Telling the best story of why you do what you do can attract clients. In fact, telling your story can do a better job at client attraction than listing the features of the work you do. The trick is weaving the story with the solutions you provide and how that benefits your future clients.
Stories have been used for ages to convey an idea, suggest solutions, and teach morals to others. Stories define our childhood, and give meaning to our lives. Your story, told in the right way, can attract more clients that you thought possible.
Stories can be used to tell who you are, why you’re here, what you do, your vision for your future, and teach others something important while demonstrating your values. Telling your personal story of how you came to be what you are now can be a very powerful motivator for prospects to decide to become clients. And telling your story well is an art form that you can learn.
* Tell It at the Right Time – The context in which you share your story is almost as important as the story. When you are sharing something of a personal nature, make sure the tone of the story matches the emotions you want to evoke for a particular event. You probably have many personal stories that can be shared, so pick the right one, for the right audience, at the right time.
* Be Authentic – Only you can be you, so it’s important to be real. Telling your story in a way that demonstrates who you are, why you’re here and what makes you tick is important. You can show your vulnerable side, talk about a time when you experienced failure and how that affected you and what you did about it, and more…as long as you are being authentically you.
* Set the Stage – Stories need a beginning, middle and end. You want to remember to evoke all the senses in your story, telling it so that your prospects are emotionally connected to you by the end of it. Remember that people often go into their mind and imagination during a story, and you want them to bring up the right feelings. Words, context and tone matter.
* Understand Your Purpose – To help you choose the right story to tell, and to tell it in the right way, consider the purpose of sharing your story. Are you trying to explain who you are, why you’re here, teach something, pass on your vision or something else entirely? If you know your purpose you can find the right story, words and phrases easier.
* Practice – Like with most things in life, you’ll get better with practice. Whether you’re typing out your story, speaking your story into a recording device, or telling it to a live audience, it all takes practice. You want to be able to tell your various stories at the drop of a hat when the appropriate time comes up with your potential clients, and practice will assist you in developing this skill.
You’ve heard it before, and you’re going to hear it again. We have two ears and one mouth for a reason. Listen to others twice as much as you speak. Giving other people your full attention will go far in helping you attract clients with whom you can share your story in the first place.
