Storytelling is WAYYYYY more interesting than a cold list of facts. And EVERYONE has a story. Recently I received a LinkedIn connection request from Rose Alforque. Rose is an Online Reputation Management professional from Brisbane, Australia.
She writes:
Dana,
Saw your status update on my feed, checked out your profile, and was completely charmed by your summary. More people, (me included), should use better storytelling on our summary. Would love to connect!
Rose Alforque
In the interest of full disclosure, I'm a sucker for a good (sincere) compliment. So when I read her message I felt all warm and gooey inside. And of course I connected with her. (Duh, she likes me.) ;)
I Respond:
Your message just made my day! Thank you Rose! What's your story??
My LinkedIn summary is word for word what my Meet Dana page is on my website/blog. I tell the story of the day I was fired from a job I never thought I'd leave and how I started my own business. What works about my story is I tell the good with the bad. I'm honest.
What doesn't work in my story is that I need to put in more of the WHY.
Yes, I was vulnerable and open and REAL. But there's one pivotal story I left out. (And I'm going to add it tonight.)
See, I've been binge listening to Amy Porterfield's Podcasts ever since I heard her speak at Social Media Marketing World in San Diego last April. In one of her podcasts, (I believe it was the one with James on Video Mistakes), a quote that stuck with me was:
"People don't buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it."
(Side note. I LOVE Amy Porterfield. Like, I'm a little obsessed with her. By obsessed I mean I've convinced myself she and I would be best friends if I still lived in California. It's probably best for her sanity that I don't lol.)
If you're like me (human) you have flaws. You've been rejected, felt scared and ugly cried. We all have. At some point. And the dreamer in me LOVES a good fairy tale. But a fairy tale is only great when it's filled with conflict.
Think about it. Snow White had to live with 7 men. One that was constantly sneezing, (my OCD would have gotten the better of me), one that was always in a bad mood and don't even get me started on all that whistling.
So when you tell your business story, keep in mind, a business story is really a people story. Write something that's relatable. Don't leave out the bad stuff. Be honest about your struggles and fears. And your successes. And see what happens.
Also, consider hiring a copywriter to help you. I'm kinda a rock star when it comes to copy. (Still working on the humility haha.) But writing copy for myself, was the hardest thing I've ever done. (We'll save that for another blog post.)
For now, keep it real.
Love,
Dana