't come to you and ask for the solution to their problem.
Katie: Anyways, so that's kind of why I see that time and time again, too, is people don't know how to separate the two, and there is a separation there. You need the messaging first as the foundation before you can build all the other things
Dustin: [00:19:00] Yes. And we're gonna dive next into the messaging and sort of, And I'll obviously let you guide us through that, whether that's through, like, the soundbite strategy or however we wanna kinda unpack for that for people so we can-- they can understand what do you mean by messaging, and, like, how do I start getting closer to this one problem that I wanna own. but yeah, to kind of round out what you said there, I had a thought as you were sharing that.
Dustin: we talked earlier about one of the big reasons people don't wanna own a problem, or they won't commit to owning a problem, is it feels restrictive. It's like, "Oh, well then I- I'm gonna miss out on so much opportunity." But I would say the opposite is actually the real truth, in that creativity comes from constraints.
Dustin: And just imagine, if you're listening to this and you're a little skeptical about owning one problem, imagine the freedom that would come if you're like-- If I said-- If I just assigned it to you, and I'm like, "Katie, this is it. This is the problem you solve. This is who you solve it for." So from here forth, for the next 90 days or the next year or whatever, like, that's all you can talk about.
Dustin: Like, how much freedom would [00:20:00] come? Like, you would know exactly what to create content about, sales conversations, people would know exactly what they're getting on the call to talk to you about. Referrals would be a lot easier. You're probably gonna get invited on other people's podcasts and stages because you own one problem.
Dustin: I can speak, in my case with partnerships. I've had these, like, amazing partnerships that on the surface, people would be like, "Why would they have Dustin on there?" Because you're both marketing people, right? Or you're both business coaches. Well, the reason I get invited to partner with, like Justin Welsh or Pat Flynn or Nathan Barry, even though they also do marketing and they also do business, is like, yeah, but I only do this one sliver of it, right?
Dustin: Like, that's all-- externally at least, that's all I do. And so I'm kind of a safe, valued partner to them because they don't own that problem. I do. And so to bring me in as a guest resource for their people makes a ton of sense. So hopefully people are internalizing this a bit of like, it would actually be super freeing and, to only own one problem and to be able to talk a lot about that and go deep with that.
Dustin: You can imagine the confidence and clarity that comes from [00:21:00] that. so hopefully we made that case. So I'd love to shift now into more of the how. Like, if someone's like, "All right,I'm on board, guys. Katie, you got me. I really do wanna own one problem, and I am doing marketing, and my business is okay, but I am hearing what Katie says," and I'm like, "I do think I have a messaging problem."
Dustin: Like, this is your zone of genius. I know you just sat through several live workshops with StoryBrand to help clients through this specifically. So how should we think about- Getting better messaging and owning a problem, like i- in reality, is there a framework or something that people could sort of start to work through?
Katie: Yeah. So I love to use Donald Miller's, peace framework. the s- peace soundbites that he rolled out, last fall have... Super helpful, in this, area. And the first of the, peace soundbites is the problem that we've been talking about.
Dustin: There we go. So peace, just for people to start to follow along, an acronym, P-E-A-C-E, the word peace.
Dustin: Problem is the first one.
Katie: Yes. so problem, answer, p- sorry, [00:22:00] problem, empathy, answer, change, and end result. So, those are your curiosity soundbites, which we kind of tap- tapped on earlier. Your problem is a huge part of that. So you, curiosity is what types into the human brain's survival mode.
Katie: And so they're always, your brain is always looking for ways to sur- survive. And, so by owning a problem, like we talked about, you are also owning a piece of survival for that human being. I mean, and so in order to find that right problem, what I always, and what I come to with clients is, I said, the best place to start with finding your words and finding that problem is quite honestly going to your customers and, looking at your reviews, looking at what people have said about you, and what is their experience and who are those people that come to you?
Katie: Because sometimes, like, it's right there in [00:23:00] front of you and they, What are, what is the one thing that clients are already giving you credit for solving and doing, and solving it well? And that's your problem. So it would be... I say the pain test is, the fir- there's three tests that you can do for your problem once you think, "Okay, I think this might be the problem I solve," is do customers, say it back to you in your own words?
Katie: That would be the pain test. The pay test is, are people already paying you to solve this? And then the passion test, which I feel like the passion test is kind of like the first two are super-duper important. The passion test kind of goes to the back, that internal part that we talk about, is, can you see yourself doing this work for several more years, and diving deeper into it, and is this problem something that you're really passionate about?
