136 | How to use storytelling in your content - with Susan Payton

Speaker: 00:00:01

If you are ever unsure as to whether

to post something because it feels too

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personal, or if you've told your story

so many times that you are tired of

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hearing it, then this episode is for you.

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We will talk about what stories

work, which ones to tell, which ones

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to avoid, and how to practically

use them in your content.

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I'm so excited today to

be joined by Susan Payton.

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Susan is a messaging strategist,

storytelling expert, and author

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of the Business of Stories.

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She helps founders and purpose-led

business owners get clear on their

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stories so they can connect more

deeply with their audience and

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sell their work with confidence.

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So welcome, Susan.

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I'm.

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So, so happy you are here, especially

because I know that your story

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led you to your entire business.

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So please do share more about

your story and your business.

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Yeah, sure.

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In 2014, I was looking around

for support for women who wanted

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to start their own business.

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I'd always worked for myself, but

I didn't really have a business.

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I was just charging time for money, right?

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And so I wanted to start something

that I could actually grow and

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scale beyond my hourly rate.

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So I was looking around for support

and believe it or not, in: 2014

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there wasn't a lot of support, right?

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Facebook groups weren't a thing.

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And so, apart from a couple

of organizations, there

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really wasn't very much.

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And so I realized that if I was

looking for support there would

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probably be a lot of other women out

there that were looking for support.

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So I decided to create a community to

create something that provided that

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support that people were looking for.

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So I called it the business of mums 'cause

it was for mums who wanted to start their

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own business or grow their business.

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I had a website built, you know,

with a forum and a notice board and

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you know, back when it cost a lot

of money to build a website, right?

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Because it was all had to be coded

and it was thousands of pounds.

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Then somebody said to me, you

could start a Facebook group.

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I was like, a what?

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What's that?

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I found out that you can start

a Facebook group for free,

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which was a little bit, of a shock at the

time having just spent all this money.

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But anyway, I had the website.

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I started the group, I started to

build this community, and it was great.

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It grew very quickly.

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I got to about 1500 women, quite

quickly I was offering resources.

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I was pointing people to

things that would help them.

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I was doing interviews, I

had lots of stuff for people

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to download and engage with.

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We were asking questions in the group,

so it was getting lots of engagement

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and it was doing really well.

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But I was offering coaching and

this is the way that I was gonna

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kind of monetize it, right?

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It was gonna offer coaching and

nobody was buying my coaching.

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I kept putting more stuff into the group.

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I kept trying to show people that, I could

help them and I was resourceful and I

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was the person that was gonna help them,

provide that support that they needed.

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But the reason that nobody was buying

my coaching was because back then I

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really couldn't clearly articulate.

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What I could help them do, and I know

that your audience is coaches, right?

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So this is key, and I know

this is what you teach.

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I didn't have a nice,

clear, compelling message.

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I wasn't really articulating the

value of people working with me.

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Like what was the value to them

of what I could help them do.

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I didn't even really know

who my ideal client was.

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It was moms who wanted to

start a business, right?

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So looking back now, I can see why people

weren't buying my coaching, but at the

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time didn't know what I wasn't doing.

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I didn't know what I didn't know.

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I was doing all the marketing things.,

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Buying all the courses.

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I was trying SEO.

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I even went to a marketing agency and

they said, yeah, give us your money.

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We'll fill up your group.

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And I paid them a lot of money and

they did get some more people into

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my group, but that wasn't the answer.

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Right.

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More people, more spending more

money, doing more marketing

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stuff wasn't the answer.

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The problem was that I didn't have those

key foundational pieces in place, so

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people didn't know why they should buy

from me, and it was very frustrating.

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And I was sat at the kitchen table

one night with my husband and I

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was having a glass of wine and I

was feeling a bit emotional, and

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he said, is everything all right?

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Like, how's the business going?

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And I got really tearful and

I said, who am I kidding?

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I haven't got a business, like

people aren't buying my stuff.

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They're there for the free stuff

and everybody's loving it and it's

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a great vibe in the community,

but nobody wants my coaching.

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And I said at the time, I think it's

'cause they don't know who I am.

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And they don't know why

they would buy from me.

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So I decided that I needed

to do something different.

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I knew it wasn't just pour

more money into it ? I knew I

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had to do something different.

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Just going out there and

saying, Hey guys, book a call.

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I can help you.

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That just wasn't working.

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So I went to bed that night and.

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Left the question lingering in my

head like, what do I need to do?

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I need to do something different.

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So I went to sleep and I woke

up the next morning and I

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thought, I know what I'll do.

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I'll go into the group and

I'll just be really honest.

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I'll tell them who I am.

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I'll tell them the journey

that I've been on, right?

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I'll tell them why I'm here now and

what this group is for and, and where I

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want it to go and what I want for them.

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I will tell them my story.

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So I sat down and I wrote it because

we didn't have lives back then.

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We didn't have Zoom.

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I love writing.

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So I got my laptop open and

I started telling my story I

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put it into little sections.

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I put some little photos in, spend a

little bit of time making it, something

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that people would want to read.

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And I put it all out there and I talked

about, how I'd been a single mum for

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a few years and how that was quite

tough trying to juggle work, and being

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a single mom, I talked about, how the

stress of it actually made me quite ill.

