EPISODE 71 · MAKE YOUR EXPERTISE MEMORABLE
The process you use every day could become a clearer way to share your expertise. Discover how to turn it into a simple, useful framework your audience can remember, explain and put into practice.
#71 Ep6. How to Build a Signature Framework People Remember
IN THIS EPISODE
You may already follow a reliable process when you help a client, solve a problem or explain a difficult idea, without having turned that process into something another person can easily remember. A signature framework gives your expertise a clear structure, making it easier for people to understand the value of your approach and use it after the conversation ends.
In this episode, you’ll explore how to uncover the method inside your existing work, simplify it without losing its usefulness and test whether someone else can explain it. The conversation also considers visual design, further delivery options and the questions to take to an intellectual property specialist as you develop a framework around your expertise.
Your starting point may be closer than you think. Look at the questions you ask clients, the steps you repeat when solving a problem or the structure underneath your book. If you regularly guide people through a similar sequence, you may already have the foundation of a framework that simply needs to be made explicit.
Write down what you do before trying to give it a clever name. Then look for the main stages and the relationship between them. A beginning, middle and end may be enough to reveal the core structure, even when each stage includes more detailed work. The aim is to make your method easier to understand without making it so broad that it stops being useful.
A framework gains power when people can carry it away from your presentation and use it in another conversation. Try drawing the idea simply and asking someone to explain it back to you. If the explanation depends on you being there to fill in missing pieces, you have useful feedback about where the structure or language needs work.
Simplicity doesn’t mean that every situation will be easy or that your full expertise fits into a few words. It means the main idea gives people a reliable starting point. You can add examples, supporting questions and more detailed tools as they go deeper, while keeping the central structure clear enough to remember.
An attractive diagram or memorable acronym can help people notice your method, but the stronger test is what it allows them to do. Consider whether it helps someone understand a problem, make a decision or take a useful action. If you can’t connect the framework with an outcome your audience values, the name and design won’t do that work for you.
Your stories and examples help show how the structure operates in practice. They can also reveal where the framework is too complicated or where a step needs more explanation. Test it in a talk, conversation or piece of client work, then refine it around what people understand and what they can apply.
Once the structure works, think about how people will see it. A sequence, overlapping circles or another simple visual form can make the relationships between your ideas easier to grasp. The shape should serve the explanation, so choose it because it helps someone understand the method rather than because it looks impressive on a slide.
Professional design can help develop a rough sketch into something consistent across your book, presentations and other materials. Give the designer the thinking behind the framework as well as the words you want included. That context helps the visual communicate the method instead of becoming decoration around it.
A clear framework can connect the different ways you share your expertise. Your keynote might introduce the idea, your book might explain it in depth and your workshop might help people apply it to their own situation. You can develop those formats without changing the underlying method each time, making the relationship between your offers easier to understand.
The conversation also explores licensing and the value of seeking specialist advice about your intellectual property. Before making promises about how a framework can be protected or used by others, take your specific material and intended uses to an appropriate specialist. Keep developing the practical value at the same time, because the method needs to help people as well as support your business.
Choose one process you repeatedly use and sketch its main stages on a single page. Explain it to someone in your intended audience, ask them to describe it back and identify one action they could take with it. Use their response to simplify or strengthen the framework.
Look underneath your book, client process or regular teaching for the method you already use. Identify the main stages before adding a name or visual design, and make sure those stages describe a useful path for your audience.
Discussed from 01:39
Aim for a core idea that you can draw and explain clearly enough for someone else to repeat. You can build detailed tools around it later, while keeping the main structure easy to remember.
Discussed from 05:08
The episode recommends giving the visual presentation proper attention once the method is clear. A designer can help turn a rough idea into a consistent visual that supports understanding across your book, slides and other materials.
Discussed from 07:02
Test whether it helps someone make a decision or take action. Feedback from using and explaining the method can show which parts are useful and which need to be simplified or clarified.
Discussed from 08:36
The conversation suggests seeking specialist advice after developing and testing the framework. What you can protect depends on the particular material and its use, so take your specific questions to a suitable professional.
