The SB7 Story Framework
Seven things happen in every story that works — build your brand message on them.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 7
- Confidence
- 95%
The SB7 framework distills the seven components present in every functioning story and applies them to brand communication. A character wants something, encounters a problem, meets a guide who gives them a plan and calls them to action, ending in either success or failure. Because these seven elements appear in every movie and every high-performing brand, they form a reliable formula for capturing attention. Miller frames them as chords: use as many as fit the asset, but never play a note that isn't one of the seven.
Origin
Miller studied story structure obsessively to keep readers turning pages in his memoirs, then Accenture hired him to merge project management and story structure, which led him to codify the seven-part formula for companies.
Core principles
- 01Every effective story contains the same seven elements, so it is a repeatable formula rather than art.
- 02A character wants something specific — not many things, not something vague.
- 03The elements are like guitar chords: you don't need all seven in every asset, but any element that isn't one of the seven will sound wrong.
- 04The soundbites derived from the seven steps are what you repeat across all marketing.
- 05The steps do not have to appear in order or in every single asset.
How to run it
- 1
A character wants something
Identify one specific thing your customer wants. It can't be too many things or something elusive — they want to marry the woman, win the championship, or disarm the bomb.
Pro tip For his own company he names it plainly: the customer wants to be coached.
Watch out Adding too many wants collapses the story and loses the audience.
- 2
Has a problem
Introduce the frustrating problem causing them to want your solution. The problem is what makes the customer want the very thing you offer.
Pro tip Own one problem and repeat that you solve it over and over.
Watch out A story or brand with no problem is boring — people stop listening.
- 3
Meets a guide
Position your brand as the guide by demonstrating empathy and competency. Empathy says 'it hurts me that you deal with this'; competency says 'I know how to get you out.'
Pro tip The mantra is 'the customer is the hero, not you.'
- 4
Who gives them a plan
Give a clear path to follow, ideally a three-step plan. People take a path but won't jump across a creek for fear of getting wet.
Pro tip Three-step plans work best.
- 5
And calls them to action
Issue a strong, direct call to action — buy now, schedule an appointment, hire a coach. Vague CTAs like 'learn more' are passive-aggressive.
Watch out Passive CTAs leave the customer unsure where the relationship should go.
- 6
That ends in success
Give a vision of what their life looks like if they take action. Without stakes, nothing can be won.
- 7
And helps them avoid failure
Show what their life looks like if they don't act. People buy to achieve something good and avoid a negative consequence.
Watch out If you never spell out what's at stake, don't expect anyone to do business with you.
In the wild
An agent uncovers that Nancy wants two sinks and Greg wants a fence, positions as the guide who heard their problem, gives a three-step buying plan, asks to be the exclusive agent, then paints the vision of their dream home with two sinks and a fence — all seven steps in one five-minute conversation.
→ The customers feel truly heard and invited into a story, and the approach is being taught to 51,000 agents to sell more homes.
Two identical chefs are compared: one talks about culinary school in France, the other says 'you know how most families don't eat together anymore' and offers to bring families stress-free around the table.
→ The chef who framed a problem and solution wins far more business than the one who talked about their credentials.
Common mistakes
Telling your own story instead of the customer's
Brands walk in talking about their 75-year-old company and their metrics, none of which concerns the customer, so people tune out.
Cramming all seven elements into every asset in order
The steps are like chords — not every song uses all seven, and forcing them in rigid order misunderstands that execution is art built on the science.
Is it for you?
Best for
Founders and marketers who need a repeatable structure for clear, compelling messaging.
Not ideal for
Teams looking for a rigid template to fill in identically for every channel.
From the transcript
“these are the seven things that happen in every story and they because they happen in every story we know it's a formula”
“if there's not stakes in the story that is if nothing can be won or lost based on whether or not i do business with…”
“they're like chords on a guitar now if you know those seven chords do you have to use all seven of them in every song…”
From the episode
Donald Miller: 6 Steps to Scale a Profitable Small Business
Donald Miller