Is the Key to Your Success Staring You in the Face?

You’ve heard everyone tell you, “to get business success, you’ve got to find your niche”, but it’s bloody hard…even when the answer is hiding in plain sight.

This week, I had a really rewarding experience when I saw the moment that the answers to the questions that can unlock future success and prosperity, dawned on the person I was with...and the excitement of fresh possibilities and opportunities lit up their face like New Year’s Eve fireworks on the Thames.

Let me share what happened, and how we arrived there, as it may well help you too…

I’m in the coffee queue at one of the coolest networking events in the South West of England, (and by coolest, I mean, friendly, engaging and hilarious), and I say hi to Bob, (that’s not his real name), who I’ve not met before. We exchange the usual pleasantries, and then this conversation happened…

“I’m about to start up a new business in the financial services arena. I recently left a senior job in the corporate world that involved a lot of travelling and rather than try to find another job, I thought I’d make a change, and get some balance back into my life.”

“What made you choose financial services Bob?”

“Well, after leaving my job, I took a look at my pension, and I realised how little I knew about what my financial situation would be like after I retired, which isn’t that far away! It wasn't as I'd expected, so, I started doing the research on pensions, and began looking at how I could grow what I had. I got such great results and enjoyed it, that I thought I’d retrain to become a financial advisor.”

“Who’s your customer going to be?”

“That’s what I’m struggling with Sarah. It could be corporate, business owners or individuals. I’ve got a lot of experience in the corporate world, and I think business owners need help planning for the future and protecting their assets. A friend sells a complementary product, and he has over 350 business owner contacts that he is going to introduce me to.”

“Wow, that’s great… and I also think you’ve got a lot of insight and information that individuals would want too, Bob. Is there a way that you could put a give-away on your website for everyday people, that could benefit from your pension success? Then you could be growing your list of potential individual customers in the background.”

“Yes, I’m sure there are lots of people who are in the same situation I was.”

“It’s a great story you have to tell, that people will relate to, and that will make them go “Wow… I’m not sure what state my pension is in… I could do with some help.” If you could share your story, you could impact more people at the same time.”

“Yes, rather than generate leads 121, I could speak at one of these events, or do a free workshop. That would help loads more people, and generate multiple leads for less of my time.”

“Exactly!”

I could see that Bob was proud of what he’d done with his pension, I could see how passionate he was when he was talking about it, and that he had a great story to tell. Nothing sells better than stories, because they enable people to have an emotional connection with your product or service. If you find yourself telling people a story about something you’ve done in your life or business that you found success in, and that you’re proud of…and that other people find a challenge…chances are that might just be the thing you should be doing to help people, and make money!

Speaking is an amazing way to impact groups of people, and grow your business. I love coaching my clients to discover their story, to see how their success can solve problems for others, and how they can structure that story so that it speaks to the pain of their potential customer, and generates leads and sales.

If you want to find out more about how to use stories to grow your brand or business, there’s a storytelling mini-series in my podcast, The Speaking Club, (episode 5, 7 & 9), and you can listen to them here.

Have fun finding and telling your story!