Here’s something I see often. You’re trying to explain a service to your clients. They don’t get it.
So…you tell them more about you. Your “why.” Your origin story.
And you tell them more about your process. What are the steps. What’s the intake process.
And they’re still not convinced.
Often this happens because you’re dealing with a service that’s new to the world.
A lot of small businesses offer those services today. If you’re a coach or consultant, you may be offering expertise on challenges that didn’t exist even 5 years go.
Your solutions may not have existed last year…or you may have created a solution that nobody else offers.
Sometimes I’ve seen clients make it even harder for clients to figure out what they do. If you create a title like, “Business Activity Specialist,” or “Empathic Business Architect,” your audience has no clue. Recently I came across an “Empathic Business Architect.” What’s that?
Recently I got an email about something that seemed interesting – something like “Course Maximization Service.” (I won’t use the real name.)
After spending a good 15 minutes on their website, I still have no idea what they’re offering, let alone whether I’m likely to benefit from their services and if so, how.
The way to explain your services is to use 2 kinds of stories. Both stories start with the client. Flip your story. Tell a story from the client’s perspective.
You can use this approach whether you are explaining your services to prospective clients or to your support services.
As a copywriter, I’m often asked to write copy for a service with a lot of great benefits…yet it’s not clear how those benefits will transform a client’s experience. Alternatively, I get asked to take a business owner’s story and turn it into marketing copy.
Either way, it’s a challenge.
I go into detail – with examples – in Podcast Episode #109 of the Strategic Storytelling Podcast. It’s short and direct, with lots of examples…and I’d love to know what you think.