Katie: want to learn more about and truly become an expert on. And so I [00:24:00] then say, take that problem statement. Your problem statement is your most important piece of the whole entire peace soundbite. We could do a whole podcast just on the peace soundbites, and I encourage you to go. Donald Miller does it best.
Katie: He has a great,lots of, lots and lots of great examples of it out there, and you should go and follow him and hear him talk about it more. But what I wanna talk about right here is just really hone in on that problem. And, the, so once you find that problem statement, I want you to do a 30-day soundbite test, is use it everywhere for 30 days and watch and see what comes back.
Katie: Like repeat, and then can the same stranger say it back to you, like hearing it once? Like test that. Like get it out there in the real world. Like start saying it. And do, like the referral test would be, does your, does do your best clients, like know exactly who to send back to you, Like, and, if the answer comes back fast in your inbox once you start doing this, you found your problem.
Katie: [00:25:00] And if it doesn't, then you can start tweaking and refining. That's what I say too about messaging, is it's a living document. like it is not hard fast, and like I've tweaked my own soundbites multiple times, especially after going to the live events. I'm like, "Okay, do I, am I clear? Like, do I need to say, do I need to tweak this?
Katie: Do I need to tweak that?" But like I just think going back again and again, what are my customers saying? Because I think that you know it in your heart of hearts, and the tes- your testimonials is a great place to start diving in. And if you're a coach or you're a consultant and you have recorded transcripts from calls, that's also a great place to start to look, to start diving through those.
Katie: And that is where AI can help.
Dustin: I was gonna go there next. So before we open the AI can of worms, which we're going to, 'cause you just had some really good recent experience in like how to and not use,and not to use [00:26:00] AI. but to recap for people, so we got the PEACE framework.
Dustin: Go listen to Donald Miller, PEACE soundbite strategy. He can give you the whole spiel. We're focused on the first, which is the most important, and he would say is definitely the most important, which is the problem soundbite, which is basically what's the problem that you own? The one problem, as we've talked about and made the case for today.
Dustin: three tests for that Pain, pay, passion. So number one, is this a pain that your customers express? Do they repeat it back to you? As you were starting to say, does it show up in conversations, sales calls, transcripts, testimonials? Like, is this a phrase or a named thing that people actually, identify as a pain and they use it as, like, language they would use to describe that pain, right?
Dustin: Two, pay. if people have paid you to solve this, even if it wasn't... Like, you didn't have enough clarity to know that's what they were going to pay you for. ultimately, you find that I keep, like, this ends up keeping the thing that people are most excited to pay me for. And then three, the passion. I get why you sort of put a [00:27:00] qualifier on that, like That a full passion of like, I'm gonna commit my life to this is not necessary to start these experiments that we're talking about.
Dustin: But you know, reasonably it- if it's something you hate, like probably shouldn't be the problem you solve, right? So if it's like, yeah, I can see myself focusing on this for the next, year or the at least the next 90 days, like I have enough interest in this is enough a part of my maybe my own story.
Dustin: I get enough joy from pe- from helping people with this, that this is something I would be open to being the thing I'm known for, right? So that's the passion test. And then we kind of moved into the, once you start, got like a working idea of like, I think this is, this could be it, or these are a couple things that could be it, the best way to really get clarity on this is to just start using it.
Dustin: So I love the idea of like a 30-day soundbite test where that next live event, that next sales call, that next community networking event you're in and you're introducing yourself, like try it and see how people respond. See what, if people become curious, if they ask you follow-up [00:28:00] questions. and then you can go back to your clients and say, this is what I do.
Dustin: are there other people you know who have this problem that I could talk to?" so is that a good recap of helping people define the problem before we get into like AI dos and don'ts with this? 'Cause I know everyone has that question.
Katie: Yeah. That's perfect recap. So you did a great job.
Katie: Okay. So.
Dustin: Good. Well, well then let's talk about AI. So I think there's a temptation if I said, if people stop listening right here, they'd be like, "I do need to own a problem. I'm gonna go to ChatGPT or I'm gonna go to Claude and let it tell me what my problem is." I think that's bad, and I wanna let you articulate it.
Dustin: But yeah, like, based on some of these experiences, especially that you've had recently in person with real people in a s- that have paid to be at a StoryBrand workshop, yeah, like that's sort of the context. But w- how do we use AI in a good way versus how do we avoid letting AI maybe lead us astray?
