The Hero Of Your Story: Not You

This is not a movie review but stay with me till the end.

During the Holidays I watched a new movie "Life itself" on Amazon Prime. In the movie, the viewer is introduced to a few storylines and is left to guess who the real hero of the movie is.

I will spoil it, there were more than one.

One such hero, Mr. Saccione, who is played by Antonio Banderas, invites an employee of his to a heart-to-heart conversation. Banderas starts the meeting with telling his life's story and goes into detail about the effect it had on his choice of business. The story is meant to connect with the employee on an emotional level, because Banderas feels that they both share a love for this business.

Banderas fails. The employee is not moved by the story he heard, nor is he interested in opening up. There is no emotional bond created by the two men despite the vulnerability and the honesty of the employer.

As a viewer, I understand that it made the plot and the character of the employee more interesting. However, as a marketer, I was slightly taken aback.

Then it dawned on me. The person who was trying to create an emotional connection was ambushing the other with his own story and point of view, without trying to understand who is sitting in front of him first. His story, no matter how compelling, has fallen on deaf ears because there was nothing in it that could resonate with the other man. And at the end of the day it failed to create basic trust.

When we, the story tellers, the marketers, the sales people of our services are trying to connect with our audience, we must make our audience part of the story. When I was working on my new niche narrowing program, I spent time researching the real needs of my niche.

We, business owners, must understand who listens to us and what that person's life is about. What they want, what they dream of, what they are afraid of. We need to understand them before we start the conversation. Your story needs to be relevant to the person who is listening, otherwise it will fail in its mission to connect, just like in the movie.

Your story needs to be relevant to the person who is listening, otherwise it will fail in its mission to connect.

But before you understand your listener, you need to define who that person is. Who is the person that is looking for you. Who is the person that you want to work with and ultimately help. You need to narrow down your niche a lot if you want to establish that emotional connection and evoke trust.

It is easier to talk to a faceless crowd. Many business owners do and I did as well. Because we are interested in what we are offering, our own brand story and because we don't want to make a mistake and miss someone by focusing on a specific audience. But the problem is that by doing that, we fail to really connect and attract our people. Doing this extra work of zeroing in on your ideal client won't alienate you from a possible prospect, but will bring you closer to the person who is in need of you.

My new extremely focused mini program "Narrow Your Niche & Grow Your Private Practice" is designed to help you with defining and understanding your ideal client.

As my gift to you I am offering a New Year's discount of $30 until the end of January 2019.

To take advantage of this special type in January19 coupon code. Buy this program today and start your year connecting with your audience!