The Power Of Story Telling – 2 Black Cats A Carriage and A Bottle Of Czech Beer
What’s Your Story
Once upon a time (the other day) I decided to treat myself. I ordered a delicious chicken curry and bought a few cold beers to go with it. I enjoy treating myself as I feel that I appreciate things more when I do something now and then, rather than all of the time.
I have to say, my partner went out, so I made the most of my time alone.
It was a a thoroughly pleasant and chilled night with some great TV thrown into the mix.
I must say that – the food was outstanding and the lager was very crisp, light and tasty. It was Czech lager I grabbed from M&S as you can see on the image.
So, as I looked at the bottle, I noticed a little story surrounding the beer about 2 black cats dragging a carriage through the little Czech town back in the 13 hundreds. So I had to read it and understand the story it was selling me.
It was a sweet little tale which drew me in and added to my experience and enjoyment of the beer. That’s the point isn’t it?
Life is all about experiences after all.
And it is a nice experience I was looking for.
So, as I finished my 3rd bottle of this lager, I thought to myself “I must write a post about this!”
You see, I wanted to share that ‘whatever we are trying to sell’ we have to have:
A) a great quality high value product
B) A great memorable story or brand
C) great design and delivery
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This is exactly what I got here. In fact, I knew what I was getting, and it was also pretty cheap, so I was seduced into trying this product.
Whether you like selling or not, we are all being sold to – and we are all selling ourselves every day.
The way we talk, listen, dress, go for jobs, build brands, make friendships ETC. we are all selling something.
I our roles we try to perform at our best in order to get recognition and we often wish to demonstrate what we know in order to get ahead and beat others.
And, if you wish to create a great Small business for yourself it has to have products/services that appeal deeply and effectively, and they have to create a feeling and experience which speak to the potential customer. The goal is to turn a profit and grow, agreed? So, I think it really pays to look at what you are trying to say and to ensure that you gather as much feedback as you can through research to determine your story.
It might be that you are local, and family based and that your products are lovingly created and that your brand is personal, fun and trustworthy?
This is what you need to get clarity around.
Do you remember the quote by Albert Einstein which stated; “If you can’t explain it to a six year old, you don’t understand it yourself”?
Well, this is a great place to begin. Because, ‘if’ what you do cannot be understood easily and quickly then a person will go elsewhere.
I recommend that you take a course or consider getting help from a consultant when trying to tell your story.
Let’s face it, most business presentations are quite boring, however a great story is.
So, a great story SELLS but it must be presented right! There are critical elements to your story and there are ways in which your story has to come alive and be colorful and memorable. And it’s not that complicate in reality. Why?
Because, you have many stories yourself about LIFE! YOUR LIFE! And you read stories all of the time. You only have to look around at what you have bought into and why and you will see what it was that sold you on it.
We all love a great story and I know that I have few, often about stupid mistakes I have made not just in business but in life. And when I have shared these stories I have been placed into the moment which I am sharing. I RE-LIVE IT! This is important as I want my listeners to FEEL what I am saying and to ENGAGE with it.
The Power of story telling
The Power Of Story Telling – 2 Black Cats A Carriage and A Bottle Of Czech Beer
So, let’s get to your story:
- What is your story and what are you trying to sell anyway and is it captivating and clear?
- Why does your story appeal to your core customer?
- How will it connect with your customer and build trust?
- Why will your story lead to am confident decision around a sale or another action?
- What do you do that will help your customer to make a decision quickly?
- How does your story move others and how have you crafted it to do so?
- What area are you in and is your story relevant to your area?
- What is your current story telling strategy?
- What are you trying to build? A brand, technology, an innovation, a strategy, customer experiences?
- How does your story stand out from the crowd of competition?
- How are you going to inspire and move others enough to take action?
We essentially have influence behavior and we can do so by gathering data and evolving it into a tangible solution.
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So, we really need to start by working on these questions and by nailing our identity in the market.
Remember:
ENGAGE
EXCITE
EDUCATE
EMOTIONALISE
EXPERIENCE
This is the way to communicate the message and connect to create a call to action. You are being SIMPLE in your approach (remember what Einstein once said?) We need to give meaning to what we do, through our narrative in an easy way.
But it all has to start with the business owner/operator understanding this and being able to relay it to the team so they all know this story and everyone knows it through the organization down to the end user.
Be meaningful and honest in your story, and move people to make a decision so it works for you and with you. This is why it’s so important to really get this clear and refined and to give your story a life of it’s own.
This story also has to be created into suitable formats for the right types of marketing.
Will it be:
WRITTEN
VERBAL
VISUAL
Or all three?
Maybe you will need to conduct talks, create cartoons in using the right sounds, visuals, images, movement and words, make videos, write ebooks, articles, posts or build a new brand and create events in order to showcase your story and message. This is what you need to define and to assemble to the highest level in order to have the greatest impact.
So, we can start by looking at others and what they are doing and why they are doing it.
We can also look at why we are buying into these things and take notes on this.
Sometimes we trust in age old brands (I know I do) and sometimes we like the idea of new and exciting brands that improve and or innovate and move with the times. Look at the iPhone. Or any other apple products for an example. These products move and innovate beyond what is around now, as they are ahead of the curve, so they aim to pave the way as pioneers of our experiences.
