How To Market Your Personal Brand: Tell The Story Behind It

Have you ever heard of the "Cody Wyoming Colon Cleans" or the "Columbus Ohio Diet", or the "El-Paso Texas fruit rub?" No, of course you haven’t. they don’t exist. But there is a good bet you have heard of the Himalayan Diet, or Siberian Ginseng, or even better the Rain Forest berry that cures all ailments. Why are the best cures or solutions to something always references to areas on the other side of the world?



I do not want to get anyone upset who is selling a product from any of these locations; but I find it interesting that before a product really takes off it first needs a great story. Just as people buy people, they also buy stories and usually personal stories. We all want to hear about a great story and feel like we are part of something.



The question then is how do we take this knowledge and benefit from it with our products and or services? We need to tell a great story. Find one of your customers who has had a great experience with you and tell their story. Let people know about this customer and the change that was experienced. This could also be as simple as telling your own story, why you are here doing what you do. Let people know who you are and help them buy you and your story, people like to know that the person they are working with is someone they can relate to.



Everyone is more dimensional than just one level; we each have many aspects of our life, which has made us who we are. Let your potential clients know who you are; tell your story and try and make it exciting. I am not condoning lying; I think you need to be very honest when telling your story, but you don’t need to tell the boring version. Tell the story that will help people relate to you and see that you are just like them, only you have a solution to some problem they have.



Several years ago I was doing a lot of public speaking and had a speaking coach explain something to me that I thought was interesting. He explained that throughout my presentation I needed to share several experiences that would reveal bits about who I was. I would mention that I grew up on a farm to relate to the hard working down to earth seekers. I would mention that I was a father and I came from a big family to relate to the individuals that would be more interested in doing business with a family man. I would tell a joke to help people understand I had a sense of humor and I would always tell a story that would bring out my education or smarts on the specific subject. I would tell a story that helped my potential customer relate to me and be more open to speaking with me in more detail.



Never at any time would I deceive or lie about who I was. I was simply looking to tell the best story that would help the audience relate and have the desire to do business with me. Remember people buy people and they want to know who you are and that you are exciting.