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I had ME for a few years.

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It was a very ordinary story.

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It wasn't some dramatic, you know,

fit for a Hollywood blockbuster film.

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It was just a very ordinary, relatable

story of a mum trying to build a business.

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And so I got it ready and I pressed send

and it went out to everybody in the group.

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And then I had a moment

of panic and I thought.

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What have I just done?

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First of all, does anybody care?

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Does anybody really wanna know my story?

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Like, isn't that a bit self-indulgent?

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To think that everybody wants to sit

there and spend time reading my story?

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That was my first thought.

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My second thought was,

have I been too honest?

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Because I've admitted that not everything

is working the way that I want it to work.

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I've admitted that at that point, I

wasn't a six figure business owner?

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So would people want coaching from

me now that I've been that honest?

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Would people wanna buy from me?

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And so all of this was

going through my head?

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I literally sat there

thinking, what have I done?

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And then a message came through

and it was from somebody who said.

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Oh my God, I've just read your story.

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I can totally relate to it, like it

really resonates with me and here's why.

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And she'd started to tell me a

little bit about her story and

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the things that were similar.

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And as I was reading that,

another message came through.

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And then another one, and I started to

get all of these messages from these

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women and a lot of them were saying, oh,

thank you so much for being so honest.

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Your story is really relatable

and it's really connected with me.

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Some people said it made

them feel emotional.

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Some people said it was really

inspiring, and I never thought

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my story was inspiring.

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And in amongst those messages were

messages from women who were saying,

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so how do we work with you and

what is it that you can help me do?

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And even some people were saying,

can you help me share my story

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because I think I need to do that.

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I need to share my story.

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And I was completely blown away.

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Like I went from struggling to be

seen and heard in my own group.

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To having people reaching out, saying

to me, how do we work with you?

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And all I'd done different was be really

honest and real about my journey, what had

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got me through the tough times, who I was

now, who I wanted to be, where I wanted

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this group to go, and all of the things

that I wanted to support people with.

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And the story since that day

is a whole nother story, right?

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But everything that has happened since

then and all the things that I've

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created, the book that I wrote, the

courses, the programs, the podcast

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I'm launching, everything started.

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That I went into that group and I saw

just how powerful storytelling is.

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Yeah.

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That's an amazing story.

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I just love how everything has gone

back to that one moment where you

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were brave enough to share your story.

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it'd be really good to share why are

stories so powerful in our marketing?

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Stories are one of the most powerful

things that connects us as humans, right?

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Always has been and always will be.

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It doesn't matter what

the algorithms are doing.

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It doesn't matter what trends or fads

are, popular on social media right now.

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Storytelling's never gonna go anywhere.

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It's never not gonna be powerful.

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As humans, we are hardwired.

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To connect with other humans, right?

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It's right there in

Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

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We need to connect, and stories are such

a good way of connecting with people.

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They grab attention, right they

appeal to our senses and our

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emotions, they make us feel something.

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They can have a real impact on us.

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They can make us reflect on our own story.

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That's often what happened.

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A lot of those messages I got from

women, they were starting to share

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their story because when you hear story,

actually that's only half the story.

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It's what it makes you feel and

what it makes you think about.

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I've got so many examples in my book

of stories where it was actually how

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the story made me feel or made someone

else feel, that's why they're powerful.

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That's why we connect with them.

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And we, we tend to

remember stories, right?

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We don't forget stories.

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We remember them and we pass them on.

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Generation after generation,

after generation.

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So if stories are that powerful and

if they make people, feel connected to

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another person, human to human, then

it makes sense that if we use them in

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our marketing, it's gonna be a really

effective way of having people connect

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with us no matter whether you are B2C,

B2B, whether you sell a product, whether

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you sell a service, whether you are

a coach, whatever your business is.

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At the end of the day, business

is done by people, right?

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Human to human.

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Using storytelling in your marketing

will help you stand out because

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especially now ? especially when people

are turning to AI and they want weeks

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of content at the click of a button.

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The people who take the time to craft and

share compelling stories, and we can talk

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a little bit about what that means, right?

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It doesn't mean it has to be some amazing

narrative that takes people on a journey.

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A story could be two sentences long

? The people who take the time to share

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real, genuine, authentic stories to

connect with people, they will stand

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out, number one, and number two,

they will attract the right people.

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Because if your stories are really

resonating and connecting with

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somebody, there's a good chance.

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They're a good fit for you.

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And I always say, you

know, I love my clients.

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I love the people in Storytelling

Mastery because they're all people

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that came in because they connected

with my content, they connected with my

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stories, they love my emails, and they

were a really, really good fit for me.

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Yeah, totally.

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I feel the same.

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I attract my people into my group

and I think that's mainly through

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storytelling On the podcast.

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I find it a lot harder in writing,

but strangely, if I'm speaking

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out loud, it comes a lot easier.

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So if you are talking to the coach

who thinks, I've shared my story,

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I don't wanna keep sharing it.

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What else is there to say?

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Is everyone gonna get bored of this?

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Tell me more about how we can use

storytelling in our marketing.

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There are so many stories

that you can share.