Dustin: which is why I think a lot of people take the risk of when they pop right into AI to try to answer these questions for themselves.
Katie: [00:29:00] Yeah, I think that the problem is that AI is great,is a great tool. Okay? I'm not gonna s- shy away from the fact that I don't use it every single day. It's a big part of my business.
Katie: However, it is only as go- good as what you feed it. And so, it is, while, AI has lots of information and lots of resources, humans have the lived stories and have the wisdom in order to go along with it. And so- What I... When you're doing this kind of deep work and thinking about, "Okay, what problem is it that I actually solve?"
Katie: If you're feeding it the wrong information, AI, or AI can help you narrow it down once you've started or, like, tweaking the wording. But, really truly, like, no. Like, don't ask AI what your people are saying. Like, what are your people saying? Like, what are people that are coming to you? Listen with your ears first, take it into your soul, [00:30:00] and do some good deep work and ask yourself the right questions.
Katie: I think a great way to use AI is to have it ask you questions. Ask a strategic advisor for you and say, "Okay, act as a 15-year expert in s- as a StoryBrand certified guide, and ask me a whole lot of questions. I'm wanting to narrow down my problem and refine my messaging." If you prompt it correctly, it can start asking you the right questions for you to think and think, "Okay, yes, this...
Katie: It... Okay, wow, I hadn't thought about it that way," or, "I hadn't... I... It pulled this one thing from this transcript, that I said that I didn't... I had forgotten about." That, those kinds of things. But when you're, I think there's a lot to be said about human to human though too. Like, let do it some work with AI, but move away from the computer and now go talk to people.
Katie: Like, go talk to your customers, go talk to your friends, talk to your family and say, "Hey, does this make sense?" Like, if [00:31:00] you,We used to say the coffee shop test was, like, back in the day with StoryBrand. Like, go flip up your website in the coffee shop to someone and say, "Can you explain what I do?"
Katie: And find . Like, I think that's still true to this day. Like, so getting out there once you do have, "Okay, this sounds good. like, AI and I kind of worked together. She asked- AI asked me some questions." She or he, whatever you wanna call it.
Dustin: I like how you called it she. That's good.
Katie: I was like, I feel like Claude for some reason to me is a she, and ChatGPT is a he.
Katie: I don't know why. But, I, But once you get it, then start workshopping it with live humans, because that's only where you're gonna really truly start to feel that, and do I have the stories to back up this problem? Do I have that lived experience either? And, that's where, just to kind of touch on it, the empathy soundbite and the P soundbite, I feel like the problem is gonna agitate things.
Katie: The empathy soundbite is that sigh of relief that lets the, customer take a deep breath and relax their [00:32:00] shoulders so that they can then hear your next soundbite is gonna be your answer, is how you solve that problem. So, I think in order, your problem has to be something that you've either lived it through your s- own personal experiences, or you've helped clients through it, and you can- you've seen the other side.
Katie: So that's a big piece of the problem, and that's a piece of the problem that AI may not know. Like, s- AI doesn't know your lived experiences. It does not know your personal stories. I mean, yes, you can feed them to it, but you have to feed it. Like, so I think if you're just saying like, "Hey, give me a pro- Like, here's my website.
Katie: Tell me what my problem is," it's not gonna feed you back the right stuff. Like, it's gonna be generic, it's gonna be, lacking in human, and it's gonna fall flat across-
Dustin: Yeah. It's gonna feed back what the cruddy version of what you did before because it's reading your website that you wrote, right? It's like, so, so I like, I really liked what you said.
Dustin: I mean, one, if you're... I'd say if you're, like, earlier in the stage here and [00:33:00] you're like, "Man, I don't even know where to start," with really defining the problem I solve, definitely don't ask AI, "What problem do I solve?" But, using it as a thought partner where it's just asking you insightful questions.
Dustin: I like to go for long walks with my A- AI and, like, just answer verbally, process using, like, a whisper flow or some sort of, easy interface and just talk about it in a deep way and let it ask you these, like, hard questions and just verbally process that. that's a really good tool. I think the other thing that we were talking about a little bit earlier is if you're in the side of the spectrum where you're like, "Look, I've been doing this for several years, I feel like I'm too broad.
Dustin: I really wanna own a problem, but I do have a lot of client experience. I've got testimonials. I've had 30, sales conversations this year, and I have those things recorded." Well, AI is really good at mining those actual human conversations for repeated phrases, insights, signals, And so feeding that stuff into AI and saying, "Give me 10 ideas for based on actual [00:34:00] human feedback and sales conversations," like, where do you th- see some problems that I'm really good at solving that people have identified that I've helped them with? Like, that's a really good use of AI. But I think the trap people fall into, which we've talked about and you saw, examples of this where people are...
