The other day I was told about a famous housewife, running her own small business. So I went and had a look. To my surprise, her name wasn’t mentioned anywhere on her site or her Facebook Page, or her Instagram. Nada! Here’s the thing, her presence is beautiful, stunning, on point – except unless you deal with her directly, you have NO idea who she is. No brand story! None! So why is selling your story important?
Before you go on about her ‘not wanting to’, or that she deserve the satisfaction of ‘not relying on her name’; I’m going to stop you right there and call BS. That attitude only keeps you small. Why? Because she herself is denying who she is, she’s making a judgement call for us before we even have a chance. Could you, seriously, imagine the Kardashians being where they all are today without them leveraging their name?
Anyway, her name is but one small part of her story. The problem is, I don’t know what her story is, why I should buy from her, what makes her different from the hundreds of other businesses in her niche.
There are two core sayings sitting behind why your story is important & why your story matters to your customers.
People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it. – Simon Sinek
People buy from businesses that they like, know, & trust. – Bob Burg
So why oh why do small business still refuse to tell their story?
Other than privacy or wanting to stand on their own two feet, the man reasons are that they either don’t feel their story matters (has value) or that they believe this is how big business do it.
Let me put you straight about you & your story – it doesn’t matter if YOU think your story has worth, your customers WANT to know who you are & why you do what you do. It’s not actually a choice you have. Well, you do; you can ignore it and stay where you are or you can leverage your story and grow. Entirely up to you.
Once again, I’m calling BS!
Your story matters, your history matters, it’s how you got to being where you are today.
Too often I am seeing small business ‘playing big’ and hiding their story, their ‘about’, in order to look like the big guys. Do you realise the lengths they go to to craft the perfect story?
Here’s a free piece of advice, that will save you big bucks and a tonne of time. Do not emulate this shortcoming of big business, when in fact they spend an incredible amount of time trying to replicate what comes naturally to you. Big business spend up big when it comes to crafting their story, their persona etc. They have to test and retest until they get it right. These are things that you already own, that even if people try they can’t actually copy, they are your unique point of difference.
Look to big business where it’s clear what their story is (Virgin, KFC, Oprah) and emulate that. Even look at how and when they tell their story. Richard Branson, while saying it’s the staff, will always be the name behind Virgin. KFC, try as they might will never shake the Colonel. Oprah, she walks her story each and every day.
So please, don’t hide! Why?
Because this is one of your strengths.
This is your advantage.
This is what main lines your business to your customers.
Your story has power, it demonstrates your uniqueness, your values, your beliefs, and your intentions. All reasons why people buy from one competitor over another. (Let’s face it, you don’t want someone who quibbles on cost)
So please! Go out there and sell your story. It will help you connect to your clients.