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The first thing I would just say to

that is I don't know how many times I've

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told that story that I've just told you.

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But every time I tell it.

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Somebody reaches out and says, oh,

that story really resonated with me.

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That story really connected with me.

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It made me feel connected to you.

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So don't hold back on.

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Sharing your story.

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I know you feel like you've told it

a million times, but remember you are

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bringing new people into your world all

the time and they don't know your story.

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I always talk to clients about

having your core story ready to go.

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That story that really, is about what's

led you here doing what you now do.

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And it's a story you should be

able to tell in 30 seconds or 30

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minutes, depending on the situation.

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So.

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That is the first thing I would say is

don't be frightened to share it lots.

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But yes, absolutely.

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You have so many stories to share and if

you just think back over your journey,

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everything that you've done, right, you've

had a lifetime of events and experiences

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and milestones and moments along the way

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? The setbacks, the

challenges, the learnings.

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The insights, the ideas, your

values, your perspective, all of

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the things that have happened.

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You've got a lifetime of those.

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That's not one story.

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That's millions of stories.

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And one of the ways that, I help

people to get started is to just

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think about one of those moments.

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Just choose one moment along

the way and think about.

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What's the story in that moment?

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Because actually trying to cram everything

you've done into one story is too much.

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You're gonna overwhelm.

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It's too much for people

to even process, right?

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They'll probably take one look at

it if it's written down and think,

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whew, I'll save that for later.

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So we want to tell our story

in little bite-sized chunks.

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In my book, I tell little snippets

of my story throughout my book.

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I don't just go, right here's my story

and give the whole, thing in one go.

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So, absolutely, think about

breaking your stories down into

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chapters, down into moments.

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Then you'll realize you'll

have lots and lots of stories.

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And then of course you've

got new stories every day.

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Things that are happening

in your business.

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Your thoughts, your reflections behind the

scenes, all the things that are happening.

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I encourage people to capture

those stories 'cause we soon

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forget them if we don't.

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So it's quite a good idea to keep a

little notebook by your bed at night and

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then just think at the end of every day,

to anything that happened today that

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could be a story that I could share.

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And you might not share it immediately.

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I've got notebook after notebook

of things I've jotted down.

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And sometimes I'll share them

immediately and sometimes I won't.

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I'll save them for later.

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But the trick is to start looking for

them because they're all around you.

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And capture them.

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And I actually get a lot

of inspiration from the tv.

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From the radio, from other people's posts.

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Not copying people, but, I remember,

somebody on LinkedIn telling

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a story about synchronicity.

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And honestly it sparked about five ideas

for stories where there's been real

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synchronicity in my life and that's.

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Some magic has come from that.

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So look all around you for

inspiration all the time.

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'cause there's tons out there.

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Think like a storyteller, like when

you are the things you are already

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doing in your business, putting

a lead magnet together, right?

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Writing a talk or a masterclass, putting

a proposal together, whatever you already

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do that you are sending out that your

ideal clients are going to engage with.

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Think, is there a story

I could weave into this?

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How can I use storytelling to,

to bring these tips to life.

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If you're doing three tips, five

tips, weave in some little stories

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that actually bring that to life.

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A lot of people learn from examples,

I do a thing called story prompts, and

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everybody's always says to me, the example

you give with the prompt is actually.

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The most helpful because I could see how

you'd used that prompt and it sparked

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ideas a lot of people have said to me,

my stories are very different now from

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seeing your examples than if I'd have

just been left to do this on my own.

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Yes it's about looking for opportunities

during the day to weave storytelling into

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the stuff that you are already doing.

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And don't forget, like I said, a story

can be two sentences long I'm not talking

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: 00:17:59

about, that they all have to be great,

big, long, beautifully crafted narratives.

312

: 00:18:06

They could be very short

couple of sentence stories.

313

: 00:18:10

Yeah.

314

: 00:18:10

The trick is to start looking,

capture the stories in a notebook.

315

: 00:18:14

That's what I've written down, the thing

that I struggle with, so I'll ask it in

316

: 00:18:18

case other people struggle with it Also.

317

: 00:18:20

So what I find really difficult is having

the story idea, kind of feeling like,

318

: 00:18:25

there's a lesson in there I definitely

wanna share with my people, but not really

319

: 00:18:29

knowing a structure of how to get it out

of my head and into other people's hands.

320

: 00:18:34

For example, my daughter has

a big spelling test today.

321

: 00:18:38

We were talking about it on the walk in.

322

: 00:18:39

She was really nervous.

323

: 00:18:40

Her friends were messaging us going,

oh my gosh, is the spelling test today.

324

: 00:18:44

And for once we'd actually practiced

all weekend, which is very rare.

325

: 00:18:51

So I thought , it's gonna be okay.

326

: 00:18:53

At least she's tried her best, and the

outcome is out of her hands at this stage.

327

: 00:18:59

So I guess the lesson for my audience in

that is that we can just try our best.

328

: 00:19:04

We don't know what the outcome's gonna be

on that sales call, whatever it might be.

329

: 00:19:09

But all we can do is control what we can

do in terms of preparation and marketing,

330

: 00:19:14

and all the things that we can do in

our businesses to succeed . You've done

331

: 00:19:19

a great job of tying that to a message.