Dustin: Like, you start asking them a question, like a hard question, a strategic question. Like, you go like, "What do you do? Who do you serve? what do you care about? What's your passion?" and they're like flipping open a laptop, "I don't know. Let me ask ChatGPT." And we've started to rely on that as our brain, instead of actually tapping into our brain and our clients' and our prospects' and our friends' and families' brains, who are gonna give us a lot more useful feedback, right?
Dustin: So that's really good. I'm glad we were able to talk a little bit about the AI, trap, but also the AI opportunity with this. and yeah. Go ahead. Like, yeah, let's close that and then we'll kind of get to the final chapter here and,
Katie: Yeah, and before we get to the final chapter, too, I wanna make sure that...
Katie: So when we're talking about, and you may be... This may be the next question you're about to [00:35:00] ask me, but, I... As we're talking about this problem, a really important piece that we, Dustin and I both learned from, Donald Miller is the cogniti- cognitive load piece. And so as I service a lot of coaches and consultants, and our nature is to go, and this is where it kind of falls into that same AI bucket there, is that, we fall into what we, I like to call consultant speak.
Katie: And you think that using these big words makes you sound smarter, and you think that, And it's almost... Like, it's not even that you sound smarter, but it's like, it's that crutch of, "Well, I, now I'm out here helping people solve this, and I'm out here... Like, I'm supposed to be the expert on this, so I'm gonna use these really big words so it makes me sound like more of an expert."
Katie: And what it actually does is it makes you not sound smart at all. and, like, you can't relate to the, where they actually are. you're above them instead of right there with them [00:36:00] willing to help on their level. And so I see that time and time again. And so that is where, I want you to think about, like, is this something that Like, and it can be simple and clear, but it doesn't ha- but not vague.
Katie: That's also the other piece of it, is like figuring out how to say it, and that's where owning that very specific problem for that very specific audience really, hones in that and allows you to use those words that they actually relate with. Like, instead of saying you're a holistic wellness coach for ambitious women, that is a whole lot in there.
Katie: And instead it's like, "I help busy moms stop running on empty." like, which one are you gonna relate to? like, it's like I'm gonna lean in on, okay, I'm a busy mom and I'm running on empty. So, like, what do I ... H- how are you gonna help me? like, so it makes them lean in, be curious, and then want to hear how do you solve that problem?
Katie: [00:37:00] What's your answer to that problem? So making sure that you're not falling into those. And a, like, strategic marketing consulting would be another thing that someone might throw out there. "Hey, I'm a strategic marketing g- consultant." Instead you could say, "I help small businesses stop wasting money on marketing that doesn't work."
Dustin: Yeah. So good. I love it. Yeah, th- this is always... When Katie speaks in our community, it's always, this is, like, that moment when everyone's like, "That's it. That's exactly what... That's the trap I'm falling into," is either they're vague and they're trying to be too clever, or they're using jargon 'cause they think it makes them sound smart, or they're just, like, they're trapped inside their own bubble and that's just the i- inside their little circle of people who do this work, that's how they talk.
Dustin: But that's not how the person who wants to pay you money is thinking about this and how they talk. So those are really good examples. Do you have another example on your finger- your tips?
Katie: I have a, I help leaders unlock their potential. And so leaders and pot- and unlock and, potential, that's really vague.
Katie: Yeah. And so, like, what kind of leaders? I [00:38:00] help founders stop being the bottleneck. I still love bottleneck, but, like, something to that extent. Like, you need to name the exact person who it is. So, like, instead of leaders, it's, like, "I help founders," or either it may even be, like, a certain type of founder that you help.
Katie: So, like, really dive into that. And-
Dustin: Like SaaS founders or-
Katie: Yeah, SaaS founders or something similar ... health coaches or whatever. Yeah. yeah. Something to that extent. And, n- and don't be shy from naming them directly because that's gonna speak into their soul and they're gonna lean in and say yes.
Katie: And, I just think that's a, It's where people get stuck, and that's where AI can also hurt you. But you wanna name the hole. So as we r- you've heard, Dustin and I talk about this. So your client's gonna be... It's the story brand method of you're gonna... Your client's walking along, and they fall down into this hole.