Discussed from 10:16
Connect the method with an outcome your audience cares about, rather than relying on a clever acronym. A framework becomes more useful when people can understand it, apply it and see how it helps them address a real problem.
Discussed from 12:47
PREFER TO READ?
Transcript from the episode recording, with speaker names added and paragraphs formatted for readability. Automated transcription may contain errors; the audio is the original record.
Brad Hauck 00:14
Most experts have a process, but very few have tuned it into something people can easily understand, remember, and share. A strong signature framework takes what you know and gives it clear structure, helping your audience to move from confusion through to action. In this episode of The Expert's Journey, we explore what makes a signature framework useful, memorable, and commercially valuable. We'll look at how the right framework can become more than just a diagram in your book, forming the foundation of your keynotes, workshop, courses, and consulting offers. Good morning, Dixie.
Dixie Carlton 00:47
Good morning, Brad. Great to see you today. How's things?
Brad Hauck 00:51
Yeah, good thanks. So this is a really interesting topic. Signature frameworks are real key to getting cut through in a market and making yourself stand out because they're what makes things so easy for people to apply all that knowledge you've got.
Dixie Carlton 01:05
Yes. And also they are a critical part of your IP. If you can take what you have regularly done or served up or delivered on and turn it into something that is easily recountable as a five-step process or a Venn diagram process or a something that makes it really easy to explain to people and that they can follow through on, then you have not just a process, but you have a framework. And the framework is what gives you real value in the offerings that you have to offer.
Brad Hauck 01:39
Absolutely. So obviously the first place to start is looking at a book. So what core idea, model, or method sits underneath your book? Now I know that working with you to write Run Towards the Flames, you kind of broke my book down to help me write it into kind of three steps, three sections. And even that can form the basis, like the start, the beginning, and the end can form the basis of a three-step framework that then has extra steps underneath it. It doesn't need to be really complicated, does it?
Dixie Carlton 02:10
It doesn't need to be complicated. I mean, this whole thing came up for me about five years ago when I was doing a training program with someone who said to me, take what you do and turn it into a framework. And I, it was like a bolt of lightning that struck me. And I thought, ah, okay. My process of helping people to break down what you've just said, the three parts to the book and the three parts to the chapters, and then how that all flows, and then making that the book plan, that became my trivariant framework.
It's called trivariant framework because it's multiples of three, but there's variation. So I came up with a name and I thought, yes, that works. And the naming of your framework is often the thing that makes it trademarkable. So when you are thinking about how you do something, and you then say, But I have these steps. If I'm a coach, if I'm a consultant, these are the steps that I go through. This is my own checklist. How can I turn that into something that is usable to give to other people that I can say, this is my own version of how to do this?
That's a framework. And when I first learned about this, it literally hit me like a bolt of lightning because all of a sudden I had something that I could like put into a standard solid suitcase and put a lid on it and say, This is my own and I can take it places. And since that time, what five years ago, I've further developed my own framework in that space. But I've taken two or three others that I work with and say, This is my IP. I have trademarked it, I have copyright over it, I have protection, but I also have the value that I could white label that, for example.
And I've seen this done a couple of times with clients that I've worked with, where you can take your own framework, white label it, and on-sell it or on license it to other people. That's what gives you real traction with the absolute wisdom and knowledge and experience that you have that is so valuable.
Brad Hauck 04:16
Absolutely. I remember when I first started in business, I was looking for help with marketing because I really just didn't know much about it. I knew about online marketing, I didn't know about offline marketing. And I remember that we used to have action coaches. I don't know if you remember action coaches, but it was a huge organization, international and in Australia. And they had all these manuals. So you can go there and talk to them, and they say they would bring out these manuals and say, Okay, what's your problem? And I say, Well, marketing. And they had one on direct marketing that they would sell you.
And it was a kit, basically, with example letters you could send people and a framework you could follow. But they also had coaches who could help you implement it. So frameworks are really powerful, and you again licensing other people to actually deliver them can be a really great source of income if you just kind of think a little bit bigger than oh, I'll do this.
Dixie Carlton 05:08
Yeah. And you need to be thinking about this when you are creating a framework. Can you make it so simple, so easy to draw on a napkin that other people can then explain it as well as you can explain it?