332

: 00:19:22

Yeah.

333

: 00:19:22

But I would have that and it

would be a complete mess that

334

: 00:19:25

I'd think, this is too hard.

335

: 00:19:26

A really nice simple structure to

use as a guideline is the, somebody

336

: 00:19:32

wanted, but so then structure.

337

: 00:19:34

So I'll talk you through it.

338

: 00:19:35

I didn't invent it and it's actually

based on that hero's journey.

339

: 00:19:39

But I'll keep it really, simple.

340

: 00:19:41

Somebody wanted, but so then.

341

: 00:19:42

So the, somebody was your daughter,

so that's who the story is about.

342

: 00:19:45

Okay.

343

: 00:19:46

What does she want, she wanted to

do really well in her test, right?

344

: 00:19:50

She'd practiced all weekend and

she wanted to do really well.

345

: 00:19:53

But the problem was she was

getting herself in a little

346

: 00:19:57

bit of a state about it, right?

347

: 00:19:58

She was getting a little bit anxious.

348

: 00:20:00

She was getting a bit emotional.

349

: 00:20:01

It was all feeling a

little bit overwhelming.

350

: 00:20:04

Somebody wanted, but so, so you were

able to reassure her, remind her

351

: 00:20:10

that she had put the work in, that

the outcome was out of her hands

352

: 00:20:15

she could only do her best and.

353

: 00:20:18

And she's got this right.

354

: 00:20:20

She's probably gonna do, really well.

355

: 00:20:22

She's probably gonna do

way better than she thinks.

356

: 00:20:24

It's just these unhelpful thoughts

that are coming into her mind right now

357

: 00:20:28

that are making her feel a bit anxious.

358

: 00:20:31

And then you can just tie

that back to your audience.

359

: 00:20:34

And this is, this is the power of

knowing your customer story really well.

360

: 00:20:38

We can talk in a second about those

three main types of stories that I

361

: 00:20:42

talk about, but the third one is your

customer story, because the more you

362

: 00:20:46

understand their story, the better

you understand who they are, where

363

: 00:20:50

they are, what they're thinking, how

they're feeling, what they want, what's

364

: 00:20:54

in the way, where they wanna get to.

365

: 00:20:55

All of those things.

366

: 00:20:56

The more you understand their story.

367

: 00:20:59

The easier it's gonna be to speak to them?

368

: 00:21:02

The easier it's gonna be

to make your stories really

369

: 00:21:04

relevant and relatable to them.

370

: 00:21:08

So as you did when you started talking

and you realized that actually,

371

: 00:21:11

yeah, that's how it's relevant to

my audience and tie it back to.

372

: 00:21:16

Do you know what?

373

: 00:21:17

You've got this?

374

: 00:21:18

I know your stuff is very encouraging.

375

: 00:21:20

It's very motivational,

it's very inspiring.

376

: 00:21:22

So that kind of message of you're

doing okay, you're putting the

377

: 00:21:26

work in, like you have got this,

unhelpful thoughts are gonna come in.

378

: 00:21:30

You're gonna doubt yourself sometimes

you're gonna second guess yourself.

379

: 00:21:32

Sometimes you're gonna think that you

haven't got what it takes when you

380

: 00:21:35

see everyone out there, and everybody

else looks like they've got it sussed.

381

: 00:21:39

But you are okay.

382

: 00:21:40

You are on track.

383

: 00:21:41

You are doing okay.

384

: 00:21:42

You are right where you're supposed to be.

385

: 00:21:44

This is a process.

386

: 00:21:45

This is a journey.

387

: 00:21:46

And by the way, nobody's got it sussed?

388

: 00:21:48

We're all on that journey.

389

: 00:21:50

We're all second guessing ourself.

390

: 00:21:52

We're all doing the best that we can do.

391

: 00:21:55

Oh, love it.

392

: 00:21:56

Thank you Susan.

393

: 00:21:57

This is so exciting and I can't wait

to start weaving more stories in.

394

: 00:22:00

Now I've got a bit of a framework.

395

: 00:22:02

And in there you mentioned three

core types of stories that you teach.

396

: 00:22:06

Tell us more about those.

397

: 00:22:07

So the first one is your personal stories.

398

: 00:22:10

A lot of coaches struggle with the

personal stories 'cause they don't

399

: 00:22:13

know how much of them to get across.

400

: 00:22:16

and they don't wanna

make it all about them.

401

: 00:22:18

So I totally get that.

402

: 00:22:20

But we need to let people know who we are.

403

: 00:22:23

We talked earlier about connecting

and people who are a good fit and

404

: 00:22:27

attracting the right people to you.

405

: 00:22:29

You can only do that if you let people

in and let them see who you are.

406

: 00:22:34

So your personal stories are all

the things that you've learned

407

: 00:22:37

along the way, and it's the ups and

the downs, the successes and the

408

: 00:22:41

failures, the highs and the lows.

409

: 00:22:44

I'm not here to tell you to, paint

a perfect picture of yourself.

410

: 00:22:47

Actually, the more real and honest my

stuff is, the more people relate to it.

411

: 00:22:53

The more people connect with it.

