What Indiana Jones and Your Customer Have in Common

How our customers want to see themselves

Every Customer Is on a Journey

For years, I’ve been fascinated by the structure of stories—specifically The Hero’s Journey. It’s a storytelling framework that goes back thousands of years and still powers everything from ancient myths to blockbuster films. An ordinary person receives a call to adventure. They resist, but with help from a mentor, they cross a threshold into a new world. They face trials, meet allies, battle enemies, and eventually return transformed—with something of value in hand.

That structure had been sitting in my mind for a long time—until it finally found its hero: our customer.

They’re not just buying motorcycles or boats. They’re looking for transformation. They want something bigger than a transaction—they want a lifestyle. They want to become a new version of themselves.

Before they ever walk into your showroom, they’ve already begun their journey. They’ve watched videos, followed influencers, talked to friends. They’ve begun shaping their identity long before we even know they exist.

And then one day, they walk into the dealership.

This is their inmost cave—their test, their moment of truth. They’ve built expectations—some fair, some not. They've heard the stories about “stealerships.” They’ve rehearsed the negotiation in their minds. And if we’re not careful, we prove those fears right.

But if we are ready—if we recognize the moment—they give us the opportunity to become their mentor. We help them through the ordeal. We guide them toward the reward. And when they leave, they’re not just rolling out with a product. They’re returning home with the elixir—proof that they became who they hoped they could be.

It might sound dramatic. But that’s because it is—for them. What feels like a routine transaction for us is, for them, a transformational moment. The first 30 seconds in your store can validate their entire journey… or derail it completely.

And that’s where this framework becomes more than just metaphor.

Our Hero’s [The Customer] Journey

For the past eight years, I’ve had the privilege of serving as a trainer and consultant for Garage Composites. But long before that, I was living it—running departments, managing chaos, solving problems on the floor. These days, my work is about helping others do that better. But today, I want to pull back the curtain on how I actually create the frameworks and training materials I use.

Where Ideas Begin

Most of it starts with an idea I can’t shake—a metaphor or a pattern that wedges itself into my brain and refuses to leave. It might come from another industry, like how restaurants manage their flow or how hairstylists rent out chairs. Sometimes it’s weirder—something from physics or fluid dynamics or a viral debate over a blue-and-black dress.

At first, these rabbit holes felt like distractions. But over time, I’ve learned to trust them. They’re not detours—they’re seeds.

These ideas live in my head like empty frameworks—vacant homes, waiting for the right tenant. I research obsessively, often late at night, knowing that eventually, something will click. Like the time I couldn’t stop thinking about Dressgate. I read research papers and watched hours of video until the insight revealed itself: perception is shaped by context.

That realization turned into a core training on customer psychology—how, when a customer doesn’t understand what’s happening with their machine in service, they fill in the gaps with assumptions. And those assumptions usually don’t help us.

That same process just happened again.

Our Hero approaching the inmost cave.

Mapping the Experience

The Hero’s Journey is often drawn as a circle. From 9:00 to 3:00 is the “Ordinary World”—life outside the dealership. From 3:00 to 9:00 is the “Special World”—inside our stores. Cut it vertically, and the right half is marketing. The left half is sales. Cut it again, and you get four stages: discovery, engagement, purchase, and experience.

It’s a map. And when you learn to use it, you begin to see where your customer is—not just physically, but emotionally. You begin to meet them with empathy instead of assumptions. You show up as a guide, not just a closer.

Seeing the Hero in Front of You

So the next time someone walks into your store with wide eyes and cautious energy, I hope you see them for what they are: a hero, mid-journey. I hope you remember that the way we engage in that moment doesn’t just close a deal—it helps complete a story.