Recently I've been working on telling the story of my company at some point during the process of demoing our product in hopes of bringing in new business. It's a really interesting story and I'm finding that sharing it toward the beginning of my calls is making a big difference in how people feel about the whole call. It seems to inject an element of humanity in what can otherwise tend to be a fairly robotic process. Before, my calls seemed to have this unspoken tension that could often negatively affect the impact of how the calls would go. We both know that I'm trying to sell you something. You're going to do your part to convince me that you don't really need my product because youu don't want to give in too easily; you certainly don't want me to percieve that there's an opportunity to take advantage of you and sell you into something you don't really need. And I'm just trying to break down your defenses in order to convince you that my product is the best because I just really need you to buy so I can make more money.
But what if there were a different way? What if we could somehow inject an element of humanity into this whole process so that we both came to an understanding that you have some business needs, I have a solution that has worked for other people in your situation, we're going to talk about that solution in a very pragmatic fashion and both agree at the end of the call whether or not this is the best fit for you. Of course you have to understand that I will always think my solution is the best because I believe in what I am selling. Unless I don't, in which case I should get a new job anyway.
So I've been telling my company's story at the beginning of my calls. And I feel like it's been working.
Granted, I don't have any hard data to support these assertions. But I feel like sharing the story and the vision behind the product I'm selling has made a difference in the tone of my calls. It feels more human, it feels much more genuine. It seems to break down some of those initial barriers that were present in my old calls. I firmly believe in the vision of my company, which is why I tell our story with such excitement because I find it fascinating and genuinely enjoy sharing it with others. Of course I'm trying to sell you something but it's because I actually believe in it's ability to help you. And I'm starting to think that's what genuinely makes a difference in the success of a message. Is it believable? Is it real? Is it something of substance that I can get excited about? If I've lost that vision in the product I'm selling, it's because I dont' believe in it anymore. And it's time to move on.
I've been thinking a lot lately about why people often seem so averse to advertising, why I've been so bothered by it my whole life. After all, we're all advertising something; we're all just trying to get people to listen to our stories. I think somewhere along the line we started realizing that a lot of times the stories we were hearing weren't true. Politicians weren't telling us the whole truth. Pharmaceutical companies weren't telling the full story of the side effects associated with their drugs. Large corporations weren't showing the full picture of the income disparity between those who were doing the hard work and those who were living off their backs. And the list goes on.
So we became frustrated. And we stopped listening to the stories in the advertisements we saw all around us. In fact, we became downright annoyed by them.
What if, as Seth Godin suggests here, we (and the businesses we utilize) gave up on advertising slogans and embraced a new kind of advertising--living out interesting, true, and genuine stories, and sharing them with those around us. What if the slogans we proclaimed were actually born out of a true story?
We've all got interesting stories to tell, let's try just listening to each other and engaging in genuine conversation. Let's give up on tricking people into listening what we have to say. Instead, let's make what we have to say so damn interesting that people just can't wait to hear about it.
And let's make sure we're telling the truth.
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