Let’s be honest — we’re all sellin’ something. A product, a service, an idea, a community, a lifestyle. And in order to sell it, you first have to write captivating messaging. The question is, does your message align with your heart and the heart of those who will read it?
This issue of Write to Lead spotlights Dora Rankin, a powerhouse growth strategist who helps purpose-driven entrepreneurs scale without losing their soul. Dora is the queen of The Heart Sell — her philosophy built on tossin’ sleazy sales tactics into the garbage can and replacing them with genuine human connection.
I asked Dora to join us because her approach to business is exactly what we need in our writing: sincere authority. Below, she’s sharing how to stop 'marketing' at your audience and start solving their most important problems with heart.
Over a decade ago, Dora lost her high-profile job with a bank and was understandably devastated. She had built a lucrative career, climbed the ladder, and won sales awards. She had made a name for herself. Now what was she going to do? With the breath still knocked out of her, she accidentally broke her phone as she was walking out of that stifling boardroom.
Not even able to call her husband to break the bad news, she went straight from losing her job to the Apple Store Genius Bar. At that moment, her broken phone was THAT important to her — she needed it fixed. And pronto.
She could have gone home to find her husband or to the nearest ice cream shop for a pint of woe-is-me with extra hot fudge please. But Dora’s problem wasn’t a simple broken device, it was a loss of connection to the people, places, and things that made up her world. Fixing her broken phone problem was the top priority — everything else could wait.
Identifying Your Audience’s Deepest Need: What is your audience’s broken phone problem?
Great question, right? If you’re able to figure out what priority problem your audience needs solving — and can translate your solution to said problem into a captivating message — WHEEEW BUDDY, your leadership communication impact will soar so high you’ll need sunglasses to see it. So, what solution do you offer that your audience is willing to drop everything for in order to get it?
The problem with written messaging (especially when it comes to trying to convince someone that you are what they need in their life) is that it often defaults to a formal, information heavy, not-about-them, B-O-R-I-N-G string o’ words that makes people stop reading after the first 10 seconds. Then they skim. Those who make it all the way to the bottom likely read 25% of the words.
So what makes YOU the leader who folks want to read every word of what you have to say? How can you write in such a way that your people put you as their go-to and soak up whatever it is you have to offer?
Dora’s micro-lesson (and answer to the above question) is this:
“It's never because of our credentials. It's usually because of liking and trusting. And we hear that so often, they have to know, trust. But again, not from a marketing perspective, from a personal, personal, personal perspective. The more vulnerable we're willing to be in our writing, the more our consumers are going to show up and meet us where we are. And we want to meet them where they are. So if they're not really willing to be vulnerable and we're willing to be vulnerable, they may just let their guard down.”
A favorite mantra of Dora’s is ‘sincerity = generosity’. “You can read through lines when someone's just talking about ego. 'I'm the best at this' versus 'how can I help you' and 'am I really the right one who can solve the problem?' You need to have authority, but sincere authority.”
This matters because people follow people. People have faces and names and personal stories, so you need to be ready and willing to share. You don’t need to overshare or turn into the next reality-show star with no privacy… but being a genuine human being will stop the scroll, the memo skimming, the 10-second attention span and cause our audience to give you enough of their day to share your message and maybe, just maybe, they will follow you to the ends of the earth. Or at least to your version of the Genius Bar!
Put it into practice: Answer Dora’s audience audit questions below. She shares this process with her clients to get to the heart of their messaging, to speak from a place of problem-solving instead of selling.
The Heart Sell Audit: 4 Questions for Sincere Messaging
What problem do you solve (from your audience’s perspective, not yours)?
What problems does your audience currently know they have?
What are the problems your audience doesn’t know they have? (What’s their broken phone problem?)
What is your unfair advantage? (Hint: It’s usually about your personal "like, know, trust" factor, not your credentials).
Remember to go beyond the easy answers. Sure, you might sell websites, but “I’m a website designer, I solve the lack-of-website problem” isn’t going to be enough, right? Gaze deep into your heart and the heart of your audience. Pull in personal stories, experiences, emotions, dreams. Then weave them into your messaging — LinkedIn posts, emails, memos, in-person chats…all the places.
How’d it go? Were you able to get the heart of your audience’s broken phone problem? Dora offers many ways to engage with her Heart Sell Method if you want to dive deeper. She’s written a book (which I’ve read and loved enough to attend her book club!), published an online Heart Sell course (which I’ve taken and loved!), offers 1:1 and group coaching, and is hosting an in-person Heart Sell summit in May.
And if you need some help sharpening your message to align with the heart, I’d love to chat with you. Schedule a virtual smoothie date with me here.
P.S. Random Things I’m Loving This Week
I use Toggl (the free version) to track my time — have been for over a decade — and it’s an essential part of my workflow as a business owner. I know exactly where my time goes each week and can adjust when I notice something is draining too much.
My birthday “gifts” are pouring in from all my favorite retailers…The best one? Madewell! $25 off a $25 purchase. (A free Cheesecake Factory slice is awesome too.)
I learned this week that you can use Google’s Gemini to transcribe audio files in 1 second flat, for free. It saved me hours. (Am I behind with this knowledge? Probably!)
My family and I visited the Gulf Islands National Seashore for Spring Break. The undeveloped beach was stunning and offered a breath of fresh air instead of touristy crowds. I highly recommend the trip to the beautiful clear waters of the Gulf.
