Just Story It

Ha ha -- I love these 10 story tips for effective e-commerce! They hold true for any website, but if you've got an e-commerce site, the author Martin (Marty) Smith makes the link between storytelling and conversion to buyers.

The 'Be Quiet' tip makes me smile.  And his examples of 'About' pages are classics.

So do yourself a favor and check out Smith's 10 tips. You can see how well you are doing, plan the tweaks you need to do, or decide on a major upgrade.

This review was written by Karen Dietz for her curated content on business stoytelling at www.scoop.it/t/just-story-it 

Today I'm curating 2 articles on an essential storytelling skill -- listening.

I like this first article because it makes the point that when we are evoking and listening to the stories of our prospects and customers, our ears need to be tuned to listening for their needs.

It's easy to get caught up in the drama of the story. But while you are listening, are you also trying to hear what needs are being expressed?

Connecting with the needs of customers/prospects is where all the gold is. If the stories you share in return do not connect with those needs, your business does not grow.

There's a handy chart that helps explain this, and some helpful perspectives.

But the article left me wondering, "So how do I really listen for those needs? What do I have to do that I'm not doing now?"

So the next article focuses on those how-to tips.

Happy listening!

This review was written by Karen Dietz for her curated content on business storytelling at www.scoop.it/t/just-story-it 

I love this quick SlideShare program about what makes presentations rock that really packs a punch.

All my smart, capable MBA students struggle with creating compelling persuasive presentations. All of my senior executives struggle with the same.

So what would Steve Jobs do? How do you create a compelling presentation that brings results?

As this SlideShare shows us, it is all about distilling your presentation down to its core essence -- and then sharing it as a story, with stories, and with strong visuals. But there is much more to this program than that message -- so take a few minutes to flip through it and dig into its contents. You will be glad you did.

Wake up people's brains! Follow the rules given here. They work.

Yet if we know what to do, why don't we do it? Because it takes time, as this program says.

But think of it this way: can you affort NOT to invest the time when money and business and your reputation is on the table? Nope.

This review was written by Karen Dietz for her curated content on business storytelling at www.scoop.it/t/just-story-it 

What another great post from Rohit Bhargava.

You've gathered your stories, spent time crafting them, practiced them time and again, and then when you tell it to a customer or prospect, you bomb.

Arrggghhh!! How frustrating! So what's a biz storyteller to do? Read Bhargava's post and his 'Do Not Do This' list!

I chuckled when I read the 2 pieces of advice he finds people usually receive:

1. Tell more stories.
2. Use bigger fonts.

LOL -- neither one of these will work!

Find out where you are making your mistakes -- and go fix them. Thanks Rohit for putting this insightful article together!

This review was written by Karen Dietz for her curated content on busines storytelling at www.scoop.it/t/just-story-it 

Storytelling is never mentioned in this article, but it is all about storytelling in business.

I so appreciate the author's point that being perfect -- giving that perfect presentation; telling that story absolutely perfectly -- has changed. Being a recovering perfectionist, I say "Thank heavens!"

For years as I've worked with leaders I have practically abandoned the perfect polished story, realizing that authenticity and realism will go much farther.

So you flub up a bit in telling a story. Your audience will appreciate your humanism.

As the author Rohit Bhargava says, just be yourself. You will have more fun and make a bigger impact.

There are lots of good insights and take-aways from this article so go take the time to read it. It's short and a nice emotional boost. Enjoy!

This review was written by Karen Dietz for her curated content on business storytelling atwww.scoop.it/t/just-story-it

Hey -- what a great example that Michael Harris has put together for us! Here are two examples -- one of a story used in sales that DID NOT work. In other words, no sale resulted.

In the second example we have a story that DOES work -- resulting in a sale.

If you are incorporating stories into your sales process, then this post is for you. We need more examples of what works and what does not work in order to refine our storytelling and grow our businesses.

Enjoy this post and I hope you get some good ideas for how to tweak your stories for better results!

This review was written by Karen Dietz for her curated content on business storytelling at www.scoop.it/t/just-story-it 

Wow -- what a great use of stories at Hopleaf bar in Chicago! This is one business who's doing storytelling right.

Here in San Diego, CA we have a hot hot hot micro-brew industry winning all kinds of awards. Now they just need to follow Hopleaf's lead and connect their stories to their beers to boost sales even more.

Hmmm...sounds like I need to take a wander down to my local pub Hamilton's (100 different brews available and counting) for a draft and to whisper in their ear :)

For your business, how can you do the same as Hopleaf?

