SUCCESS COMES FROM WHO YOU ARE

It’s not what you do but who you are that will help you achieve success in your small business.

First, let’s look at who you are and what components exist in your life that others can relate to. Some basics include food, hometown, travel, sports, relationships, love, and family. Together, these components build the essence of who you are, your story.

Let me share an experience I had recently: I invited a potential supplier to my office to find out more about their service. My question was, “Tell me about yourself”. I spent the next hour and a half listening to stories about her clients and how she helped them through difficulties.

During the conversation she managed to squeeze in her educational achievement and what the string of letters after her name on her business card meant.

I believe that in today’s world there are many competent people who can perform a service or provide a needed product. What a customer wants, same as I want, is someone to relate to, to trust and even like. They are not hiring your product/service they want a person.

This brings me back to one of my favorite topics and that is “Your Story”. People remember stories. For example, many people can tell the story of how Spider Man came into existence, or how Superman came about. There is power to a great story and great stories are repeated over and over again.

Great stories should form the foundation of a good marketing plan. Stories take different forms and grow with new experiences that can be shared. Does your story bear repeating?

Someone new will always come along with a “newer, cheaper or faster” product or service; and if your point of reference with your target market is only price, you will lose. On the positive side, no one can replace you and your story which developed the initial relationship.

You are the biggest and most important asset in your business. You have the ability to take your business to the highest possible level. You can accomplish that if you share more of yourself , and then having others tell your tale for you.

Every story, if it is sincere and if it tells of the burning passion that brought you to this point, will become memorable and it will build your legacy.

When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change!