Whose story are you telling?

We all love a good story. For generations, traditions and folklore have been passed down with stories. We are programmed to relate to stories that we like and find fascinating. In fact, marketing that incorporates relatable stories can help the recipient progress through the client's journey much more rapidly.

The question is: whose story are you telling? I felt fortunate to join other dry cleaners in Las Vegas for Fabricare Show 2021. As I listened to the speakers and others who we visited with individually, I paid close attention to how I was feeling and how the audience was feeling.

And what I realized might surprise you. I realized some speakers focused only on their own stories. To me, these people came across as less engaging with the audience, and the audience began to tune them out. None of us like to hear someone go on about how great they are, all of the challenges they have been through, or how wonderful life is now. It all comes across as a bit self-centered.

There were also speakers who only briefly focused on themselves and their stories. They quickly moved on to tell the story of those in the audience. Each time that happened, I watched the audience perk up, get engaged, and want to contribute to the conversation.  It was very relatable because it was our story.

There is a very important lesson here.  We all like to relate to certain stories. The more the story is about us, the pain we are trying to avoid, the pleasure we are trying to gain, the more engaged we are. This makes sense. We want to be led by someone we trust and who can help us write our story.

When you craft your messaging for the stories you tell in your marketing, make sure that most of it is about your client. Not you, your business, or your journey. Talk about the pain and challenges of your clients. Not your pain. Talk about the opportunities your clients have. Not your opportunities.

Let your success be the sum of all the success you help your clients get. And let this success grow by crafting a story that your client can relate to because it is all about them. We are taught by large corporations (think Coke, Pepsi, Budweiser) that marketing is all about creating a brand and an image. But that is all focused on the company and the brand. Try to fight that temptation. Switch it up, and focus on your client and their journey, and watch your sales grow!