Posted by: Troy White
January 22, 2008
Issue #337

The Critical Piece to Your Marketing Mix That Most Miss

In this issue:

• 9 easy-to-follow blueprints for dragging out the best stories hidden deep inside …
• How to touch your clients in an emotional way that gets them coming back to buy more – and more often …
• 13 unique reasons why you must start using a good personal story in your marketing mix …
• Finally, 5 simple ways to get your story done quickly …
• And much more!

Fellow business builder,

Don’t you just love a good story?  One that touches you and strikes a chord deep inside.  I want to start out with one of my own stories– then I will walk you through why I used this kind of story – and what you can do in your business to price-proof your customer relationships.

Getting customers to understand the real you, the real business, and the real reasons why you do what you do is much more important than trying to compete on price. 

When you find the right stories that resonate with your customers, you have the beginning of a system that will grow your business as quickly as you can handle it. 

First, one of my stories, written last year:

My 3-pound reasons why Ronald McDonald House
gets 10% of my sales

Why is Ronald McDonald House So Important to Me?

It started at around 12:15 pm on October 8th, 2000.  A warm weather October day, we were sitting around the kitchen having some lunch. My wife Kari was 31 weeks pregnant with twins tucked away safely inside her.

My life changed right then and there.

She went to the washroom and came out looking VERY pale.

I’ll never forget what came next – “I think my water just broke!”

I thought she was kidding – the babies weren’t due for another 2 MONTHS!

She wasn’t.

Off to the hospital we went. Unfortunately our regular doctor was on holiday (why is it they are always on holiday when you need them most?).  The doctor that saw Kari did his evaluation and went off for a few minutes.

When he came back, my life changed again!

“I’m afraid we have a problem” he said in a thick British accent.  “There are no incubators left in the entire province – we are going to have to send you to another province.”

A province of 3 million people and hundreds of incubators for premature babies – and they are ALL full.

Next thing we know, less than an hour and a half later we were on a Lear Jet with a medical team at our side – on our way to Vancouver.

By this time we were scared to death about what was happening and what state the babies were in.

We got to the BC Women’s Hospital in Vancouver to a very welcome reception and prepared medical team.  They did their thing and informed us on what was happening. Kari’s water had broken – 9 weeks early. They wanted the babies to stay inside as long as possible to help their lungs develop further.  So they gave Kari some kind of steroid shot specifically designed to help premature babies lungs develop faster than usual.

The next 2 days were pure torture … Not knowing what was happening … how the babies were … and what would ultimately happen.

On October 10th, 2000 right around 1:17 pm Kari started having labor pains – this is it!

Emergency c-section was in store as both babies were laying in there breach.  At 3:03 Katrina was born and at 3:06 Hailey was born – they both came out screaming so we knew their lungs were fine (6 years later those lungs work just fine still – very healthy – and loud).

Katrina was just under 3 pounds – Hailey just over 3 pounds.  Tiny – but healthy.

From there, it was a whirlwind.  Every day we would go visit them in the nursery as often as we could – watching them – cuddling them. (Kangaroo Cuddles they call it with preemie babies - when the parents hold them tight against their bare chest and cuddle them for 30 minutes at a time. It gives the babies a chance to feel close and warm to the parents they are so used to being close to – especially mom. It helps them develop faster – and is medically proven for preemies to help them grow in a world they were not supposed to be in yet – they were supposed to be doing this growing inside Kari for another 2 months.)

Kari stayed in the hospital all this time – I wasn’t allowed.  I stayed at the Ronald McDonald House accommodation wing.  They treated me like gold – and gave me fast access to see both Kari and the girls.

As stressful as this time was for the both of us – I will always remember the Ronald McDonald house for the fantastic service they had.

Hailey and Katrina ended up staying in Vancouver for 3 weeks, then a Calgary hospital for 2 more. Finally, they returned home all healthy, happy and a little bigger (just about a whopping 6 pounds when we took them home).

So THAT is why the Ronald McDonald house is my charity of choice. They gave me peace of mind in an incredibly difficult time.  They provided a home to the dad of my beautiful 2 girls … and they gave me a memory that will never fade.

Katrina & Hailey - Age 6! Happy & Healthy!!