So never forget that whether are talking about a brand, a product, a service, or an invention of some kind – we really have to see how this identifies with our core market customer’s feelings. The traditional lager and beer manufacturers all have their own ways of appealing, and sometimes they stick to tradition, whilst others aim at young, vibrant funky market areas with color and fun.
That’s the point – in knowing who we are and who we are appealing to, and why we are appealing to them.
The Power of story telling
The Power Of Story Telling – 2 Black Cats A Carriage and A Bottle Of Czech Beer
I run a successful podcast and the reason why it became successful was because I took into consideration all of these factors. Both myself and my podcast partner Rob, knew that we had to tell our stories and at the same time engage with our audience for the right set of reasons.
We knew our core subject area, and we knew our message and what we were trying to achieve and so we took action and worked on that. We refined it as we moved and we took deliberate action towards aiming our stories at the right types. This also branded us, and positioned us more as leaders in our field.
So we can use audio, video, or whatever means necessary in order to expose our story, but we need to ensure it is right in the first place.
The major point here is that ‘our culture’ in our businesses are built upon the foundations of great stories. When we can cleverly craft our core communication and connect we can create call to actions way better than others.
When we are creating culture many companies will tend to identify a few of their values and then create alignment through their strategy and from there communicate this out to the teams which then get built into the performance reviews, which is all well and good, and powerful in defining a strategy, but if the customer isn’t taking action based on this then it doesn’t matter how sophisticated it may seem if results aren’t produced.
We need to be able to shine the light on the behaviors of our customers and see what is making them respond.
WHAT ARE THEIR CORE VALUES?
WHAT IS DRIVING THEIR BEHAVIOR NOW?
WHAT ARE YOUR VALUES IN YOUR BUSINESS AND TEAM HOW ARE THEY EXPRESSED TO CUSTOMERS?
WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY AND IS IT SIMPLE ENOUGH TO GET?
WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MEET CUSTOMERS DESIRES THROUGH TRENDS?
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I want to emphasize here how critically important understanding this whole concept is.
What people want to hear is the JOURNEY behind the story you choose and your story will depend upon how your values are a part of this and you wish your customers to interpret them.
You may even wish to use various stories in order to bring to life your brand message and culture, so that others relate to this in a variety of ways. You are painting the picture, so you get to design it and to bring that life to your business.
Maybe you need to hire a story teller?
Maybe you need to hire an expert to inspire others to take action through engagement?
Maybe you yourself need training or to attend workshops in order to master your story telling skills?
Your story will either sell or fail.
So, you have to tell it with the right ingredients and the right strategy.
If you are a visionary then you should have no trouble in evolving the right image you need to build upon and with the right passion, honesty and power to deliver that story you can become a market leader.
These questions will help:
What is your core customers main problem or set of problems?
What can you share that emphasizes others needs of something different?
What light can you shine brightly on the current market?
What fear or passion can you point out in order to create a need for change?
What hope can you offer to those who are somewhat stuck right now?
How can you identify real issues in order to inspire others with something which goes beyond even what they thought possible?
How can you lead more than others in what you do to stand out?
What are the core elements of your story which will lead to action?
Why is your story strategic enough to move others?
How are you selling your solution in a way that captures attention, intrigues them and leaves them wanting more?
How are you painting that picture ‘so well’ that it excites the customer as they see it, hear it, feel it, and can touch and taste it already?
Why will they want you over others, become hooked in and how will you fill them with the hope they so dearly need?
Why will they become open to what you offer with your unwavering promise of total and utter joy and satisfaction?
How do you make them see and visualize ‘the ultimate solution’ which will make your world better?
How will you help them to grasp your idea easily, without effort on their part and be specific and direct with your language?
What experience are you offering them through your strategic ability to make them feel they need you?
The Power of story telling
The Power Of Story Telling – 2 Black Cats A Carriage and A Bottle Of Czech Beer
But all of this has to try to embody what Einstein once said!
And it is your job to get across this unique message, vision, value and ethics whilst delivering an awesome thing.
You really have to understand the connection between YOUR IDEA AND YOUR STORY whilst EXCEEDING THEIR EXPECTATIONS .
Here are some tips to end the post that may help you gain some clarity with this whole subject:
- Ensure that you know your message & that it resonates with you and your core market – start by exploring your idea, story, message and end user.
- Study your competition and others in various markets to see how they sell to you – what is their unique angle, story and why do you trust them
- Take notes and start looking at your story with a team and start identifying ‘why’ anyone will consider buying from you.
- Build a strategy based around all that I have outlined in this post. And ensure you connect with the pain, struggle, emotions, and so on.
The key to getting this right is just to start taking action now – and to start making progress every day. And as you explore your ideas with your team you will move closer to becoming a true powerhouse in story telling and selling.
I cannot stress enough how important a robust and strategic plan is in your specific daily focus, and in your own Small business starting an enterprise.
And never forget that ‘your buyers, customers, clients need to know, like and trust you’ so why will they?
Now it’s time to captivate your audience and make your story come to life.
Well, there you have it 2 Black Cats A Carriage and A Bottle Of Czech Beer – What’s Your Story?
It’s time your Story is told!
This really doesn’t have to be that complicated; and that’s why I tried to keep it short, simple and sweet just like the lager I’m sippin on!
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As always I wish you the very best
Greg
THE STORY TELLERS EXPERTS IN YOUR BUSINESS STORY SOLUTIONS
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The Power of story telling
The Power of story telling – 2 Black Cats A Carriage and A Bottle Of Czech Beer
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