I was in a business accelerator program with 40 other entrepreneurs and had taken my new brochure to one of our monthly workshops in London. I arrived early and put one on each seat. During the tea breaks, and over lunch, several of my fellow attendees congratulated me on having a nice brochure – but no-one enquired about working with me to get their story done.
However, about an hour before the end, the trainer invited me to speak to the group about what I do. I jumped at the chance – but I was so nervous I could barely breath and I was shaking so much I nearly dropped the microphone.
Rather than ignore my obvious anxiety, I decided to tell a story about “the strange thing that happens to me when someone puts a microphone in my hand”. And I talked about how I was so passionate about helping people tell their story, that I was prepared to put myself through this ‘ordeal’ to reach the people I knew I could help.
I was still shaking when I sat down, but when the workshop came to an end, just under an hour later, several people came over to talk to me and, by the time I left the hotel that day, I had six new clients!
A nice-looking brochure and website is great, of course, but if you are not telling your story, and people are not getting a chance to get to know you, they are less likely to connect.
It is so true that people buy from people. Real people. So, actually, the more honest, open and ‘human’ you are, the more people will relate to you. And once people have connected with your story, it’s a lot easier to then talk about the journey you can take them on with your business offering.
