STEP TWO: TELL YOUR STORY
What do you say when people ask you about your business?
Do you describe it in apologetic terms? "We’re just ... (fill in the blank)."
Do you dumb it down? Instead of letting them know about what is unique about your product or service. you generalise it into its broad industry or category.
Do you stumble because you can't decide how you should put it? There's so much to explain and you have not quite yet found the right branding message.
Do you give a quick answer then change the subject because you don't feel comfortable talking about where your plans are taking you? It ends up sounding like a sales pitch. or fake and egotistical and that's just not who you are.
If you have trouble describing what you are all about. how can you make it work?!
Humans are story-tellers by nature. Stories eLicit different neurological responses to information. They engage us emotionally and invite our participation. A story makes you. the business owner. more likeable. believable. and allows people to see that you are a person just like them. the foundation stone for building trust. Your story is much more than the basis of your marketing; it becomes your organisational culture.
We will talk more about the importance of culture later in this eBook, suffice to say for now that the work you do here will have long range implications for the performance of your employees.
Story-telling is a craft
It is a craft that anyone can master as long as they have the essential ingredients. A compelling story always starts with a good plot. Plots are necessary for building a strong. believable and cohesive story.
In a good story, the plot is really only understood at the end. A story where you can see what is coming is boring, and can even be an insult to your intelligence. A good plot usually contains three basic ingredients: a main character, conflict and an ending.
1. It needs to be personal. If you are in the food industry, for instance, while saying that good food is about enjoyment is true, it doesn't really mean anything. For some people, watching grass grow is enjoyable too. Your own experience, however, means something. Perhaps food is your connection to your cultural heritage, or how you escape from daily stress.
2. You need emotions. Good stories are based on feelings not events. Most of us remember even the simplest fairy tales from our childhoods because of how they made us feel. You cannot just make up any story because no matter how clever it is, how slick, how well-told, it will sound insincere. Use the feelings from your best 'you' to make your story genuine.
3. You need conviction. It doesn't have to be about changing the world, but it does have to be the sense of purpose and meaning that drives your work. It is focused on the 'B' point, that is, where you want to take people (i.e. going from A to B). More important than your customers knowing what you do, is know what problem you solve, what state you lead them to.
The role of the plot is for you to build your story around it. When Bill Gates shared his vision, "A computer on every desk and in every home" in 1980, Microsoft was a small