412

: 00:22:56

I write at least two

emails a week to my list.

413

: 00:22:59

90% of them have probably

got a story in them.

414

: 00:23:02

Whenever I get a bit vulnerable, you know,

whenever I talk about maybe something

415

: 00:23:06

not working or, that I've got a lot of

personal stuff going on at the moment,

416

: 00:23:10

I've got a very elderly father who's

poorly my daughter hasn't been to school

417

: 00:23:15

since March, because of her anxiety.

418

: 00:23:17

So I've got lots of stuff going on, but

every time I talk about that, people.

419

: 00:23:22

Relate to it so much and feel more

connected to me because I've opened up and

420

: 00:23:27

I've shared a little bit of what's going

on for me, and they can see like, okay,

421

: 00:23:32

other people are having challenges too.

422

: 00:23:34

Even the ones that are out there

and showing up and sending the

423

: 00:23:38

emails and launching the stuff,

they've got stuff going on too.

424

: 00:23:42

Those personal stories help other

people feel seen and heard and

425

: 00:23:47

understood and help them see who

you are and what you are about and

426

: 00:23:52

whether you are a good fit for them.

427

: 00:23:54

And it's why I get people showing up

and my clients get people showing up who

428

: 00:24:00

already know they wanna work with you.

429

: 00:24:02

They already know that you

are the person for them.

430

: 00:24:04

And actually, I haven't done a sales call

for years because nine out of 10 times,

431

: 00:24:09

anybody who gets on a call with me comes

on and says, I feel like I know you.

432

: 00:24:14

They often say to me, it's almost a

bit odd that you don't know me 'cause

433

: 00:24:17

I feel like I know you so well.

434

: 00:24:19

And that's because of my stories.

435

: 00:24:21

It's not because of some slick sales

page, it's not because of the SEO.

436

: 00:24:25

It's not because of all of those marketing

things that we think we've gotta do.

437

: 00:24:28

It's because I share really honest.

438

: 00:24:32

Relatable stories.

439

: 00:24:33

So first one is your personal stories.

440

: 00:24:35

The second one is your business story.

441

: 00:24:38

And that's just more of the what you do.

442

: 00:24:40

If personal stories are who you are,

the business story is what you do.

443

: 00:24:44

So what's that journey look like?

444

: 00:24:45

What's led you here doing what you now do?

445

: 00:24:48

Why this, why did you start this business?

446

: 00:24:50

And of course there'll be overlaps in

your personal stories and that's great.

447

: 00:24:54

We are looking for overlaps.

448

: 00:24:55

We are looking for how these

stories are all connected.

449

: 00:24:58

The business story is where we are

shining the light a little bit more on.

450

: 00:25:03

What does your business stand for?

451

: 00:25:05

Like, why does it exist?

452

: 00:25:06

Who does it serve?

453

: 00:25:07

What problem does it exist to solve?

454

: 00:25:10

All of those kind of things.

455

: 00:25:11

What's the mission?

456

: 00:25:11

What's the vision?

457

: 00:25:12

So we've got your business story.

458

: 00:25:14

And then finally is your customer

story, and it's really, really

459

: 00:25:20

important to understand their story.

460

: 00:25:22

And I'm not talking about the stuff

that other marketers get very excited

461

: 00:25:27

about, like where do they live and

what do they eat and what's their.

462

: 00:25:30

Partner called and how

many kids have they got?

463

: 00:25:32

Yes, that is part of their story, but

I'm talking about what is their story?

464

: 00:25:37

Who are they?

465

: 00:25:38

What's going on for them?

466

: 00:25:39

What are they thinking?

467

: 00:25:40

What are they feeling?

468

: 00:25:42

You know, where are they now?

469

: 00:25:43

Where do they wanna go?

470

: 00:25:45

What's in the way?

471

: 00:25:47

What is it that you can help them with

that's showing up in their story that

472

: 00:25:52

has got them out there looking for help.

473

: 00:25:55

How do you show up as

the guide in their story.

474

: 00:25:58

You are the guide.

475

: 00:25:59

That's your role.

476

: 00:26:00

You are there to take them by their

hand, show them the way, show them

477

: 00:26:03

that they have got what it takes.

478

: 00:26:05

Give them a path.

479

: 00:26:06

Help them to walk down it.

480

: 00:26:09

But you can't do that

unless you know their story.

481

: 00:26:14

The better you know their story,

the more relevant and relatable

482

: 00:26:17

you can make your stories.

483

: 00:26:18

So you need all three and all

three connect and intertwine.

484

: 00:26:23

If you see my visually, for me it's, it's

a ven diagram and they're all overlapped.

485

: 00:26:28

And then in between those, the

intersection in between those stories

486

: 00:26:31

is where you'll find your why.

487

: 00:26:33

It's where you'll find,

who your people are.

488

: 00:26:37

I know you helped.

489

: 00:26:37

People get very specific about

their niche and who they work with.

490

: 00:26:41

For me, that always comes from

people's stories, it's always in there.

491

: 00:26:45

As we unpack their stories, they'll

often have that aha moment about who the

492

: 00:26:49

specific person is that they want to,

493

: 00:26:52

work with and serve, and also your value.

