Marketers are buzzing about “story.” Ten years ago, we were frothing about “branding.” Like “branding,” I’m concerned that the term “story” is being applied too liberally, and will lose its credibility. To avoid this, we need to be precise when referring to “story.” Story has a definite structure. By learning this timeless structure, all AEC marketers can better tell stories to win new business.
Robert McKee, a Fulbright Scholar praised in Hollywood for his consulting on narrative structure defines story as “the expression of how and why life changes. A story begins with balance, then something throws life out of balance, then a story goes in to describe how balance is restored.”
In previous posts, I shared why AEC Marketers should use story (the why), and the three stories we must master (the what). Now, I’ll recommend how to craft your stories (the how). Story structure will make your stories, and firm, more memorable. Stories move a prospect along the continuum of getting to know, like, and trust you, and your firm. Well constructed stories filled with emotion and vulnerability build relationships. As you know well, relationships win new business.
Story Structure 101 After reading a gripping novel or seeing a moving film, have you ever wondered if there is a secret formula for story success? There is, and it’s no secret. You may have heard of the famous 3 act play: Introduction, Rising Action, Resolution. I prefer the structure below from What Great Salespeople Do: The Science of Selling Through Emotional Connection and the Power of Story by Mike Bosworth and Ben Zoldan. These 5 stages are the “secret sauce” for all great stories. I’ll use an example of an AEC “Who We’ve Helped Story” to illustrate these 5 stages.
Setup – This is where you drop your listener into your story. Quickly ntroduce your characters, location, and any relevant background information. To make your protagonists likable, share what makes them human (dreams, fears, desires, etc.). The audience needs to connect with your project team and want them to succeed.
Conflict – If there is no struggle, there is no plot. It just isn’t interesting. There needs to be something formidable that stands in the way of your project team’s success. In the AEC world, this could be timing, personalities, budget, politics, or physical constraints.
Turning Point – Stories are explanations of how and why life changes. This is the aha moment that changes your team. This could be some new insight that alters how your team solves problems on the job site, or the reason why you entered a new market. The turning point could even be an epiphany that changed the strategic direction of your firm.
Outcome – This is an untangling of events in your story. Think of movie credits rolling where we learn what your favorite characters are doing with their lives today. The resolution explains how your story ends and what effect the experience has had on your team.
Your Point – In this stage, you reinforce your theme or point of your story. This is often a core belief or value that your firm holds. If your firm has a new way of delivering projects, this is where you would share that process. It might sound something like this, “as a result of what we learned by continuously overcoming X, our firm believes that Y not only is the best way to deliver projects, but it also separates us from our competition.
Recommended Story Development Process The way in which you develop a good marketing story is not the order in which you ultimately write or tell that story. Because clarity and brevity are so important in marketing stories, write or tell the story in chronological order (stages 1 thru 5 above). Develop the story in this order:
Your Point – Ask yourself, “why am I/we telling this story?” Possible answers may be to share your impressive safety record, demonstrate your creativity, or persuade that your project delivery method saves money. Always start with why.
Outcome – To make sure your story ends in a way that supports your point.
Setup
Conflict
Turning Point
Now you have the key elements, practice writing or telling the story in chronological order.
Share Emotion Great story structure without emotion is like a jumpy house before it’s been inflated. Emotion gives it life, makes it interesting, and ultimately memorable. There are 6000 words in English to communicate emotion. Use them to describe how your main characters feel, not just what happened. If you just recount the facts, expect to put your audience to sleep. Consistently ask yourself, how did your protagonist feel at each stage of the story. Feelings are the glue that constructs real and likable characters. Emotional connection is also what makes your story, and your firm memorable.
Reveal Vulnerability This is the hardest thing to do for AEC firms. Our work is so highly technical, and we are consistently asserting our expertise, that to reveal vulnerability seems weak. But we actually gain power when revealing vulnerability. Try this with a friend. Reveal something you may be struggling with, or a mistake you’ve made and watch what happens. Because of what neuroscientists call mirror neurons, your friend will most likely share something vulnerable in return. In simple terms, this “monkey see, monkey do” behavior is a mutual exchange of emotion. This is the definition of a relationship. By telling your story, your prospect may tell you their story. This is where you learn what your prospect’s pain points are, and what you can do to solve them. It takes courage, but going first in revealing vulnerability, is critical. You establish that it’s safe to be real, that your prospect can trust you with their authentic story. It’s counterintuitive, but vulnerability makes you more likable, not less. Perfection is boring, stiff, and lifeless. It’s our imperfections, that make us likable. Stories about when your firm made a mistake, what you did to correct that error, and what you learned, are incredibly powerful relationship builders.
