Building a StoryBrand 2.0: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen

Overview

In a world overloaded with noise, Building a StoryBrand 2.0 by Donald Miller offers one guiding principle for B2B brands: if you confuse, you lose. This updated edition revisits Miller’s original messaging framework – refined for today’s digital landscape – grounded in the age-old structure of storytelling. His SB7 Framework gives B2B marketers, founders, and sales professionals a playbook to clarify their message, win customer attention, and drive action.

Why StoryBrand 2.0 Matters in Distribution

For wholesale and industrial distributors, brand messaging often gets lost under a sea of SKUs, spec sheets, and complex technical details. Donald Miller’s Building a StoryBrand 2.0 provides a clear, repeatable framework (SB7) to clarify your brand message, shorten buying decisions, and help customers/buyers see the real value in doing business with you.

Miller’s golden line says it all:
“Pretty websites don’t sell things. Words sell things.”

Whether you’re selling industrial fasteners, electrical components, or HVAC systems, this book helps you refocus your messaging from “what we sell” to “how we help.”

The Core Premise: Why Customers Don’t Understand Your Value (Yet)

Miller argues that most companies commit two fatal marketing errors:

1. Focusing on technical specs over real-world impact
2. Making buyers work too hard to understand what’s in it for them

Instead, he suggests that when brands frame their messaging like a story – where the customer is the hero, and the company is the guide – everything becomes more straightforward and more engaging.

What Is the StoryBrand SB7 Framework?

Miller’s SB7 Framework is a storytelling-inspired messaging tool built for businesses. It includes seven steps that mirror what every good story (and good sale) has:

1. A Character (your customer)
2. Has a Problem
3. Meets a Guide (your company)
4. Who Gives Them a Plan
5. And Calls Them to Action
6. That Helps Them Avoid Failure
7. And Ends in Success

How U.S. Distributors Can Apply the SB7 Framework

Step 1: Make the Customer the Hero (Not Your Brand)

Distributors often lead with company history or product specs. But Miller urges you to position your customer’s problem first.

Instead of:
“We’ve been supplying HVAC components for 45 years.”

Say:
“Keeping your commercial HVAC systems online shouldn’t be a headache. We make sourcing fast, reliable, and stress-free.”

This works especially well in catalogue copy, landing pages, and outbound emails.

Step 2: Define External, Internal, and Philosophical Problems

Let’s say you’re a distributor of industrial fasteners.

• External Problem: External problems are physical, tangible problems that the hero must overcome to save the day. E.g. “We can’t find the exact bolt size we need on time.”
• Internal Problem: Stories teach us that people’s internal desire to resolve a frustration is a greater motivator than their desire to solve an external problem. E.g. “We’re wasting time chasing orders and missing deadlines.”
• Philosophical Problem: Brands that give customers a voice in a larger narrative add value to their products by offering a more profound sense of meaning in their own story. E.g. “No industrial crew should have to slow down production because a supplier can’t deliver the right parts when it matters most.”

Why this matters: Customers don’t just want products-they want to feel in control, efficient, and valued.

Step 3: Position Your Sales Team as the Guide

B2B buyers aren’t looking for another vendor-they’re looking for someone they can trust to solve problems consistently.

Miller emphasizes a two-part formula:

• Empathy: Show you understand the buyer’s frustration.
  E.g., “We know how frustrating unpredictable lead times can be.”
• Competency: Prove you’ve solved this before, at scale.
  E.g., “We’ve delivered 20M+ SKUs to 5,000+ job sites with 98% on-time accuracy.”

Use: Testimonials, statistics, awards, press mentions, and logos in About pages, sales decks, rep bios, and proposal templates to prove your competency.

Step 4: Give a Simple Plan of Action

Distributors often overwhelm buyers with overly complex processes. Miller advises giving a clear, low-friction path to buy:

Example Plan:

1. Request a custom quote
2. Approve and schedule delivery
3. Receive products on time – every time

This type of plan reduces friction and makes large orders feel manageable.

Step 5: Use Direct and Transitional CTAs

Direct CTA (sales focus):

• “Request a Quote”
• “Book a 15-Minute Discovery Call”
• “Order Now”

Transitional CTA (relationship focus):

• “Download the Spec Sheet Guide”
• “Watch Our Facility Tour”
• “Access the Inventory Checklist”

Pro tip: Place these above the fold on your homepage and product landing pages.

Step 6: Highlight the Risk of Inaction

Buyers often stay frozen due to complexity or fear of change. But as Miller notes (backed by Kahneman’s Prospect Theory), loss aversion is a stronger motivator than gain.

Example for a safety equipment distributor:

“Choosing the wrong safety gear could lead to injuries, downtime, and liability. We help you avoid that risk with expert-vetted products delivered fast.”

Step 7: Show the Successful Transformation

B2B customers want results-but also status, recognition, and less stress.

Instead of:
“We carry over 100K SKUs.”

Say:
“Operations managers who work with us cut lead times by 30% and look like rockstars on job sites.”

Paint a picture of what life looks like after working with you.

Key Takeaways for B2B Distributors

• Focus on the buyer’s internal frustrations-not just technical specs.
• Use plain, direct language that’s easy to process.
• Add structure to your messaging with SB7-it works across web, email, and sales scripts.
• Every call to action should feel like the next logical step-not a leap.
• Make your sales and product teams the “guides,” not the heroes.

A Caveat: StoryBrand Needs a Bit of Stretching for B2B Complexity

Some examples in the book focus on coaches, consultants, and simple service businesses. Industrial distributors may need to adapt SB7 for:

• Long buying cycles
• Procurement teams
• Technical buyers and engineers
• Extensive catalogues and inventory systems

That said, the core storytelling strategy applies perfectly to B2B-you just need to contextualize it.

Who Should Read Building a StoryBrand 2.0?

This book is a smart read for:

• Marketing and sales leaders at distribution companies
• Industrial B2B copywriters and web teams
• Product managers trying to reframe technical content
• Founders and executives who want to simplify their brand story

Closing Thoughts: A Messaging Framework for Industrial Success

If you’re a distributor struggling with low website conversions, unclear sales messaging, or slow-moving leads, StoryBrand 2.0 will give you the structure you need.

It won’t replace your product catalog, ERP, or CRM – but it will make your marketing finally speak to what customers care about. And in a crowded, commoditized market, that clarity is your competitive edge.

About the Author:

Donald Miller is the founder of Business Made Simple, a consultancy and training platform, and a best-selling author who transitioned from memoirist to brand messaging strategist. StoryBrand 2.0 is the evolved version of his 2017 original.