494

: 00:26:55

I talked at the beginning about I

didn't know how to articulate my value.

495

: 00:26:59

And by your value, I don't

mean what you charge.

496

: 00:27:02

What I mean by your value is

what is the value to your ideal

497

: 00:27:08

client of what you help them do.

498

: 00:27:11

If they don't see the value in it.

499

: 00:27:15

They're not gonna buy if they really

see the value, if they really see,

500

: 00:27:20

this is where I am now, and with your

help I can get to here and you are

501

: 00:27:25

gonna guide me and help me get there.

502

: 00:27:28

And if that place that they want

to go is of high value, if it's a

503

: 00:27:33

priority, if it's something they

really, really want, then they'll buy.

504

: 00:27:38

And we can share stories to

help to get all of that across.

505

: 00:27:42

Show don't tell.

506

: 00:27:44

Instead of telling people, this

is why you need to work with me.

507

: 00:27:46

We can share stories to show them

what it is that we help them do.

508

: 00:27:53

I love it.

509

: 00:27:54

So we've got our personal stories, we've

got business stories, and we've got our

510

: 00:27:58

customer story, and they all overlap.

511

: 00:28:01

And it's interesting you talk about the

stories often leading to the business.

512

: 00:28:07

'cause in my program, I start with

this visualization where I get

513

: 00:28:11

them to break down their life into

five or six different chapters.

514

: 00:28:15

And we literally go, okay, from

zero to eight, what happened

515

: 00:28:19

in your life from eight to 16?

516

: 00:28:20

What happens in your life from 16 to this?

517

: 00:28:23

And that often leads to the niche and

who they really want to work with.

518

: 00:28:28

Yeah, absolutely.

519

: 00:28:28

Because they actually get that chance

to really understand all of their value.

520

: 00:28:33

So yeah, I hadn't actually thought of

that until you mentioned how connected

521

: 00:28:38

our stories are to the practical

staff of like, who do we help?

522

: 00:28:42

So we know what stories to tell.

523

: 00:28:43

Now, the next problem that I see

come up a lot is people worrying

524

: 00:28:48

about oversharing and what's okay to

share and what's not okay to share.

525

: 00:28:54

How do you help people

through those worries?

526

: 00:28:56

Yeah, you're right.

527

: 00:28:57

People do have a lot of worries,

about sharing their stories.

528

: 00:29:00

Oversharing is one of them, and really

the key is, to keep your stories concise.

529

: 00:29:06

Unless you are writing a book or creating

something that's meant to belong and

530

: 00:29:10

there's a place for those stories too.

531

: 00:29:12

But if we are talking about

social media and emails, if we're

532

: 00:29:15

talking about marketing, then

we wanna keep it really concise.

533

: 00:29:19

And the way to do that is

to, first of all, think about

534

: 00:29:22

why am I sharing this story?

535

: 00:29:25

What is the point of me sharing it?

536

: 00:29:28

And keep focused on that.

537

: 00:29:30

Keep focused on the purpose of the

story rather than going into the detail

538

: 00:29:35

and giving people probably way more

information than they actually need.

539

: 00:29:40

It's to really tune into what is

the intention behind this story?

540

: 00:29:46

What's the learning or the

insight that I'm sharing?

541

: 00:29:49

What do I want people to take away?

542

: 00:29:51

So if we go back to the

story of your daughter.

543

: 00:29:53

The learning or the takeaway that we

got to at the end was that you've got

544

: 00:29:58

this, you're doing the right things.

545

: 00:29:59

There's gonna be times when you're

feeling overwhelmed or anxious or

546

: 00:30:02

emotional, and we've all been there.

547

: 00:30:04

? But actually, you just keep going.

548

: 00:30:07

As long as you're showing up in the

right way, then you'll get there.

549

: 00:30:12

We are not sharing stories for

the sake of sharing stories.

550

: 00:30:15

It's about really thinking like, why

am I sharing this story and who am I

551

: 00:30:20

sharing it with and what is it that

I want them to take away from that?

552

: 00:30:25

If we focus on that, then we

are less likely to overshare.

553

: 00:30:29

Also, giving yourself a word count.

554

: 00:30:31

I often say to people in my group and

they say, oh, this is just too long.

555

: 00:30:35

And I say, okay, give

yourself a word count.

556

: 00:30:37

Let's say 300 words.

557

: 00:30:38

You will naturally start taking

out the stuff that doesn't

558

: 00:30:41

actually need to be there.

559

: 00:30:43

Because a lot of the time we just

give people too much information.

560

: 00:30:47

I always remind people, where

does a James Bond film start?

561

: 00:30:51

Bang in the middle of the action, right?

562

: 00:30:53

They don't set the scene and tell us

what's gonna happen, and fill us in

563

: 00:30:57

and tell us who all the characters

are and tell us where he is.

564

: 00:31:01

Do they, they've just cut

straight to the chase.

565

: 00:31:04

Literally, he's being

chased across the rooftops.

566

: 00:31:07

So jump into your story.

567

: 00:31:08

You know, you don't need to

give people a load of background

568

: 00:31:12

information, just jump straight into

the moment that you wanna share.

569

: 00:31:16

Very, very exciting.

