If selling has been an uphill battle for you, then let’s start this off with me fully admitting that you’re not alone. Selling doesn’t come naturally to most people, and when it comes to selling who you are, your business, your product, and your idea? It can feel discombobulating (and, dare I say, exposing?) to sell things that feel personal to you!
I used to be there, but like you, I knew I couldn’t stay there. Thankfully, I found a way to sell that feels so authentic to who I am, what I care about, and why I do what I do. The power of storytelling entered my messaging, my projects, and all the systems of my business (even my hiring process!)
Let’s talk about the power of storytelling in helping you confidently and wholeheartedly craft your sales messaging in a way that allows your business to grow and thrive!
Stories Create the Setting for You to Sell
Like a great book that you just can’t put down, storytelling in your marketing strategy helps to create an immersive space that your customer can visualize themself in. So, what’s the best kind of setting to invite your customer into? A transformative one.
Visualize that ‘space’ your customer is going to walk into and think about how they will be able to envision the transformation that you offer them. Rather than solely letting your product or service guide the story, think about that end result for your customer. You can keep it as simple as you’d like! If you’re offering a crash course on how to organize any closet, tell a story that encourages your dream customer to imagine themselves waking up and knowing exactly what they want to wear that day because of the lack of clutter and chaos in their closet (thanks to your teachings, of course!)
Take Your Audience Behind the Scenes
Storytelling is a lot like handing out a VIP ticket and all-access pass into the parts of your business that no one gets to see. Get ready to pull back the curtain so that your customer can develop a deeper sense of who you are, how you work, and why your business feels so different from the others.
For example, when you bring your customer into the story about how you started your business, from the wee hours of the night at your kitchen counter or the first inkling of an idea scribbled on the back of a Taco Bell receipt, you’re sharing the heart and soul of what you created. What were your first doubts or hesitations? What about your first big obstacle, or perhaps your first big failure? Share that with your audience! Stories are an effective way to create a connection between you and your audience by pulling back the curtain and showing them what’s going on behind the scenes. Stories help to explain the “why” behind your offer and they show your audience that you understand them.
Imagine bringing your audience into your living room, pulling up the ottoman, and handing out the tea and snacks. What kind of conversations would start to unravel from there? What stories would you be so excited to share with them from the journey of launching your business? As they lean in closer and start to ask questions, what do you imagine those questions would be? Putting yourself in the shoes of your ideal customer in this kind of authentic setting can be the perfect opportunity for you to provide solutions to their problems through storytelling.
Bridge the Gap from Storytelling to Selling
Once you’ve created those transformative spaces for your customer to visualize themselves in and are painting a picture of their experience with their own results from engaging with your business, you’re exactly where you need to be. Because storytelling is selling.
Your story is what helps you do the legwork that a straight up “Buy this! I made it for you! Trust me!” couldn’t have done on its own. Stories build the bridge that lead your audience from ‘liking’ you, to ‘knowing’ you, to ‘trusting’ you. Storytelling helps your customer make a decision about you long before you drop that call-to-action at the end of your pitch.
When telling stories with purpose, it’s important to answer three key questions for your audience:
- Are you like me?
- Can you lead me?
- What is the path to transformation?
Answering these three questions helps you create stories that will help your audience connect with your offer. You’ll be able to establish trust and credibility, show them that you understand them, and prove that you can lead them to the transformation they want. (AKA: making sales!)
Have you ever heard the saying that your struggles make you stronger? It’s true when it comes to storytelling, too! Every single one of your unique experiences, even the challenging ones, become a story that can lead a customer to you. Never doubt the prompting you feel to share a story that reminds your audience that there is a real human behind your business. There’s a human story in every single page on your website— an opportunity to relate, connect, and sell to your audience in every single step of your marketing funnel!
Discover Your Conversion Story
When it comes to learning how to integrate your stories masterfully into every facet of your business, my friend, Colin, is the pro that can show you the ropes (just like he showed me!)
Yep, I’m talking about the master story-craftsman, Colin Boyd! He has been on the professional speaking circuit for over a decade, and he’s advised the biggest names in the industry to speak and sell from both virtual and live stages. He helped me and my team revamp our Pinterest Lab keynote presentation, and because of his brilliance, we had our MOST SUCCESSFUL launch ever. Literally. Crushed every record, ones I didn’t even know I could crush.
If you’re ready to get series about storytelling and start using it in your business, Colin created a masterclass all about storytelling in your business, The Conversion Story Formula, where you’ll learn:
- How to discover your core story and tell it using the core premise formula
- The 5 proven principles for telling great stories so that you connect with your perfect audience faster than ever before
- Colin’s 6 step process for crafting a story that connects and converts your perfect audience into your programs
- Simple ways to make your conversion story compatible for emails, social media posts, webinars, etc.
I couldn’t think of a better person to help our team craft compelling stories that resonate with our target market, and I know you’ll feel the same way when you dive into his course.
Ready to discover the secrets to successful storytelling with Colin Boyd?
Enroll in The Conversion Story Formula today!
