If you’ve been reading up on your marketing you will have heard the term Grab Attention Through Story.
Some entrepreneurs have the ability to sell through storytelling – or “story selling.” It’s an effective strategy that is not used often enough, but, when it is used, many business owners make a critical error in their storytelling.
I’ll let you in on a secret so you can avoid that same error though.
The key to grabbing attention through story effectively is that even though you’re talking about yourself, the story is not about you. It’s really about your audience.
Huh? I know that sounds backwards but stay with me.
How You Can Craft a Story That Connects
When you tell a story to your audience, their attention is going to pique when they hear the pieces that resonate with them directly.
There are two key elements your story should include that will build trust:
- Empathy shows you understand and
- Authority shows your competency.
If your story is relatable to your audience they will see themselves in your story and feel a connection with you as the storyteller.
You want them to have that moment that resonates where they say: “ Yes! That happens to me too!” or “Oh, wow, I know what that feels like.”
The trick is to be able to identify those true gems of your story that grabs their attention. This is what motivates them to stop and listen to what you’re really saying.
Tell your story in a way that puts your ideal client in it and allows them to visualize it, feel it, and experience it too. THAT is how you build connections and trust through storytelling.
Every story needs a hero.
When you tell your story there’s always a low point your audience can relate to. And, while misery does love company, misery loves a hero even more.
When the hero finds a solution – a way out – and the ending has a resolution, then your story will be forever remembered.
But wait … who is the hero of your story?
Remember how I said the story was about your audience, not you? The twist at this point is that you, as the storyteller, is not actually the hero. You are simply the guide for the hero, who is your client.
Let me repeat that for those in the back.
You are only the guide in your story. Your client is the hero.
If you are the hero in your story, you’re probably pitching. Maybe not in-your-face pitching, but you are putting yourself first in your story which shows the client where your focus will be (and it’s not on them). Figure out how you can adapt your story to make your client the hero.
Initial attention is not really making a connection.
When you are interacting with clients you can inject story to grab attention in many places.
Introductions at an event is often a missed opportunity for a great story. If you only state who you are and what you do in an introduction it doesn’t evoke a connection … not yet. You haven’t said anything that people can relate to. They haven’t gotten to know you, like you, or trust you.
Stories and conversations built on that initial introduction, however, allow people to see your genius zone shine and understand how you can support them.
Another place to share a story is in your About Us on your website. Your prospects are not looking to uncover how many kids you have or how many trucks you own. They want to know how you are going to help them and if they can trust you.
Your online social content is a third place to share your story to let your clients see on a daily basis how your business can be the answer they’re looking for.
Through using story you can define the problem you solve – you can show that you hold the guide to the solution. When they can relate to your story your ideal client will start paying closer attention to you. It will show them that, without a doubt, you can help them accomplish a milestone.
How to create Your Solution Story
So, now you know the best way to market your business is by grabbing attention through story and the next step is to create content to share this story.
Easy, right?
Not so much. If you’ve already tried creating storytelling content then you also know how frustrating it can feel to not know what to say or write about. You’re not alone in that … we all get writer’s block.
The best place to start is to develop Your Solution Story by determining what results you deliver to your clients and how to map out that story-based content for your 30 to 90-day strategy.
Wouldn’t it be great if you had a guide, a framework, something to help you tell your story, make it resonate so that your ideal client will hear you? A “how-to” to make your story so relatable and the result so clear that your clients can see themselves? And so they can understand how it will feel after you provide that solution?
Well, you’re in luck! I have a framework – a guide – that walks you through how to create this story. It explains how you can use it in your introductions, how to use it in your web copy, and how to use story in your social spaces.
Let’s get started! I offer a free 30-minute consultation to all new clients – contact me to set one up and we’ll start crafting Your Solution Story!
[…] Creating a story might seem to be a new trend but it isn’t. The best and most successful companies have been using story to attract clients for decades. Apple is a great example. […]