One of the best strategies to quickly establish credibility, get known, and differentiate yourself in the marketplace is to share your signature story. A signature story can be:
• An intriguing strategic message that enables a company to enhance its brand;
• Your own personal account of how you got to where you are today; or
• How you overcame adversity, transitioned into your chosen profession, and developed your signature product or program.
When presented authentically, you connect with your audience on an emotional level. Signature stories also represent a signature asset that can provide inspiration both inside and outside of a company.
If you ever heard someone at Disney speak about it’s founder, Walt Disney, they do a fantastic job of describing the thoughtful approach he took, the culture, and the training, processes, and systems in place.
Over time, you become well-known for this story. You become so good at telling your story that people will request it because you enrolled them into it.
As you know, my signature story is my tire iron story. Moments after questioning if starting a business was the right decision, a tire iron popped up from the freeway, impaled the steel hood of my car and crashed through my windshield missing me by four inches. Each police officer that came on scene said, “You’re on this earth for a reason.” It was my wake up call. It created an instant shift in the way I approached my business. I went from having a few clients to learning everything I could about systematizing and monetizing my business.
As a result, I created a proprietary system and approach which I continue to use and teach that continues to show business owners how to scale, systematize, and align their business. Identifying with my story and the outcomes that are possible are the reasons why my clients end up hiring me. It speaks to them because I was in their shoes at one point and they have a solution. Clients tell me they have struggled bringing in prospects automatically; but after seeing the results I have achieved by taking a systems approach to profitability, they see that they can have alignment, prosperity, and peace of mind while scaling their business.
You can use your Signature Story paired with a Signature Program to pull in clients when speaking. A key strategy in any good speaking engagement is to connect with your audience. A good way to develop instant rapport is to share your core story or message that is a unique expression of you and/or your company. What can be seen as an ordinary experience becomes an amazing story, especially when you tie it into learning a life lesson or even overcoming adversity.
The advantages to weaving your Signature Program’s key solutions into your Signature Story are that you distinguish your company brand, add significant value, and leave your audience wanting more.
What’s your Signature Story and how can you integrate your Signature Program into it?
If inspired to create your Signature Program that distinguishes your company from all others (and a plan to market it) in just two days, join us for the Create Your Signature Program practicum on September 25-26, 2020. Consistent with our commitment to your well-being, onsite physically-distanced spots at our Livonia, Michigan location are limited although online spaces are available. Please indicate your preference in the notes section when registering.
Have you ever found yourself listening to one of those infomercials and being truly captivated by the message even though in your head you might have thought, “This is so hokey? They’re really embellishing how difficult it is to clean with a regular mop.”