Speaking of Numbers with Jeff Bartsch

05. How to Explain and Persuade With Just 3 Letters

In a perfect world, we would all explain what we want, people would agree without raising a fuss, AND everyone would go home happy.  BUT as it turns out, life isn’t that simple, and neither are people.  THEREFORE an amazing communication tool raises its hand and says, “Ooh ooh! I can help with that!” It’s a 3-letter acronym with ideas that are simple to learn, trickier to implement well, but incredibly clear and persuasive when you do. (Hint: I just used it.) 00:00 Explain and persuade with 3 letters? 02:22 The client issue that went all the way up the flagpole 04:25 The good news and bad news about ideas 05:47 Donald Miller and the story definition 06:55 Kindra Hall and Stories That Stick 07:53 Park Howell, Randy Olson, and the ABT 09:55 What ABT is 11:16 ABT describes narrative (but falls short) 13:45 Using ABT for ordering and explaining ideas 16:23 Using ABT to persuade 16:56 Tom Wadelton and the client who wanted to leave 18:04 Comparing ABT in Narrative vs Persuading 19:21 How ABT Persuasive Mode aligns multiple stories 21:42 The need for starting with agreement in conflict 24:01 How Tom Wadelton used the ABT to persuade his client 25:16 ABT speaks to the strategic story in the audience's head 26:41 ABT saved almost $200,000 in future revenue! 27:23 Rant: Human connection isn't a talent, it's a skill that can be learned 28:21 Applying ABT to your own situation 💡👉 To apply for a complimentary, no-obligation coaching session to experience these ideas personalized to you or your team, email Hello@StoryGreenlight.com [Hello@StoryGreenlight.com].

04. Tactical Storytelling: Using Brain Control for Good

What if I told you there was a moral, ethical, and scientifically proven way to change the brains of people you’re talking to such that they end up liking you, trusting you, and doing business with you?  Imagine being able to do that – potential clients say “yes, I want to work with YOU instead of anyone else”, existing clients and team members say “I believe that YOU actually understand me, let’s keep working together.” Happy clients, happy advisors, happy team, happy business. But when most people hear about this scientifically proven way to change people’s brains that makes people say “yes”, they usually think one of two things: “Oh, that won’t work for business” or “That might work for some people, but I could never do that.” Well, keep listening, because I’ve been practicing these skills in one form or another for over 40 years at this point, my advisor clients are doing it for themselves, and I’m about to show YOU how to do it too.  -- 00:00 Ethical mind control? 02:53 Lying inside a brain scanner 03:55 The brain science of story 07:17 Story is not a magic wand 09:04 The mental shift: strategic story vs tactical story 13:31 The young accountant who got thrown under the bus 16:10 Story is not just for "talented" people 16:58 Story does not need complicated frameworks 18:36 Building a story: know your audience 19:48 Building a story: know your context 20:41 Building a story: know your goal or end result 23:12 Building a story: What does the audience care about? 26:19 Build your story around specifics 28:23 Build around a specific moment 29:39 Build around one specific character 30:37 Build around specific details 31:08 Build to include genuine emotion 31:52 Build to include a specific lesson or parallel 32:58 Reviewing the steps to build a tactical story 34:05 I thought you said this was simple... 36:04 Building an advisory client story from scratch 41:17 The advisor story built out 44:32 From squishy theory to tactical results 💡👉 To apply for a complimentary, no-obligation coaching session to experience these ideas personalized to you or your team, email Hello@StoryGreenlight.com [Hello@StoryGreenlight.com].

03. What is The Thing Under the Thing?

Every moment of every day, our brains are sorting through an insane number of inputs, trying to make sense of the world. As we do, we end up connecting all sorts of meaning to everything we experience, from the most basic object – or number – to the most complex idea. When we discover those connections and even create connections of our own, we have an incredibly powerful tool for creating emotional bonds between us and the people we serve. And when people feel positive emotions towards you and your business, that's when they pay attention, conversations continue, and people say yes to what you're offering them – when you know the answer to this question: What is The Thing Under the Thing? 💡👉 For a complimentary, no-obligation discussion on how to put these ideas into place for yourself or your team, email Hello@StoryGreenlight.com [Hello@StoryGreenlight.com]. 00:00 The power of deep communication 03:20 The bell in the tower 05:40 Defining The Thing Under the Thing 07:54 Mad Men and Eugene Schwartz 09:56 The connection already exists: green means go 11:06 Connection already exists: US flag 15:13 Pushing people's emotional buttons 15:55 Actively creating connections: cows and mini-vans 20:19 Creating connections in business: Clydesdales and beer 22:54 Symbolism in Marketing 25:33 Unspoken connections are still powerful: the iPod 28:45 The Thing Under the Thing is always there 30:46 Shaping messages in advisory industries 31:41 Things Under the Thing for law firms 33:50 Things Under the Thing for cannabis 40:22 Speaking to what people care about in their industry 40:52 Things Under the Thing for a CEO's EBITDA and her people 43:55 Results of The Thing Under the Thing 💡👉 To apply for a complimentary, no-obligation coaching session to experience these ideas personalized to you or your team, email Hello@StoryGreenlight.com [Hello@StoryGreenlight.com].

02. Strategic Story: The Key to All Human Interaction (Yes, Really)

Story feels very familiar, because it is. We're surrounded by it every day of our life. But very few people know that story exists both on the tactical level and the strategic level. When we unlock the true power of story, it becomes very good for us, and very good for the people we serve... which means it becomes VERY good for business. It’s time to pull back the curtain on the key to understanding all human interaction – and it’s right in front of you every day. -- 💡👉 For a complimentary, no-obligation discussion on how to put these ideas into place for yourself or your team, email Hello@StoryGreenlight.com [Hello@StoryGreenlight.com]. 00:00 The framework that explains it ALL 02:40 They didn't know what they had... 06:56 How Jeff learned about Story 12:46 How Jeff moved from Hollywood to coaching accountants 16:47 Inside baseball: what's happened in this episode so far 21:44 The journey matters 22:42 Story: familiar and tactical 24:49 Story at the strategic level 30:02 Crafting a strategic story for the transportation industry 36:05 What's in the next episode 💡👉 To apply for a complimentary, no-obligation coaching session to experience these ideas personalized to you or your team, email Hello@StoryGreenlight.com [Hello@StoryGreenlight.com].

01 From Ordinary to Extraordinary

Accounting may have been around forever, but it’s facing changes and pressures like never before. In this episode, Jeff Bartsch details the challenges facing advisors, marketing leaders, and people leaders in the accounting industry – while setting the stage for the ideas that he’s used with his own clients to increase revenue, multiply human-centered thought leadership marketing content, and increase team members’ value to the company AND personal fulfillment. 💡👉 For a complimentary, no-obligation discussion on how to put these ideas into place for yourself or your team, email Hello@StoryGreenlight.com [Hello@StoryGreenlight.com]. 00:00 The challenges facing the accounting industry 01:43 Welcome to Speaking of Numbers 03:26 Challenges facing accounting advisors 05:46 How one conversation kept a client and saved $200,000 07:54 Challenges facing marketing leaders in accounting firms 09:40 How 3 accountants actually became public thought leaders 11:31 Challenges facing people leaders at accounting firms 12:39 An advisor fulfills a childhood dream 14:54 An advisor finds new purpose after cancer diagnosis 17:25 About the next episode: Story 💡👉 To apply for a complimentary, no-obligation coaching session to experience these ideas personalized to you or your team, email Hello@StoryGreenlight.com [Hello@StoryGreenlight.com].