Thank you for all that you do!

This is a very personal reason for me to give a percentage of revenues to the Ronald McDonald House.  I look forward to the day I can hand them a nice five-figure amount to help with their cause. 

If you want to become part of history, both at the Wild West Wealth Summit, as well as contributing to a very worthy cause, please sign up for the Summit now. 

To make things easier for you, there is also a payment plan in place.

---

This story has met with some incredible support and comments. 

Yes, there was a lot more to the story – it could be a book in itself.  But the core message was there: why I wrote the story – what it means to them – and what action I wanted them to take.

And you need some stories in your business too!

Emotionally charged stories, that have a point relating to your business, ignite further discussions with you and give people the reasons and meaning behind you and your business. 

Good stories get them talking, crying, thinking and acting.  Acting, of course, is the main goal of a good story in business.

• Your stories are already being told by your customers - be a part of the conversation.
• You improve the quality of new customers, repeat customers, new hires, and media interest.
• Strengthens and sustains your brand.
• Your story can be told by anyone - customers, employees, ex-employees, suppliers, investors, spouses.
• You craft and shape your company image and provide it in a replicable medium that you can leverage for years to come.
• Real stories by real people.

Why this matters to you and your business:

• Helps you find better quality leads (if they read your story they won’t be shopping on price).
• Recruit better customers (better educated) and better employees (ones more concerned with culture than wage).
• Build stronger bonds with your clients.
• Sell faster.
• Grow faster.
• Reinforce existing relationships.
• Build your brand image.
• Create a more devoted following.
• Attract a certain type of new lead.
• Starts dialogues.
• Creates conversations.
• Humanizes your company.
• Makes complex ideas simpler.

Bridging the great divide between you
 and a happy, loyal customer

The following are some of the techniques you can use to create the idea behind your story and to get your stories out of your head and into a form your company can use to generate more cash flow and create happier customers.

There are a few ways you can do this:

• Hire a professional to craft your story for you.
• Interview others and have them tell your story. 
• Write your own story.
• Record your story on video or audio.
• Break it down into manageable bites (20 minutes of journal-writing a day can go a long way in a few weeks combined).

How you can make your story remarkable:

• Why do you do what you do?  When did this first all start?  At what point did you realize that you can help people with your offerings?  When did you realize you have what it takes to succeed in your business?
• What do you stand for?  Why should I believe that you want to change the world, the industry, or your neighborhood?
• Do you have some distinctive or disruptive sense of purpose that helps them see why you are different than your competitors?
• Is there anything provocative about the way you run your business, or about your personal past?  If you have something juicy to share, and it doesn’t put you in the center of a major backlash, then use it!
• How do you treat your customers differently than anyone else out there?  Be as specific as possible here or you’ll sound like everyone else. "We give good customer service" - if that is all you can say, it is not good enough. Dig deep and find something you do, or can start doing, that is dramatically different than what others are doing.
• If you had to close the doors in your business - who would miss you?  Why?
• Tell them what it is you do - why you do it - why they should care and what is in it for them - how it helps them - and what it should mean to them.
• Re-imagine what it means to be the leading supplier in your industry.  What type of customers would you have, what would they think of you, what would the media think of you, etc. 
• What would you do differently to lead your field? (Look at Southwest Airlines … they re-imagined what airline travel was and discovered that they were in the freedom business - not the "getting from A to B" business. The story of the airline and some of the unique things they do, things they wear, and how they act - legendary.  The stunts they have pulled over the years - historic.  Or what about Richard Branson of Virgin?  The consummate daredevil, showboat entrepreneur who lives to do dangerous publicity stunts.  When you think of him - do you immediately know much of his story and what he stands for?)

The key to storytelling … is to start telling stories.

If you are like me, and this is not a natural thing, you need to learn how.  Try writing some stories. 

Go back into your past and write down every good, bad, horrible thing that has happened to you. Write down the story about anything you won – or loss. The story about your first date. Or your worst date.  The day you decided that being an entrepreneur was your calling. The day you decided corporate life wasn’t for you. 

There is no shortage of reasons to write a story – get practicing.  

A good practice to get into is to write out every possible story idea you can think of.  Just write down a short sentence about the story to spark your creative mind.  Pick the ones that seem easiest to write about and put some words down next to the story. 