Brad Hauck 05:22
Yeah, absolutely.
Dixie Carlton 05:23
The key to making it really powerful. So, for example, a Venn diagram that has A, B, and C and where they interconnect gives you EDG. That's as simple as it can be. And it's not just a matter of saying, make it look pretty, make it look functional and have many parts that move out from it. But the core of it is your framework. The core of the A, B, C meets EDG.
Brad Hauck 05:50
Absolutely. If you look at the most powerful business models in the world, for example, if you look at multi-level marketing, take one, that framework, everybody teaches it to the person below them and they repeat it. It's very simple. Another example, McDonald's and stores like that, where a 15-year-old can basically run a whole store because the framework is so repeatable that someone very young can learn it. So there's everywhere if you look around you, and you can see from simple frameworks to quite complex frameworks, but they're often built on a basic core idea that it should be able to be done by this person this way.
So building on that, you can look at can your readers or the people in the room explain your framework to someone else after reading or hearing it once. That's a really great test of how simple it is, but also how powerful it is. I've recently been working on my next book, and the framework I'm working on is dealing with how do you solve problems in a crisis situation. And it's pretty simple. Do you fight it, do you flank it, or do you let it burn? It's very repeatable, it's very easy to learn, but it becomes part of a very powerful decision-making process.
Dixie Carlton 07:02
And this is where I find it fascinating. You can build an entire keynote speech or an entire podcast series around one framework. You can take it out, you can spin it out to a much wider thing than just the simple core piece of it. And I think that's what most people under underestimate is that it's not just about having a checklist, it's about how do you expand that into something that's much bigger. Often we, as coaches and as consultants, we think, oh, well, I'll just create a checklist that takes me through this process that I regularly roll out.
But it is so much more than that. Developing a framework around that checklist also means making it visually powerful. And honestly, one of the best things you can do with that is once you've worked out that you can draw it in some way, you can go from A to B to C to whatever, or the Venn diagram, or however it is that it works out. If you can then find a way to make it look interesting, then you have an additional power to it. And the best advice I can give anyone is don't try and do that yourself on Canva.
Get it done professionally by a good designer, even if you've played with it first on Canva and give it to them and say, now make it amazing. This is the critical part of your IP that you want to protect and make sure that you've got absolute brilliant imagery around. So always ensure that you've got the visual aspects as well as the simplicity aspects done well.
Brad Hauck 08:36
Absolutely. We've got to look at whether it's just a diagram or whether it actually helps people make decisions and take action. And that's probably the most important thing. It's easy to draw a flow chart, it's easy to come up with a system. Anybody can do it. But narrowing it down and distilling it into its key elements so that you get the repeatability, the ability to remember it easy. That's where it becomes difficult. Because if you document a process, there's always thousands of steps to a process. But to peel it back to its core elements, it's worth working with someone else, or at least run it through, write a speech about it, or do a podcast episode about it and see what sticks in your head when you do these things, because the more you work on it, the more you can distill it.
I have a few different frameworks. I have one behind me that sits on my wall all the time, which is focused, loyal, adaptable, motivation, educated, and strong, which describes firefighters. It's a simple framework, and I have other ones for digital marketing. And it depends on where you're applying them. Sometimes you can have multiple frameworks that fit within one. So you'll see people, coaches and that, who use frameworks successfully in their businesses. They might have 10 modules, then each one has a simple framework for each module. So it's really up to you how difficult you want to make it.
But I always suggest you start with something that's easy, and then when you get really good at that, then maybe look at making it bigger.
Unidentified speaker 10:15
Yes.
Dixie Carlton 10:16
And the other part of it is that then once you've got it functional and visual and tested, you then want to have a conversation with an IP specialist who can protect it. Because as we said before, there might be loads of flow charts or Venn diagrams. You can't protect very noisy motorbike.
Brad Hauck 10:40
You can't hear it.
