What’s your story?

Hi! Welcome back.  Today I’d like to finish my review of the book Nuts! Southwest Airline’s Crazy Recipe for Business and Personal Success by Kevin and Jackie Freiberg.  Today’s material comes from Chapter 18 entitled “Unconventional Advertising”.  The success tidbits at the end of the chapter appear below:

·         Market to employees, not just to your customers.

·         Promote your culture as well as your product.

·         Look for creative, unusual ways to tell your story.

·         Collaborate with others in creating your story.

·         Use your story as a way to build spirit, service, and performance.

·         Have everyone play a part in keeping your company’s advertising and marketing promises.

·         Find ways to tell your own story.  Use it to further your personal and professional success.

Stories are a great way to engage people and get them interested in what you do and sell.  For me as a budding entrepreneur launching my consulting practice I spend a lot of time these days talking with people and telling them what I’ve done and what I’d like to do.  My business Yurway Coaching Consultants is a small business consulting practice focusing on small and medium size companies, companies of 100 employees or less who may not have the benefit of an organizational development and training professional on staff.  I specialize in process improvement, problem solving, project management and training.  As an independent business owner I know that I must first meet with people, prove my credentials and earn their trust before they will do business with me.  It’s not an easy task; it takes a lot of time and effort.

I have been using a brochure and working with networking groups like Business Network International to promote my business.  I also have been meeting with area Chambers of Commerce and the Small Business Development Center to get the word out that I’m out there and have expertise that I believe would be beneficial to the right customer.

What about you?  What is your story?  How do you promote yourself and your business?  Are you on LinkedIn?  Do you have a blog?  What sort of networking groups do you contact to get your story out there?  I’d really like to know.  If you would like to post a comment please do.  I thank you for reading and until next time all my best!  Jer