What’s your story?

Personal stories can be a powerful way to communicate intangible value.

Back in high school, my sister used to tease me for having “study parties” to prepare for AP physics exams. She called me a nerd, and maybe I was, but I also knew that without those “study parties” I would be lost. I knew that I could handle the concepts of physics, but that I was awful at the math. By meeting with my classmates, I could explain the theory, and they could explain the calculations. It was all about give and take. I’ve understood the value of peer groups for a long time, so I am really passionate about building the community at ExpertCEO, an online network for senior executives and the community that inspired this blog.
– Nathalee Ghafouri, Marketing Manager, ExpertCEO

When I was involved with Vistage as a CEO group chair, I talked to potential candidates about the benefits of joining a peer group. I could have used a similar story about my days in engineering school, but didn’t think of it. Shame on me, because it clearly demonstrates the value of a peer group without sounding like a sales pitch.

Take a minute and think about the stories in your life that could help someone understand the value of what you do. They can be very powerful, and they are free.

Trash talk your competition… artfully.

When I was creative director for a SoCal ad agency, I used to do a lot of field work before crafting a marketing strategy. I’d spend time with the client, usually the CEO of a midsize company, and ask permission to chat with key staffers including the sales manager and ride along with two or three sales reps.

No time for a ride along? Here’s some great advice from Kevin Sasser on The Sales Wars blog.

I used to compete against Microsoft in the Content Management space and so often I would get, “So, why should I buy your solution over one of the biggest, most famous companies in the world?” Start off your response by complementing your competitor. (Read that again if you have to) “To be honest, I love Microsoft. I own stock in Microsoft. As soon as my wife lets me, Im getting an Xbox.”

Read the entire post here.

Share this with your sales team. Ask how they respond when a prospect or long-time customer asks why he should by from you instead of your competitor. Make sure your marketing folks hear their answers, then ask how they will use what they heard to shape your message about the competition.

Sorry, this is a trick question.

When was the last time you had an impartial, dispassionate assessment of your marketing program? You get a dispassionate assessment every time a potential customer takes a look at one of your ads or visits one of your websites. Every time an editor scans a press release or one of your own sales reps decides to use (or toss) another piece of collateral.

Unfortunately, none of these people is likely to volunteer an honest appraisal of your work—yet their honest appraisal is (should be) monumentally important to you.

As a coach and consultant (ad agency creative director in a past life), I have used a four-step process for extracting useful opinions about marketing programs and materials. Try them, they work…