Tell Any Good Stories Lately?

Stories, not product features and functionality, are the key to success in sales, writes George Deeb in Sales 101: Sell Stories, Not Products. Getting bogged down in the minutia of what a product does is a common rookie mistake:

... clients don't really care about you or your products, they care about themselves, and how you are going to help them to solve their problems.

Obviously, lawyers don't sell products, but they do sell services. And Deeb's advice is as valid for them as for any sales team. Clients don't care about your office in Atlanta or your 175-year history or the awards you've won. They care about how they're going to solve their problem, and whether or not you can help. Read the post. Start telling stories.

Pull up a chair and I'll persuade you to act.

John Baldoni's "Using Stories to Persuade" in The Conversation at the Harvard Business Review. It's hard to resist a good story. With a strong narrative, some facts thrown in to back it up, and a healthy dose of passion, you're sure to convey your message and persuade your listener. Baldoni's post offers useful examples for improving your storytelling and, when needed, changing minds and convincing skeptics. Valuable skills when you're selling your services, wouldn't you agree?

Storytelling. It's not just for campfires and kids.

Nick Morgan's "Win by Telling Great Stories with Peter Guber" on his blog Public Words. Unless you're new here, you know that I like posts about telling stories. Stories articulate your value as a lawyer. They communicate your passion, your knowledge, your experience. They help you translate the facts and figures of your work into people and problems and solutions. Most importantly, they give clients a reason to like you, to want to work with you, to trust you with their success, their career, their fears. I didn't know who Peter Guber was before I read this post. And I don't know if I will ever by his book, Tell to Win. But that doesn't mean I didn't learn a lot about telling a good story from this post. Read it, and you will too.

Today's Law Marketing Resource

Gary Godsey's "The lost art of storytelling" in Smart Business. A great story is a great marketing technique, whatever you're selling. Don't think your client representations can be described as tales of passion and heroes and antagonists and transformation? Sure they can. It won't be easy, of course, but all the elements are already there: you represent people with problems to resolve and obstacles in their way. This post will help you articulate your work as stories, the kind that engage clients and give them a reason to hire you.

Today's Law Marketing Resource

Ilana Rabinowitz's "Three Marketing Trends for 2011" from Social Media Explorer. The trends discussed in this post -- storytelling, emotion, and purpose and meaning -- are neither novel nor earthshaking. But they're no less important for it. People like stories, especially ones told with emotion and purpose. This post reminds us of that, and gives some useful insight into how to do it right.

Today's Law Marketing Resource

Adrian Baron's "Lost in Translation. The Advantages of a Bilingual Law Practice" from his blog The Nutmeg Lawyer. I recommended this post a few months ago, but it's good enough to read twice (and I'm pretty sure this is an updated version of the earlier post). Telling good stories, and if you're lucky great ones, is a powerful marketing technique. Read this to see how one lawyer does it right.

Today's law marketing resource was selected from the nominees to the 2010 ABA Journal Blawg 100. Go here to register and vote (and vote for 22 Tweets).