Dixie Carlton 10:42
It's just in your you can't protect a concept of a Venn diagram, but you can protect your flow chart or Venn diagram, the one that has your information in it. And this is something that a lot of people do also fail to recognize is that there is value in that. If you protect your flow chart, your system, your process, your Venn diagram, your whatever your framework is, then other people can't use it and say that it's theirs because it becomes distinctly yours. And when you do an application for a trademark, then it is looked at quite carefully.
And sometimes it'll be that you have to explain further what it is or how it is or how it's used to be able to get that protection. But you don't want to turn up it to someone else's conference and see someone on stage using what effectively is your version of your framework. You want to make sure that you're really careful in this space because as we said before, this is value for your business. The more frameworks that you have identified, charted, trademarked, protected, the more value your entire company is worth.
Brad Hauck 11:52
So it's really hard. I mean, the saying goes, there's nothing new under the sun. And it's pretty true in a lot of ways, but there's your version of it. And sometimes what makes it unique is the stories around it and how you implement it. So leadership is leadership, teamwork is teamwork. We all know we see these underlying frameworks that everybody kind of talks about if you look at it across the board. But you go into the room and you hear this person's version of that framework and this person's version of the framework, and they're entirely different.
So it is possible to IP them. It is possible to say this is my way of doing this. And it's not just about tapping on that I'm a firefighter, so that's what makes it different. It's about that whole interpretation of the framework, not just the fact that it's five steps or six steps, whatever it happens to be.
Dixie Carlton 12:47
And I think you also want to be thinking, and for anyone listening to this and thinking about what it is that you may have as a potential framework, there are two ways of considering its value to the people that you want to use it for. Does it describe something or does it assist them to take action on something?
Brad Hauck 13:08
Absolutely, because we're looking at value, aren't we?
Dixie Carlton 13:11
Yeah, so description and or action. And if it's something that gives people the this is how to do this, now take the steps, that's brilliant because that gives you an ability to say, right, you now know how to do this, go ahead, make it happen, and let's now track the feedback and the case study of that, etc. And that's another part of getting the value out of having these specific frameworks.
Brad Hauck 13:38
Yeah, I think that's a key point because it's easy to make up a framework. Okay. Anybody can do that. But to have a framework that has real value, it's a whole nother level of focus because what we're saying is if you apply this framework, it will solve this problem that's costing you this much money, or it will help you achieve this goal that is worth this much money to you. And so when you're looking at developing a framework, don't just put together a list of words because they're cool or they sound good together or you like the acronym.
Think about the outcome for the person because you're going to get the best results if you have a framework that's laid out to achieve something effectively and quickly. So if you can take that and you can do it, you'll get cut through, you'll grow your market, you'll become famous if that's what you want. But if you just put out frameworks, that's great. It's just another framework. Think about the value for the end user.
Dixie Carlton 14:38
Yes, absolutely. Nailed it. So if you are thinking that you've got great content and great processes that you use for your business all the time, if you constantly stand up on stage and talk about specific ways of doing things, and you are constantly repeating the same formula, turn that into an actual, recognizable, designed up, well-tested, trademark-protected framework and see how far you can take that. Because that could radically change your business.
Unidentified speaker 15:12
Yeah.
Brad Hauck 15:12
A memorable framework doesn't just explain what you know. It helps people understand a problem, make better decisions, and take action. Your challenge this week is to turn your core idea into something your audience can remember, repeat, and use.
Dixie Carlton 15:28
Yeah. And of course, we have developed a worksheet that you can work through to make sure that you nutted out properly. So make sure you go to our website for that and the link will be on the bottom. And by all means, let us know how you're going with your frameworks. And if you need help with that, either contact Brad or myself and let's have a conversation about how to really make those even more powerful.
Brad Hauck 15:52
Absolutely. You can find Dixie at indieexpertspublishing.com and you can find me at bradhauck.com. We're easy to find online. We'll catch you in the next episode.
Dixie Carlton 16:01
And if you've enjoyed this, please remember to share it and review it. We love the feedback. Thanks. See you next week.
YOUR HOSTS
Brad HauckAI & digital marketingAuthor, international speaker and digital marketer helping experts build authority online.
Dixie CarltonPublishing & authorshipAuthor, speaker and publishing expert connecting books, marketing and professional speaking.
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