Some years ago a well-known marketing expert wrote about a lesson he’d learned when the doorbell rang. He was leading a webinar. His parents showed up for a visit earlier than expected. He couldn’t leave them standing outside in the cold. So he explained apologetically to the webinar attendees, rescued his parents and returned.
His lesson?
People want to believe you’re human. They don’t think less of you because you answered the door.
But is that the real lesson?
Around the same time, I was also leading a webinar. It was a Thursday morning. At the time, I had a dog and a dog walker.
On this particular day, the dog walking company sent a substitute. She was having trouble with my key so she knocked. I had to let her in: the dog was jumping around and we’d soon lose attention amidst a frenzy of barking.
I made the mistake of explaining why we had a brief interruption. Some people applauded; they had dogs too.
But a few misunderstood. “Your dog walker should have a key,” they reprimanded.
You could argue that the critics aren’t important. “They’ll never buy from you anyway,” you could say.
I’d draw a lesson about telling personal stories.
First, it depends on you. The story has to be congruent with you, your archetype, and your style.
Second, it depends on the story. People could relate to interruptions from confused parents. Dogwalkers, not so much.
If you’re a Role Model archetype, you’ll generate a strong, positive response when you share personal stories. Your audience wants them.
And you’ll find episodes in your life that will make warm stories to help you connect.
You can explore this topic on my podcast episode #117, where I interview a quintessential, extremely successful Role Model archetype. Click here to learn more and listen on your favorite platform.