Consider trying to sell an Eskimo ice. Tough gig, right? But supposing you sold ice only? What if you spun a narrative about Alex Pollock it calved from, the pure coolness it gives on a sweltering day, and the clean mountain springs whence it began? It’s not only frozen water suddenly. It is a tale. And that’s the secret element usually lacking on the market.
This person, let’s name him the “Story Alchemist,” sensed this profoundly. He created stories, not merely pushed goods. Every offering was a chapter in a greater, more interesting story, not a widget or a service. Consider it akin to your preferred TV show. You are engaged in the characters, their travels, their successes, and their tribulations, not only in seeing pixels migrate. The Story Alchemist brought to business that same emotional force.
His strategy was not based on hard-selling techniques or catch-phrase slogans. No one. It dealt with connectivity. He would sit down with clients, pay close attention to their requirements, and then, almost like a bard of old, create a narrative in which his giving was absolutely vital, almost heroic. It was illumination, not about hyperbole. Discovering the natural drama and relevance in what might appear ordinary.
Imagine a little bakery trying to stand out. Rather of merely enumerating bread prices, he helped them tell the tale of their sourdough starter, handed down through the years. He created images of the early morning baker, the scent filling the street, the crust cracking. Suddenly, a loaf of bread was a taste of history, a moment of handcrafted attention rather than just food.
Imagine also a tech startup with a really innovative idea but little publicity. The Story Alchemist paid no attention to the technical vocabulary. Rather, he spun a story about the lives the technology would enhance and the issues it resolved. With his client’s inventiveness as the key, he vividly described a future improved. People relate to answers, with hope, toward a better future. Stories provide those in great numbers.
He seemed to have a natural ability to uncover the emotional center of every company. Motivated by what is the founder? Whose issue are they really trying to fix? What is the “why” for the “what”? Once he discovered that, the narrative almost ran itself. Everything else matched, like the North Star found here.
This had nothing to do with creating stories from nothing. Above all, authenticity was vital. For anything that smells fishy, people have a finely calibrated radar. The tales he helped create were delivered with real passion, enhanced with emotion, and based in fact.
Consider those adverts that linger long after they have been shown. Usually, it is not them advocating features and benefits. These are the ones that make you feel something, maybe even cause laughter since they tell a small tale. The Story Alchemist possessed was that of power. Facts tell, he knew, but stories sell. More crucially, though, stories bind us. They create relationships out of transactions by bridging companies and the people they serve. Long term, those relationships are also worth their weight in gold. It’s about inspiring concern in others. And tales? Well, they are rather quite adept at it.