Use Stories to Connect with Your Clients and Stand out from the Competition

By Yara Nielsenshultz

One of the best ways to connect with clients is to share stories. And it's a lot more fun than the "usual" boring approaches to telling people about yourself. Stories enable you to capture someone's attention and get them genuinely interested in you and what you have to offer.

Even better, telling stories comes naturally to most of us, whether we realize it or not. Think about it. When is the last time you told someone about your day? We bet you didn't recite a list of sleep-inducing facts. Instead, you put verve in your voice, you used dramatic pauses, you asked questions … in short, you told a story.

But what do stories have to do with business? Everything! Think about how you got where you are now. For us, it started with Yara sitting in the sunshine reading Ode Magazine and thinking "I want to do that! I want to be one of those people who changes the world."  She sighed wistfully and then … "Why not?" [tiny light bulb] "Maybe we won't travel to a third-world country and help establish a basic infrastructure …" [bigger light bulb] "But there are lots of ways to change the world, to make a difference" [blinding light] "Yes! We can do it."

And so we did. Yara quit her cushy corporate job, we moved halfway across the United States, and we now help solo business owners become independent, successful, and happy.

What we just told you was a story, the story of what led us to our current path. See how more interesting that story is over a bland list of activities? It includes feelings, pauses (with ellipses), even imagery with the lightbulbs. It is easier to tell a story in person, but you can do it with writing, too. And you can do it very effectively.

What can you use stories for? Just about anything you write. Some ideas:

What can stories do for you?

Connect on a human level
Everyone's human. At a fundamental level, we all share certain experiences. We all know what it's like to feel sad, embarrassed, ecstatic. Telling stories enables you to connect with your clients on a human level.

Demonstrate expertise
You can use stories to demonstrate your expertise. Sure, having an MBA is great. But lots of people have MBAs. What makes you different? Tell a story about what you've done with your MBA or how you got it. It will set you apart from competitors who use credentials instead of qualifications.

Brag about accomplishments
As solopreneurs, we need to brag about our accomplishments in order to show other people what we have done and can do. But bragging can seem (and be!) inappropriate. But not if it's told as a story. Make it about the experience rather than the accomplishment. The accomplishment will shine through, and your clients will connect with it as a human experience. (For an awesome book about bragging, click here.)

Avoid conflict gracefully
You can also use stories to explain something you'd really rather not deal with. Say a client pushes back on signing a contract. Rather than getting stern or wishy-washy or up-in-arms, say "Oh boy. Let me tell you about the last time I worked without a contract …" Turn it into a story and you can explain your reasoning while avoiding argument or squirminess.

You can use stories in just about everything you write. For more on how to use stories, visit our Spicy Clients site.

© 2006 Red Pepper Writing

ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Yara and Aaron Nielsenshultz, the Writing "Peppers" and founders of Red Pepper Writing, teach ambitious Coaches, Consultants, and other Solopreneurs how to use powerful writing to get more clients and make more money. For FREE weekly writing tips, visit http://www.redpepperwriting.com.

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