A strong narrative will give you strong results

We are all in the business of selling even if you don’t think it.

In order to sell you need to have a strong narrative.

What is a narrative?

A narrative enables you to connect with people and move them to feel emotion. This leads to them empathising with you, which is necessary for them to start wanting to buy something from you. I recently heard successful entrepreneur Peter Guber speak at the EO University in Banff and he said that we are all in the business of transforming emotions.

Think of the last time that you were emotionally transformed by someone’s narrative and that resulted in you purchasing from them. A great example of the importance of your narrative is when trying to raise capital. As an angel investor, ultimately my decision to invest is determined by my belief in the founder. What influences this belief is their narrative. Their narrative is made up of their past experiences.

What have they achieved before, why did they start this business, what is going to drive them to keep on persisting when the inevitable tough times occur? What is their “secret sauce”?

I heard a great narrative this week from the founder of Sweet Lorens, Loren Brill. Yes, I was interested in her business model and the opportunities that she had coming her way but it wasn’t until I heard her full narrative that I seriously considered investing into her business.

Loren described how she got cancer in her young 20s, which meant she had to really look after her health during her treatment and needed to focus on putting natural ingredients into her body. This was extremely tough for her because, like most people, she has a big sweet tooth and found her beloved cookies were not good for her. In order to help with her recovery, she set about trying to make a healthy natural cookie that she enjoyed eating.

This was initially a success for her but then she started getting a lot of feedback from people that her cookies were delicious and that there is a demand for healthy cookies. This is how her business started and you can see the passion she has for what she is doing. It is this strong narrative that may have us investing in her.

Start working out what your narrative is and how you can use it to transform people’s emotions and increase your business results. When creating your narrative, it is important that it is real, succinct and passionate.

The final thing to remember is your narrative will connect with different people. Ensure you know who your target market is and spend the time communicating with them.

Finn Kelly is a serial entrepreneur, investor and keynote speaker. He is currently co-founder and CEO of WE LOVE NUMBERS and co-founder of Wealth Enhancers.