Facts | Dr. Ivan Misner®

6Mar2014

Facts + Stories = Powerful Messagesstring(35) "Facts + Stories = Powerful Messages"

March 6, 2014

Business Message, Facts, Sandra Hart, stories Advertising, Business, Marketing/Sales, Networking, Networking Prep, Networking Tactics, Sales, Storytelling, Strategy, Success, Video Blog, Visibility 1

In this video, I talk to Ireland-based business networking expert Sandra Hart about the importance of embedding the facts about your business within the form of a story.

When you’re networking or advertising for your business, the most powerful way to present your message is to use a story to ensure your message is heard. Facts by themselves are, for the most part, simply not memorable to most people. If you are a banker and you tell people that you specialize in offering low-interest home loans, people may remember that your bank offers loans, but whether or not they remember what kind of loans you specialize in is left to chance. However, if instead of simply stating that you specialize in low-interest home loans, you tell a story about how you helped a young family of four to overcome their financial struggles by granting them a low-interest home loan, and how this enabled them to purchase their dream home in the sought after Sunny Pines community, you can bet people are going to remember you when they run across someone looking for a home loan.

Remember, facts only tell but stories sell . . . why is this? Because people don’t emotionally connect to facts. People emotionally connect to stories and this is what makes stories memorable.

What is an example of a memorable story you could tell about your business that would powerfully present a fact (or several facts) about the products/benefits/services your business offers? Please share your story in the comment forum below. Thanks!

5Jul2013

Tiffanie Kellog: Facts May Tell But Stories Sellstring(48) "Tiffanie Kellog: Facts May Tell But Stories Sell"

I’ve done quite a few video blogs with Tiffanie Kellog and there’s a very good reason for that . . . she is an outstanding Referral Institute® Trainer, Consultant, & Speaker and she has an unending supply of highly useful ideas and comments to offer.

In this video, I talk with Tiffanie about the power of using compelling stories as testimonials for your products and/or services. Everyone who makes an effort to build their business through referral marketing has the same goal–to have all those in their network talking positively about their business on their behalf. So, the best thing to do in order to achieve this goal is to arm those in your network with compelling stories of how you’ve helped clients in ways that have transformed their lives in some aspect . . . your fellow networkers can then share these stories with others who may be potential prospects for you, thus creating the most powerful form of a testimonial you can receive.

Watch this short video now to find out why testimonials that simply state facts about your business do nothing more than tell and how in order to really sell someone on your product or service, you need compelling stories. Remember . . . facts tell, stories sell!

Be sure to check out Tiffanie’s website by clicking here or visiting TiffanieKellog.com and if you have a compelling story about how you’ve helped a customer or client that you think would be a great testimonial for your business, please share it in the comment forum below–you never know who will see it and you might even generate some referrals by sharing it!

27May2013

Facts Tell, But Stories Sellstring(28) "Facts Tell, But Stories Sell"

Over the past few weeks, I’ve posted blogs on how embracing quality, adding members, and seeking engagement are all things that will help networkers and entire networking groups achieve success. Today, I’d like to talk about an additional tactic for obtaining stellar networking results–sharing stories.

Listening closely to the information shared by those in your referral network will help you in telling positive stories about them when you come across potential opportunities to refer them. Conducting regular one-to-one meetings with each of your networking partners will also help you become more able to share stories when you refer others to them. Think about your many positive experiences with your fellow networkers and write them down.

A number of years ago, I met Robert Dickman, author of The Elements of Persuasion, and he taught me the formula for a good story:

A story is a fact
Wrapped in emotion
That compels us to take action
That transforms us in some way

The key here is that a good story compels people to take action and that this action transforms or helps them in some way. I always try to re-live a story, not just re-tell a story. Make it sound fresh and alive. That is an important aspect of storytelling.

Remember that facts tell, but stories sell. If you want to build your network in order to generate more referrals, overlay storytelling on top of your efforts.

The keys to success within networking groups which I’ve previously posted blogs about (embracing quality, adding members, seeking engagement) can combine with sharing stories for a powerful formula that will help members of networking groups obtain optimum networking results and business growth:

3+1 = Member Success

1-Embrace Quality
2-Add Members
3-Seek Engagement
+1 Share Stories

Understanding this formula can improve your business networking success in amazing ways.

If your networking group already employs this formula, I’d love to hear about the impact it has made on your group’s performance and results. Please share your feedback (and stories) in the comment forum below. Thanks!

3Jan2013

Are You Overlooking the Importance of Storytelling in Business?string(63) "Are You Overlooking the Importance of Storytelling in Business?"

January 3, 2013

Ivan Misner

Deanna Tucci-Schmitt, Facts, Referrals, statistics, stories, storytelling Business, Conversation, Global Business, Marketing/Sales, Referrals, Storytelling, Success, Video Blog, Visibility, Word of Mouth 2

When you tell a story, is it compelling?

In this short video, I’m joined by Deanna Tucci-Schmitt, a successful business owner and master networker, who shares the reason why storytelling is such an integral part of business. She reminds us that stories are much easier to remember than statistics and facts. When you tell your business’ facts in story form, your “story” is retained, retold, and often referred.

After watching the video, please share how telling some of the key stories about your business has gotten you more business in the past, or how they might possibly help you obtain more business in the future.

25Jun2012

Survey Says: Summarized Conclusions about Business Networking & Genderstring(75) "Survey Says: Summarized Conclusions about Business Networking & Gender"

What have my co-authors and I concluded after 12,000 individual surveys, almost 1,000 comments and stories, numerous interviews, months of research, and years of experience? Below is a recap of the facts we uncovered.

Study Findings, Summarized

91.4% of the respondents said that “networking has played a role in their success.”
Men and women were closer together than we expected in most areas.
However, the perception of the difference is very dramatic. Remember: The exception becomes the perception.
Women feel that networking has played a slightly larger role in their success than men.
Women use a much wider variety of techniques to learn their networking skills than men do.
Men are more likely to focus on business first than women are. Women are a little more likely to focus on building the relationship first–then the business.
The time of day for networking was not a big issue for either gender. This was a surprise to us.
Family obligations were more of a problem for women.
Women definitely did not feel as safe as men in attending evening events.
Men preferred either a structured or unstructured networking event. Women felt okay with either.
Both men and women felt that other people were more uncomfortable networking than they felt about it themselves.
Men felt stronger about transactional aspects of networking. Women felt stronger about relational aspects of networking.
Men spent a little more time networking.
Women received a higher percentage of their business from networking than men.
The more time either men or women spent in their networking efforts, the higher the percentage of business they generated.
The more often people used systems to track their business from networking, the more likely they were to feel that networking played a role in their success.

Men and women are not so different in the success they desire in business and networking. However, the process, the mindset, and the way of making the results happen are very different. The reason is that we have different ways of viewing the world. Some of this comes from nature and some from nurture. What it means is that if we want to be more effective, we must learn how to respect, appreciate, and embrace one another’s differences. We must understand that we can work more effectively together as a team in business and in our networks. We just need to learn to be adaptable, empathetic, sensitive, and understanding that THEY are not you.

You can and will beat the odds. The exception doesn’t have to become the perception. It can be you!

Come back next week for some advice from the whole team of Business Networking and Sex co-authors–these tips will help you achieve your highest potential when it comes to networking and guide you into your brightest future in referral marketing.