The concept of the attractive character is something I learned from the marketing legend - Russell Brunson - in his book DotComSecrets (A fantastic book by the way, I recommend everyone read it). Here I write my summary of what I got from the book and hopefully it will help you wilt selling both online and offline.
What do I mean by attractive character?
When saying the ‘Attractive character’, I do not mean someone with the striking looks that can fell a tree, although that wouldn’t hurt. The attractive character is about the persona you share with your audience. It’s more about your personality and your stories. It’s about building rapport.
Let’s take a look at the definition of rapport - a close and harmonious relationship in which the people or groups concerned understand each other’s feelings or ideas and communicate well - in other words, if you share something in common with someone else, then you have rapport with that person at some level.
So how do you build rapport with someone you have never met? How do you become this attractive character? Well, quite simply, you can become the attractive character by telling stories.
There are three components to creating an attractive character.
- Elements
- Identity
- Storyline
You will need to work through these components to create your attractive character. So here are the explanations and examples of each.
The four elements of the attractive character
Backstory
Every good attractive character needs to have a backstory. It’s absolutely essential! Think about it, imagine watching a movie without any backstory and a character dies. Would you feel any emotion for that character? Probably not. If there was a solid backstory that built the character up, showed you some of his/her past so you felt somewhat attached to this character, then you will most likely feel more when the character dies.
So what’s your backstory? What can you say to your audience about how you got to where you are now?
Parables
An attractive character talks in parables. These are little stories you can tell to keep your audience’s attention. A story that they can relate to or find interesting.
Character flaws
Are you a robot? No - not yet at least. Everyone has flaws, it’s what makes us human. If you were perfect, then you would be boring. People want someone to open up to them, give them your trust, so that they can trust you back. If it’s a flaw that someone has themselves, then it can strengthen your rapport.
Polarity
You’re never going to please everyone, so don’t sit on the fence and have neutral views. It’s important to have your opinions and stick to them. You will always get haters, but you need to ignore them and focus on the people who share your opinions.
Identity of an attractive character
Below is a list of the four most identifiable attractive characters. You will most likely identify with at least one of them. Figure out who that is and build your attractive character based on that identity.
The Leader
The leader is someone who will be leading their audiences from one place to another. The leader often shares the same story as their audience and has most likely overcome all the hurdles that have been in the way. The audience will look up to the leader as someone who can solve their problems.
The Adventurer/Crusader
The adventurer is the curious type. They don’t have all the answers, but will be more than willing to go find the answer and bring back other golden nuggets of treasure along the way. The adventurer is similar to the leader, but instead of leading their audience along the path, they will help find the answers.
The Reporter/Evangelist
The reporter is someone who hasn’t traveled the path and found all the answers. So they put on their detective hat and go uncover the truths to share with their audience. This usually happens in the way of interviews and articles.
The Reluctant Hero
Ah, the classic reluctant hero. Think Harry Potter, he’s a shy boy who doesn’t want to be in the spotlight. But, what he uncovers brings him this moral obligation to do what’s right and share his discoveries about ‘you know who’.
The spotlight is uncomfortable, but you know you need to be there. This can be a very powerful persona.
Attractive character storylines
These are the ways in which we communicate with our audience. This can be done through landing pages, emails, videos etc.
Loss and Redemption
This storyline follows the path a person having it all, then BAM! They lose everything and have to work their way out of the mess they’re in, but in the end they actually learned so much and want to share it with you.
Us vs Them
This takes us back to ‘Polarity’. The storyteller will gather with their audience and bring them closer and realising their enemies.
Before and After
These are stories of transformation about how the storyteller was like ‘a’ and now after taking ‘this product’ or ‘this course’, they are now like ‘b’. These are generally self explanatory and the easiest stories to tell.
Amazing Discovery
These stories are told with enthusiasm and gets the audience excited about what you have to share with them. It can be about a special product or about a company or person who’s made your life better.
Secret Telling
By having a secret and promising to share it with the audience in return for their details can be a powerful hook. People by nature are inquisitive and love being involved in a secret. It’s a great way to bring people through the steps of your funnel.
3rd Person Testimonial
You don’t even have to tell a story about yourself. A testimonial from someone is a very powerful selling tool indeed. The more testimonials, the better. This gives social proof and the reassurance most people need.
So there you have it! All of this can seem like a lot of work and not worth the effort, but if you just sit down and write down the outline of your attractive character, it will help you massively during your sales process. Do not underestimate the power of the attractive character.