Why can’t founders explain what they sell?

Why do founders struggle to explain what they sell?

Because they describe the work, not the change. Ask most founders what they do and you get the service list, the process and the credentials. Those are the three things a buyer forgets first.

I see this constantly in scaling businesses. The founder knows the value so well they have stopped saying it out loud. What comes out instead is a list of features, delivered politely, and forgotten by the time the prospect gets back to their car.

There is a well-worn classroom exercise behind this. Chip Heath, who teaches at Stanford, asks students to give a one-minute persuasive speech and then asks the room what they remember. In the version described in Made to Stick (Chip and Dan Heath, 2007), 63% of students remembered the stories and only 5% remembered any single statistic, even though the average speech used 2.5 statistics and only one student in ten told a story.

It is one classroom, not a controlled trial, so treat it as a strong illustration rather than a law. But it matches what I watch happen in rooms every month.

It is the same test I suggest when you are judging a supplier: if you cannot repeat what they told you, it has not landed. Your buyers are running that test on you.

What happened when I asked a room of founders what they really deliver?

Most of them reached for an abstract noun. At a recent AD:VENTURE workshop in Leeds, I asked four founders to finish the sentence “we’re not really selling ___, we’re helping people ___”. Three of the four landed on a word like confidence, time back or choice.

Those are real outcomes. They are also impossible to picture. If I tell you I give people confidence, you nod, and then you forget me, because there is nothing to hold on to.

“Confidence is not a value story. It is where the value story starts.”

That is not a criticism of the room. It was the most honest moment of the morning, and it is exactly where most founders get stuck. The abstract word is the first answer, not the last one.

How does the so-what ladder turn an abstract word into a value story?

You ask “so what?” until the answer becomes something a customer can see or feel. Stop when a number, a time saving, a risk removed or an emotion appears.

Here is the shape of it, using a made-up accountant so nobody from the room is identifiable:

The third and fourth rungs are the story. The first rung is just a label for it.

Two things make this work in practice. First, do it out loud with someone else asking the question, because you will stop yourself too early on your own. Second, write the rung you land on down, word for word, and use it the next time someone asks what you do.

What are the three stories every founder needs?

Three short ones, each under a minute. You do not need a brand narrative, a manifesto or a storytelling course.

The why story is the one people get wrong most often. Asked why they started, most founders tell the story of leaving a job. That is a lifestyle story, and it is about you. The story that sells is the moment you saw the problem that your customer still has.

I test this on myself at the start of every workshop. I tell the room how I got into this work, then a little later I ask what they remember. At the last one, nobody mentioned the credentials. They remembered sales, my childhood and my sister. The details stuck and the CV did not. That is the whole argument in one question.

Why should your customer be the hero of the story?

Because a buyer can only see themselves in a story that is about someone like them. If you are the hero, they are the audience. If the customer is the hero, they are the next chapter.

This is the reframe that changes proposals, About pages and sales conversations fastest. You are the guide. You have the knowledge and you show the path, but the customer takes the journey and earns the win. Every case study, every intro and every pitch reads differently once you rewrite it that way round.

It also takes the pressure off. You do not need to be a storyteller. You need to be more memorable, and the quickest way there is to talk about someone else.

Where do these stories actually get used?

In the places you already talk about your business: networking introductions, the first five minutes of a discovery call, a price objection, a follow-up email and your About page.

The practical move is to pick one. One story, one place, one date this week. A plan with three stories in it feels productive and rarely gets started, which is why I now ask the room to pick one and say exactly when.

FAQ

How long should a business story be?

Thirty to sixty seconds. If it cannot be told in that time, it is not ready yet.

Can I tell a customer story without naming the customer?

Yes. Describe the situation and the change, and leave out anything that identifies them. The story works because of the before and after, not the name.

Do I need to be good at storytelling?

No. Structure does the work: a person with a problem, what changed, and what it meant. Every word should earn its place.

What is the “so what?” question?

A way to push a vague benefit until it becomes concrete. Ask it after each answer until you reach a number, a time saving, a risk removed or a feeling.

Want a second pair of ears on your value story?

Send me your “we’re not really selling ___, we’re helping people ___” sentence and I will ask you the next “so what?”. It is the quickest way I know to find the line a buyer remembers. Get in touch here.