570

: 00:31:17

So now we're talking about frequency.

571

: 00:31:20

How often should we be

sharing our stories?

572

: 00:31:23

A lot of people say, oh, well where

does storytelling fit in with the

573

: 00:31:28

value posts and the tips and all

the other stuff, I don't think of

574

: 00:31:32

those things as separate things.

575

: 00:31:34

Right?

576

: 00:31:35

A lot of people say when they work

with me or they read my book or they

577

: 00:31:39

come into my program, a lot of people

say, I thought storytelling was gonna

578

: 00:31:43

be another strategy I had to master.

579

: 00:31:45

But I've realized it can be the strategy.

580

: 00:31:49

It can be your marketing.

581

: 00:31:52

I don't tend to think of stories as a

standalone separate post that you weave

582

: 00:31:58

in every third post or fourth post.

583

: 00:32:01

I personally, weave stories into

everything and, a lot of people realize

584

: 00:32:07

it's actually the missing piece.

585

: 00:32:08

It's what was missing from their emails.

586

: 00:32:10

It's what was missing

from their social media.

587

: 00:32:13

When they start to think like a

storyteller and start to weave

588

: 00:32:16

storytelling into everything they

do, then they see stuff come to life.

589

: 00:32:22

They see people engage more.

590

: 00:32:24

You know, when I've got something like

a five day challenge coming up, I do

591

: 00:32:27

a lot of call to action post, right?

592

: 00:32:29

I do a lot of, I've got

a five day challenge.

593

: 00:32:31

Here's the signup page.

594

: 00:32:32

Come and join it.

595

: 00:32:34

Those posts will get a three

likes, maybe four likes, because

596

: 00:32:38

it's a call to action post.

597

: 00:32:39

It's not something to engage with.

598

: 00:32:41

The minute I put a story post out,

and the last challenge I did, I put

599

: 00:32:46

a story post out that started, I

once put 10,000 pounds on a credit

600

: 00:32:50

card even though I was in debt.

601

: 00:32:53

That grabs people's attention.

602

: 00:32:55

That post went crazy.

603

: 00:32:57

So suddenly I finished it by

talking about my five day challenge.

604

: 00:33:00

I still had the same link to the

same signup page, but the story posts

605

: 00:33:04

got loads of likes and comments and

interactions, and so more people saw it.

606

: 00:33:10

Than all of my call to action

posts put together, I'm not

607

: 00:33:13

saying don't do other posts.

608

: 00:33:14

You absolutely, you know, you

wanna have a nice mix of content.

609

: 00:33:19

You wanna teach, you wanna share, you

wanna show, you wanna give, you want

610

: 00:33:23

that nice mix of content, but you

storytelling at every opportunity.

611

: 00:33:31

I mentioned earlier stories

can be two sentences long.

612

: 00:33:33

So let me give you an example

of a two sentence story.

613

: 00:33:36

and this is one that I used in an email

and it was that, Chris Harran told me

614

: 00:33:43

that he was gonna launch a television

show called Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?

615

: 00:33:49

And he told me the format of it, and I

said, I don't think that's gonna work.

616

: 00:33:58

Luckily he didn't listen to me.

617

: 00:34:01

He went on and produced the show and it

was a phenomenal success around the world.

618

: 00:34:07

So if you're thinking about

starting a TV show, I'm probably

619

: 00:34:10

not the person to come to.

620

: 00:34:12

But if you are looking to write stories

that connect with people and bring you

621

: 00:34:16

more clients, I'm the person to come to.

622

: 00:34:18

And then I went into my call to action

about my whatever I was promoting.

623

: 00:34:25

Really short story, right?

624

: 00:34:27

But it made people laugh.

625

: 00:34:28

It got people talking.

626

: 00:34:29

It created a little bit of intrigue.

627

: 00:34:31

People wanted to know

how I knew Chris Tarrent.

628

: 00:34:33

So even a, two sentence story can still

do a really good job of engaging people.

629

: 00:34:39

Oh, I love that one so much.

630

: 00:34:41

Especially 'cause like you say, if I'm

running a webinar or something, the

631

: 00:34:44

one thing that puts me off running a

webinar is saying, come to my webinar.

632

: 00:34:48

Come to my webinar for two

weeks solid beforehand.

633

: 00:34:52

So great to think about how

to make that more exciting.

634

: 00:34:56

And also the more story posts you put out.

635

: 00:34:59

They're the ones that get the engagement.

636

: 00:35:01

They're the ones that get the reach.

637

: 00:35:02

So then when you do put a call to

action, post out way more people

638

: 00:35:06

are gonna see it because they've

been engaging with your stuff.

639

: 00:35:09

Yeah.

640

: 00:35:09

I did a post on Saturday about my dog.

641

: 00:35:12

My dog passed away on Friday.

642

: 00:35:15

It got so much engagement.

643

: 00:35:17

It's I don't know, nearly up to 200

likes and over a hundred comments

644

: 00:35:21

and loads and loads of engagement.

645

: 00:35:23

Now, I didn't do it because I want

people to see what I'm selling this week.

646

: 00:35:27

That's not why I did it, but it just

is such a good reminder that people

647

: 00:35:34

want real, they want, authentic.