There is also an ample supply of educational tools to further your story writing skill.  The first and most important thing for you to do is to write.

Investing 30 – 60 minutes a day practicing your story telling will dramatically help you get better at it, faster with ideas, and faster getting your stories down onto paper or your computer.  Once they are written, you can use them in your blog posts, your articles, your sales letters and postcards, teleseminars, and audios. 

I am reading Story by Robert McKee right now and it is a great help in developing characters and story line development – great resources for you and/or anyone else involved with telling your story.

This is a critical piece of the pie … I hope you take heed and start working on this. 

Please let me know your thoughts, and if you have any further topics on this you would like to see discussed.

To your success,

Troy White
Editor, Small Business Mastery
Supplement to THE TOTAL PACKAGE™

Looking for resources related to this article? Try some of these.

Looking for more of Troy’s articles? Check these out.

Looking for past issues of The Total Package? Click here for our archives.

A Final Note:

If you have specific subjects you would like addressed, or have any comments on what you have seen here, please submit a comment below and I will see how I can help.

"Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.”

–Napoleon Hill

Want to share or reprint this article? Feel free. Just give us full attribution and a link to our Home Page when you do.

Attribution Statement: This article was first published in The Total Package. To sign-up to receive your own FREE subscription to The Total Package and claim four FREE money making e-books go to www.makepeacetotalpackage.com.

Related posts

• Something to Think About …
• The Multiple “O” Zone of Small Business Marketing
• Selling more using “Sweat Secrets of the Happy and Healthy”
• How to Navigate the Body Copy Minefield Without Getting Blown to Smithereens
• The ‘Rithmetics of Direct Mail

---

7 Comments »

1. Comment by Jay — January 22, 2008 @ 12:34 pm

   Good read, pal. I can\’t stress enough the importance of using stories in your marketing materials.

   For example, in my AutoresponderCopy.com website, I tell a story about how I met Alex Mandossian. I\’ve had lots of people ask, \”Did that really happen?\” ABSOLUTELY!

   One thing is I always tell my copywriting students is to never lie in your stories. That will always come back to bite you.

   Well done, Troy!

   Jay White
   http://www.AutoResponderCopy.com

2. Comment by Aaron Mangal — January 22, 2008 @ 1:17 pm

   Thank you for writing this piece Troy.

   It was very practical, concise and interesting.

   I plan to apply your ideas as fast as possible.

   Keep up the great work!

   ~Aaron

3. Comment by Glen Kohlenberg — January 22, 2008 @ 4:29 pm

   Thanks Troy for the story.We are in the middle of story telling about our company and how many lifes we touch everyday when customers give us a job.It is amazing when you break it down.Keep up the great work.

4. Comment by KR — January 22, 2008 @ 6:20 pm

   Bravo! Great piece, Troy.

5. Comment by annette — January 23, 2008 @ 12:15 am

   Thanx Troy,
   Ok,
   This time i have to reply…Indeed your story has touched so much… I now understand what stories can do.. I am heading back to edit my website..
   Thanx for those invaluable tips
   annette

6. Comment by Hendry Lee — January 23, 2008 @ 8:21 am

   Thanks for sharing it, Troy.

   I heard of the same advice from a marketer – I forgot who, saying that I have to start collecting stories. No matter how small they are.

   It can be very useful for many situations, including product promotion, etc.

   Now you make it truer. I doubt it no more! Thanks.

7. Comment by Troy White — January 23, 2008 @ 6:31 pm

   I\’ll be the first to admit, it took me a while to \”get\” this! Once I got it though - I started a file - and wrote down just one sentence descriptions of stories from my past and present.

   From the bizarre, to the funny, to the embarrassing, to the \”I would NEVER tell that one!\”. I now have an exceptional worksheet to refer to anytime I need a story idea. Read the headline - put pen to paper/fingers to keyboard and write away. I find it hilarious to see where your story starts - and where it ends (never the same path for me).

   This is a fabulous way to touch your customers in a way no one else in your industry will (and yoru competitors won\’t get why you are doing such \”silly\” things. All the time you are laughing your way to the bank. Thanks again for the great comments! Troy