When I was 9 years old, my mom took my brother and me to see the new James Bond movie, Moonraker. That was when Roger Moore was James Bond, remember him?
Moonraker was my first James Bond movie. The movie had everything a nine-year-old boy could want. Outer space, scantily-clad women, etc. What’s not to like?
My mom was probably living in fear of what would appear in the next scene, and would she need to cover her boys’ eyes. But me, I was in heaven.
Anyway, my point is that in your customer-facing stories, be sure to position yourself and your company in a bit part. To use the James Bond example, you are Q, the one who merely invents the machines and gadgets, and who only gets about 5 minutes of screen time.
Your customer is the star of the show. Your customer is James Bond.
You know the BMG (boy meets girl) structure? Hopefully you do, since I’ve mentioned it a gazillion times here in this newsletter. Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back. One up, one down, one up. Insert your product or service at the tail end of the downward leg.
In that BMG structure, you and your product or service only get a bit part. Resist the urge to be the star.
In this short from the podcast, guest Alex White uses the James Bond / Q metaphor to describe the correct ratio.
Again, resist the urge to be the star. You are not, not in this story.
