This exercise helps you identify the five core beliefs that define your target audience’s Belief System Profile (BSP). It’s one of the most powerful exercises in the course because it connects directly to the change you want to create and gives you a far more effective way to understand your market than demographics ever could. By completing it, you’ll create the psychological blueprint that determines who your Core Patient Group (CPG) actually is.

The BSP must reflect real humans, not an idealized or invented “perfect patient.” The five beliefs must naturally coexist within actual people who already lean toward the change you want to create.

The exercise has four steps:

1. Recall your change.

   Your chosen change guides the entire BSP process. Make sure you’ve already completed the change exercise. The beliefs you select should align with the type of person who would naturally want that change, but the change should not dictate or force unrealistic beliefs.

2. Identify three real people.

   Write down three real individuals who would genuinely appreciate or benefit from your change. They can be past or current patients, someone from your community, a friend or family member, or even a role model whose worldview you know well. You only need three people who authentically lean toward the change you want to create.

3. Identify belief patterns across those people.

   Look for recurring psychological patterns in how these three people think, act, and interpret the world. Then map these patterns across the five belief categories:

   • Identity belief: What does being a “good” or responsible person mean to them? People like them ________.

   • Value belief: What do they consistently prioritize? They value ________.

   • Avoidance belief: What emotions or experiences do they actively avoid? They want to avoid ________.

   • Decision belief (cause belief): How do they determine what a smart or responsible decision is? They believe a good decision is one that ________.

   • Health belief: How do they view health or dentistry? Health/dentistry means ________ to them.

   Each belief should be something that at least 80% of all three people would agree with. You can brainstorm multiple options for each belief, then select the one that fits all three best.

4. Run a coherence check.

   Now look at all five beliefs together as one system. Ask: Could each of the three people I chose reasonably hold all five beliefs at once?

   • If yes, you’ve created a grounded, realistic BSP.

   • If no, remove the outlier person or adjust the beliefs until the belief system works as a coherent whole.

The goal is to ensure your BSP describes an actual cluster of real humans who interpret events in similar ways, creating consistent meaning and predictable behavior when they move through your marketing system.

Once this is complete, your five selected beliefs become the foundation of your BSP—and the heart of your entire marketing strategy.