648

: 00:35:37

I can tell that everybody on my feed

that commented is a doggy lover right?

649

: 00:35:40

It's the real dog lovers that

jumped in and were like, oh no.

650

: 00:35:43

Even stuff like that, helps people

to feel like they know a little bit

651

: 00:35:49

more about you, I talked about the

fact that we live on a farm and how

652

: 00:35:52

much my dog loved all the interesting

smells and all the droppings that he

653

: 00:35:57

could be hoover up all day, right?

654

: 00:35:59

So you just letting people in a little

bit to see a little bit of your world,

655

: 00:36:04

who you are, what you're about, and those

stories always do really, really well.

656

: 00:36:09

Yeah, totally.

657

: 00:36:11

I'm so sorry to hear about that.

658

: 00:36:12

I dunno how you are

speaking without crying.

659

: 00:36:14

So I'll move on before I cry.

660

: 00:36:16

I know you mentioned

earlier story prompts.

661

: 00:36:19

Are you happy to share one story prompt to

get our listeners sharing a story today?

662

: 00:36:25

Yes, of course.

663

: 00:36:27

How about when have you taken a

leap of faith in your business?

664

: 00:36:33

When have you decided to do

something when you didn't know

665

: 00:36:39

whether it was gonna work out?

666

: 00:36:40

Like a real leap of faith?

667

: 00:36:42

And actually that story that I just

mentioned where I said, i'd put $10,000 on

668

: 00:36:47

a credit card even though I was in debt.

669

: 00:36:50

The reason I did that was because I wanted

to fly out to Nashville and train with a

670

: 00:36:54

company called StoryBrand, in Nashville.

671

: 00:36:56

It was the beginning of 2019.

672

: 00:36:59

And it was a huge investment.

673

: 00:37:01

And, I really didn't have the money at

the time to do it, but I took a huge

674

: 00:37:05

leap of faith and I just knew in my

heart, in my gut, I just absolutely

675

: 00:37:10

knew that it was the right thing to

do and that it would really help me.

676

: 00:37:15

To work out, what I wanted my

business to look like, how I wanted to

677

: 00:37:19

structure it, what I wanted to offer.

678

: 00:37:22

Luckily my husband is incredibly

supportive and he said, look, if you

679

: 00:37:26

feel that this is the right thing

to do for your business, then do it.

680

: 00:37:30

So I took that huge, hugely per

faith and boy has it paid off.

681

: 00:37:34

Right.

682

: 00:37:35

It's set me off on a path

that has been incredible.

683

: 00:37:39

But yeah, I sitting on that

plane flying out to Nashville,

684

: 00:37:43

$10,000 on my credit card.

685

: 00:37:45

I remember thinking,

God, I hope this works.

686

: 00:37:49

Oh, that's amazing.

687

: 00:37:50

And look how it set you up for success

in your business for years to come.

688

: 00:37:54

Thank you so, so much, Susan.

689

: 00:37:55

I know we could talk all day, but we

better finish up soon, so please share

690

: 00:38:00

how people can find you and anything

you've got to help them with storytelling.

691

: 00:38:05

Yeah, absolutely.

692

: 00:38:06

So, my website is

thebusinessofstories.com.

693

: 00:38:10

And I've got a really

great place to get started.

694

: 00:38:13

I've got a, storytellers pack.

695

: 00:38:15

There's prompts in there.

696

: 00:38:17

I talk you through my process and

the personal stories and the business

697

: 00:38:21

stories and customer stories, there's

all sorts of resources in there.

698

: 00:38:25

There's also a link to

download my book for free.

699

: 00:38:27

If you wanna buy a hard copy

that you can get it on Amazon

700

: 00:38:31

or any of the online bookstores.

701

: 00:38:34

But yeah, the Storytellers Pack,

I mean, I'm sure you'll put the

702

: 00:38:36

link in the show notes, but it's

thebusinessof tories.com/pack.

703

: 00:38:40

That's a really good way to get started.

704

: 00:38:42

And on LinkedIn and Facebook,

I'm Susan Payton uk.

705

: 00:38:46

Love it.

706

: 00:38:47

Thank you so, so much, Susan.

707

: 00:38:48

You've re lit my fire for

storytelling and I cannot wait to

708

: 00:38:52

get one out after this episode.

709

: 00:38:54

Amazing.

710

: 00:38:55

I can't wait to see it.

711

: 00:38:57

Microphone (Samson Q2U Microphone):

Thank you so much for listening to this

712

: 00:38:59

episode of Women in the Coaching Arena.

713

: 00:39:01

I have a mess of free resources on

my website joannalottcoaching.com.

714

: 00:39:08

That's Joanna with an A

and Lott with two T's.

715

: 00:39:12

joannalottcoaching.com.

716

: 00:39:14

And I'll also put links in the show notes.

717

: 00:39:18

Let me know if you found

this episode useful.

718

: 00:39:20

Share it with a friend and

leave me a review, and I will

719

: 00:39:24

personally thank you for that.

720

: 00:39:26

Remember to trust yourself, believe

in yourself and be the wise Gardner

721

: 00:39:31

who keeps on watering the seed.

722

: 00:39:33

Get into the arena dare, greatly and try.