To build a real brand, you must tell a true story

All - in life and in business - knows the value of a good story. Whether it's your grandmother or the legendary CEO of Southwest Airlines, Herb Kelleher doing the story, a good story can attract, entertain and educate. Marketing has always been to tell a good story - as the adage goes, "there are no truths, only stories." And brands or companies without a solid base and an interesting history, are doomed to die convincingly. So when you think about it, the idea that a Lexus is better than a BMW or BBQ ribs taste better if made by a chef from Texas is not about taste, but the stories they tell.

Yet most of us have been conditioned to believe that the commercial communication must be clear, rational and objective, with no room for emotion or subjective thinking. But great communicators know that the best way to inspire, motivate and persuade others is to instill the human element through the telling of simple stories.

Too many entrepreneurs spend too much time talking about the amazing features of their product, service or company. They drone on and we saturate with jargon that smells good, but it leaves us hungry for real food. What happens? The prospect goes to sleep, or worse, simply goes away. They do not want or need to hear your bells and whistles. They want to feel like a real train.

How can you communicate what you and your brand is all about? That's where the power of history lies.

Using stories is good for all businesses and owners of small businesses, stories can provide a benefit. Here are two ways in which the use of history can help you reach and maintain your customers.

1. Create a story about your ideal customer or target.

- We say that working men's clothing store. You are going to write a fictional account of a visit to a target customer, we will call "Max". When Max comes in, what you wearing right now? What are people saying his clothes on him and his work? What's on her mind? It needs to look a certain way for his work or for casual wear? Not his clothes to do something else? Max has a family or single? Gay or straight? What a difference it makes in its budget? How many times has come into the store? What do you know of Max wearing clothes that might make him feel good about himself?

Actually writing a short story or vignette on your goal, you will need to identify traits that are authentic and specific factors its decision on what you buy. The more of these qualities that you can list, the more likely you will be able to predict their behavior in order to be prepared with an approach to meet their needs. Meet their needs means making a sale. But for the process to work, you must write the "story", otherwise you will continue to think about your prospects in vague or general. The point is that the prospects are real people, not a demographic group.

2. It tells a story of how you helped solve the problem of a client.

- In this scenario, you are an architect who has designed a new office for a consulting firm. In the story that describes how to write before she arrived, the customer has met with the dean in his living room or a Starbucks. With the office created for her, she looks more professional customers see it as more successful. Because there are less distractions now, is able to work more and increase the number of clients it serves, thereby increasing its turnover. The point here is that instead of telling prospects about your credentials in architecture, or images of past work, you are actually telling them how your work made into a business that leads to the real goal - more sales.

Again, you must write this in a story form - where there is a beginning, middle and end - because you want the reader to really see and feel how the character of the business, which is actually a past client - has been improved based on what you have done for them. When people read the descriptions in this form, it is easier for them to identify with the person being described. The more you identify with the person most likely to hire to do the work for them. In this way, the story takes the reader from being a passive observer to be an active participant, which leads them to want to have the same experience. In this way, they will want to use their services.

My recommendation is that two different groups of crafting stories. The first group represents clients or customers that you feel would be more attracted to your product or service. These stories will help you identify and better serve new customers. Groups are constituted under real-life accounts of success or "stories" that can be used as part of promotional materials and on your website. Prospects will be able to read how you helped solve a problem for someone whose situation is similar to them.

Stories have been with us since the beginning of time, are the building blocks of civilization. Like music, the stories have no limits - are part of the universal language. Why not use them to promote and grow our businesses?

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Besides being a frequent speaker on marketing and branding, owns and operates Alan Siege Small Business Management Consulting (SBMC), a consulting firm focused on small businesses. Objective SBMC guide is to help businesses improve the way they tell their story to attract more customers and corporate clients. To learn more and / or to maintain the company, visit the company Web site at www. SBMC. Biz, or e-mail address Alan.Siege sbmc.biz @ ......