How to Become a Compelling Business Storyteller

Do you need to add some verbal flair to your brand’s identity and content to really set yourself apart? Read below to learn everything you need to know about giving your business that irresistible, campfire storytelling ability.

Michael Hauge, a successful Hollywood screenwriter, and famous author explains that:

“All a business story is, is telling what happened to someone who you worked with who benefitted from you, where they were at the beginning, what they went through, what their journey was and where they were at the end.”

The Keys to Telling a Compelling Story

If you can manage those five steps, you have the potential to be a compelling storyteller. Luckily for us, unlike a movie script, business stories are simple to make. Now more than ever, storytelling is critical to consumer connection. While there are many different stories your business can tell, there are two, in particular, every brand should clearly communicate to their audience: The story of how your business came to be, and the story(ies) of those positively affected by it. 

Brand Story Brainstorming on Paper

The Story of How Your Business Came to Be

If you’re a business owner, you’re very familiar with those long hours of planning and the challenges you faced when you started… but your audience isn’t. Don’t be afraid to be honest if you had a hard time converting your dream into reality, or if the money just wasn’t there at first, or if you hit rock bottom before you found your stride. EVERYONE loves a comeback story or can relate to tough times. By being genuine and authentic, you’re already communicating the type of business you run and building trust with your clients and internal stakeholders. 

By explaining why you do what you do, you’re making sure your hard-earned work is given credit and communicated with the passion that drove you to create it. Use the aforementioned five steps to keep your business story well organized and understandable, you don’t want the customer to get lost in all of the twists and turns, a complicated story is not always a compelling one. 

The Story of a Customer Positively Affected By the Business

Another word for this type of story is a testimonial. Your business may have received various positive client testimonials. Hopefully, you’ve even posted some on your business’ website. However, to really be an excellent storyteller you not only want to show the testimonial but advertise it. For example, if the testimonial reads:

“Thank you so much for getting me through what started to be a really frustrating experience. You really turned my situation around.” – Anonymous

That’s awesome and demonstrates how you care for and passionate about your customers. However, you should now go the extra mile. You want to include the three foundations of every good story: the character, the conflict, and the goal. The above testimonial lacks each of these foundations and therefore while it’s kind, it isn’t compelling. 

Hauge explains in his podcast that in order to really hit home with a potential buyer, you should “get the buyer to live vicariously through existing customers.”  To advertise such an uplifting testimonial, ask permission to tell more of the story. Allow what is sweet to become inspirational. Give life to the comment by including a name (even if it’s a fake name to protect his/her identity), explain what their situation was, how they found you, and the solution you were able to offer in order to change what was a gloomy outcome into a positive one. This is the kind of story that other, potential consumers will see and really resonate with. 

Don’t be afraid to tell your story, you might even find others have had similar experiences. No matter who you are or what you do, we all have a story to tell and one life to tell it. Start simple and work your way up, remember you don’t need to write a movie or novel, just be authentic and allow the consumer to see why your business matters. 

Count On TalenAlexander to Help You Tell Your Story

For years, TalenAlexander has been committed to helping our partners tell their stories. We understand firsthand how challenging it can be to make sure you’re telling the right story about your business and your brand. We offer a comprehensive array of marketing services designed to help you achieve that goal. Count on us to: 

  • Coordinate a discovery meeting with you to gain a better understanding of your brand and the story you’re interested in learning how to tell
  • Work with you in partnership to gather all of the information we need to tell that story
  • Establish a foundation for your new brand or enhancing your old one 
  • Determine the steps necessary to help you complete the vision you have for your brand and its story
  • Implement a strategic marketing plan to bring your brand’s story to life

See a snapshot of some of the stories we’ve worked on helping our clients tell by visiting the experience section of our site. After browsing some of the work that we’ve done, contact us today to get the full story and to learn more about how we can help you.