Katie: So
Katie: what is this hole? The hole is your problem that you're solving. And so then you're gonna throw down this rope, and you're looking over with the [00:39:00] rope down into the hole like, "Hey, I'm here." And this is... So if you're yelling down in this hole, what it... A- are you... Like, what's that problem you're... Like, I get it.
Katie: I get it. I... This really sucks. like, and you name... Then at that point, you're gonna like, "I know it's really hard when your message is so confusing and, people aren't listening to you anymore." And, so then that rope is thrown down. That rope is... You throw the rope down out of empathy and say like, "Hey, I get it.
Katie: I've been there," and you're throwing down the rope with, "I'm here to help." And then your answer is what they're gonna climb back up that rope using. And so, and then they get to the other side, is your, end result, your change and your end result. That's what life looks like after they have used your services and everything.
Katie: So that's a really big overview. But that's what we're talking about here, is that we wanna make sure you name that hole. Who's in that hole? So like, not just the problem, but like does this speak directly to the audience that I serve? And like who's [00:40:00] that audience? Sometimes you need to maybe narrow that down a little bit too.
Katie: and then seven words or less, I don't... That I don't think is a hard fast rule. Sometimes it takes a few more, but less is more basically. And no jargon and no cleverness is my biggest thing. And so, and just if you have to explain it, what you've just said, you've already lost them So just remember that.
Katie: So I don't want you to be the best-kept secret, your business to be the best-kept secret anymore. That it deserves to be known loud and proud, and everyone be able to talk about you and understand exactly what you do, so.
Dustin: Yeah. I love it. Yeah, going all the way back to, like, I think the first thing I said when we opened this episode is, like, if you wanna be the go-to expert, you've got to own a problem, and hopefully, in, in this mini, deep dive session here with Katie, you've been able to understand what we mean by owning a problem, why that's so important externally, internally, and then, this framework, the [00:41:00] soundbite strategy, this piece framework, really specifically about the problem itself.
Dustin: And,I really hope that people come away from listening to this and they're inspired and they've got some really practical ways to start taking those first steps. But inevitably, people need more help, right? Like, people are... People who are like, "Yeah, this is it. This is definitely, like, the thing I really need to focus on in this next period of my business.
Dustin: Like, I've got to get more clear on what my problem is, how I talk about it," and then of course all that follows that with the marketing and messaging, that expands beyond this most simple, foundational step, that's what Katie does. So Katie, if people are listening to this, they're like, "Yep, this is me.
Dustin: I definitely need help with this," like, what would you direct them to as a next step?
Katie: So the easiest place, is a free 30-minute clarity call with me. and, this is not a pitch, it's just clarity. And, we'll kind of take a deep dive and look at what's the biggest thing on your mind today and, see, how we can refine that and shape that.
Katie: And if you feel like you're ready, like, "Hey, I know I have a messaging problem, like, [00:42:00] this is bad. and I need... and I don't know how to... I need help." so I offer a 90-minute messaging, clarity intensive that gives you your soundbites and a roadmap of where to use them across your website, your sales, your content, and that one investment usually pays off in your first new referral.
Katie: So, I like to say that. And my biggest thing is that I want you to stop being the best, kept secret and become the expert people quote and refer. So, it is, it's time. let's get it done. So, and this week, pick your problem and start using it and seeing how it, resonates with people.
Katie: I think that's the biggest thing is just own it and see, and see where it takes you.
Dustin: So if people want to do the clarity call for free, and, or they know they're like, "Just sign me up for the intensive," like, "I've heard enough. This is what I need," where should people go to, connect with you to do that?
Katie: Yeah, they can go to my website at goldenedgestrategies.com, and, both are very easy there. on homepage, very [00:43:00] top, Schedule a Call, that's the 30, minute. And then, scroll down just a tiny bit and you'll see, a more detailed explanation of what that clarity intensive is. And, you can book that directly there as well.
Dustin: Love it. Very clear. so goldenedgestrategies.com. Go connect with Katie, Katie Weiss. You're a gift to me. You've been a gift to the community. And, she's done a lot of this work for people in our community. And I've heard only like 1000% positive feedback and breakthroughs, which is why we've been, working to get this scheduled, 'cause I wanted to unpack some of the magic here on the podcast.
Dustin: So Katie, thank you so much for being here. I look forward to seeing you inside the Seven Figure Leap community. And go to goldenedgestrategies.com and get some time on Katie's calendar so she can help you personally.
Katie: All right. Thanks, Sessen.