Your storyteller…turned salesperson
…turned persuasive copywriter
… turned empathy enthusiast.
I had the wrong idea about what my days in a newsroom would look like. I pictured a wide room with a horizon of desks. Reporters would bustle and crusty editors would wave red pens at them. My desk would be like an oasis in this scene. A gooseneck lamp would illuminate my keyboard dramatically like it was a sacred altar where genius easily flowed.
None of this ever happened. Firstly, keyboards hold zero magic. Secondly, writing is hard.
Even though my productivity as a section editor could be seen weekly under gallons of ink on reams of paper (later dumped into recycling heaps across the city), the most life-changing aspect of my work had no physical sign or public record.
It was something more discreet. Quiet.
Interviews gave me a space to practice something that became seriously gratifying: Listening.
Listening also made writing less hard. And with listening built into my job, I received a lesson I may have never known if I was rewarded instead to be selfish. Interviewing taught me that most people have an unsatisfied need to be heard without judgment. Questions, even from a reporter and stranger opened channels for empathy and trust. Relationships thrive with trust. And the most powerfully told stories connect people with empathy.
Later, I changed careers. In my awkward first weeks as a salesperson, I lacked selling skills. Instead, I bluffed confidence and defaulted to what I knew expertly: Asking questions. Listening. Storytelling.
And while stalling for something smart to say, I gathered info through questions. By the time it was my turn to add to the conversation, I had enough material to retell a prospects’ story back to them, including acknowledging their worries and feelings.
It seemed crass at this point to start pitching products and features and jump in with “the answer” like a condescending know-it-all. Instead, I kept up the storytelling rhythm, saving them from a blast of forgettable facts, and proposing a revised ending to their conundrum.
Within months my sales eclipsed team veterans, and I smashed monthly quotas. I never felt like I was selling. I stumbled onto something. Questions revealed facts and feelings. I knew the aggravations to be solved, and how to rewrite story endings.
As a marketer, your success depends on getting the relationship right, and going into a deeper territory to build trust. Finding the right words to prove your empathy will transform your customer relationship.
I can help.
Chat with Lindsay
Want to learn how your marketing message can be transformed by empathy and storytelling? Lindsay Holden is the Chief Copywriter at Fan Club Marketing Inc.