This review was written by Karen Dietz for her curated content on business storytelling atwww.scoop.it/t/just-story-it 

Author Tim Keelan of StoryQuest writes a great article here about ways for ANY business to think about its storytelling.

Namely, that stories are universal, but no story is universal.

That means creating really targeted stories.

Keelan has lots of insights to share with us about this truism, and ways to get it done.

If you want to be a sharper storyteller -- one who is able to grow their business through sharing stories -- then you will want to read this article and follow Keelan's advice!

This review was written by Karen Dietz for her curated content on business storytelling at www.scoop.it/t/just-story-it 

This is a quick but very useful article about what NOT to do when beginning a story.

The post is geared toward creating sales copy -- on your website or promo materials.

And here is what I love -- the author, Nick Usborne, explains why 'hooks' often don't work and gives an example.

Then he shares an example of what does work. 

Beginning and ending a story are two areas where most people have trouble. Usborne helps us get started in our storytelling the right way.

In the end he elevates story sharing from a simple transaction (let me hook you so I can sell you something) to relationship marketing/sales (let's get to know each other so you can evaluate whether my product/service is a good fit for you).

Thanks Nick for these great insights and tips!

This post was written by Karen Dietz for her curated content on business storytelling at www.scoop.it/t/just-story-it 

While this article focuses on reading, think of all the biz stories you tell in your content creation across platforms -- blogs, websites, emails, articles, presentations, videos, digital stories, and the like. 

The results will be the same. And the research holds true for sharing stories in person, too.

It is fascinating that the more a listener is engage in a story, the more empathy grows over time. People become more empathetic through storytelling.

What's the take-away here for businesses? If you want emotional engagement and people feeling empathy towards you and your company, share stories.

But not any old story. Share stories with characters they can relate to. If they can't relate, no engagement, no empathy. And it must be told in a way that people can connect to. In other words, deliver a story badly and you won't get the engagement, empathy, or result you are seeking.

Leaders need to know this when sharing stories about values, vision, change efforts, etc. Marketers need to know this for brand loyalty. Small businesses and entrepreneurs need to know this for relationship sales.

This is a very short article with powerful points. Even better, there's a link to the original research so you can really get all the insights.

This review was written by Karen Dietz for her curated content on business storytelling at www.scoop.it/t/just-story-it

I've started watching this 1:38:55 hour video by JD Schramm at Stanford University's business school on concise storytelling and I already know I'm going to love it.

Schramm does a marvelous job teaching storytelling and you can find his first video "How To Tell Your Story For Impact" (it is just as long but excellent) in this curation. Here's the link: http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/news/headlines/schramm_impact_2011.html 

Now he is tackling how to make business storytelling short, sweet, and to the point. It's geared towards leaders but anyone will benefit from watching this. Apply these lessons to marketing, branding, content creation, and sales, too.

So sit back and enjoy. I know it is going to be well worth it. If I find it isn't, I'll come back and rewrite this review!

This review was written by Karen Dietz for her curated content on business storytelling atwww.scoop.it/t/just-story-it

What a great article about influencing, moving people to action, and sales.

Biz storytelling is all about that. Yet there's ambivalence around it too. Who wants to be a snarky salesman?!

Enter Dan Pink, one of my favorite authors, and his new book To Sell is Human. The author of this article, Heidi Grant Holvorson, reviews Pink's book and makes fabulous points on her own.

As Halvorson points out, Pink says that moving people (selling, persuading, influencing) is an essential component of nearly everyone's job in the modern workplace.

Doing so well and effectively without being a slime ball means making sure the ideas and products with genuine merit do the moving.

This helps avoid the traps of manipulation and intimidation. 

I really like Halvorson's insights, her willingness to tackle the stereotypes of sales, and bring us Pink's latest work.

I've commented before on transactional storytelling (using stories for sales) -- not because I think it is bad, but because I don't want us to lose sight that there is much more to business storytelling than at the level of mere transaction.

Pink, I think, helps us frame influence and moving people to action as we tell our stories in sales/influence/persuasion functions (these are not synonymous terms, BTW) -- in a way that really works. Now I certainly want to get his book to add to the others of his in my library.

Anyway, thought you should see this article. Lots of good material here (and it is not long). I hope you gain more comfort with sales and storytelling, and be able to conduct your influence/sales work in your business or organization with more confidence.

This review was written by Karen Dietz for her curated content on business storytelling atwww.scoop.it/t/just-story-it