Nothing is more intimidating to a writer than a blank sheet of paper. My intention is that this post serves as a template for you to jump-start your stories. By utilizing a proven story structure, and integrating emotion and vulnerability, you will create stories that elevate your firm’s proposals, presentation interviews, and websites to win new business.
What Do You Think? Does having a structure constrain or enhance your creative storytelling?
Any examples of where you’ve revealed vulnerability, and it’s helped or hurt you?
As mentioned in the previous post, Why AEC Marketers Must Master The Power of Story, stories that connect on an emotional level are persuasive. But does this mean stories about your cat will help you win new business? No, there are three specific stories all AEC Marketers should master. These are the About Me, About Our Firm, and Who We’ve Helped narratives. Telling these stories well will make you and your firm more memorable, build authentic relationships, and demonstrate your ability to solve problems that prospective client may be facing.
Where To Tell These Stories:
The About Me Story
This is the story that introduces you to someone new. You want to make your first impression memorable and meaningful because people hire people they know (and trust). The only way to build trust is to share who you are in an authentic manner. The key to this story is to move beyond a list of your accomplishments, or a chronology of your work experience. Cold facts lack the emotional impact needed to connect with your audience.
The point of the About Me story is to explain why you do what you do. For example, tell why you are a marketer for an architecture firm that specializes in higher education. Once you answer why you do what you do, go back and build your story to arrive at this conclusion. For more information on story structure, read this post: How To Structure Stories To Win New Business.
The following story archetypes can give your About Me story a head start in connecting with your audience because there is built-in familiarity. The challenge plot has you overcoming a formidable challenge. Examples include David vs. Goliath, any underdog, or Star Wars. A rags to riches plot describes you as a normal person achieving something extraordinary. Examples include Cinderella, Annie, or Oprah. The what I’ve learned plot shows you, as the main character in struggle (often with yourself). An example of this is Abraham Lincoln and what he learned from the many failures he overcame.
David Lecours’ About Me Story Example
The About Our Firm Story
This is the story of your firm’s journey. Try to resist a historical timeline. A better approach is to focus on a few key milestones that add emotion, not just facts.
The About Our Firm story doesn’t tell what your firm does, or how, it tells why. The point of this story supports the purpose of your firm. For example, KAA Design’s purpose is to “design beautiful warm contemporary homes that enrich people’s lives.” Their next step to develop their story is to mine the company history for events that led them to arrive at this conclusion.
A good story involves conflict. This could be an internal strategic struggle such as trying to be experts in too many market sectors. Or, this could be an external struggle such as responding to a changing marketplace. Companies typically resist including struggle in their stories because they fear it will make them appear weak. But the opposite is true. Showing vulnerability adds power by showing that your firm is real and can overcome challenges.
There are a couple of timeless story archetypes that fit really well for About Our Firm stories. A vision plot that describes the future of your firm or the future your firm can create if hired. The recommendation here is to take a bold position, be polarizing. People don’t follow tepid leaders. A great vision plot is the I Have a Dream speech from Martin Luther King Jr. This vision plot is great for attracting likeminded clients and employees.
A revenge plot can be effective. Apple employed this strategy in their famous Mac vs. PC ad campaign. It can be more effective for AEC firms to seek revenge on a societal or building problem, not a competitor. For example, if sustainability is a core value of your firm, then taking revenge on inefficient buildings and climate change is a compelling story.
The Who We’ve Helped Story
This is not one story, but a series of short stories. These stories are so essential for Professional Service firms to tell because they demonstrate your ability to solve problems that prospective client often face. It allows prospective clients to see how your firm thinks, and deals with problems.
All you can sell is a future promise. The best way to demonstrate a future promise is by telling stories of your firm fulfilling past promises.
Challenge plots work well because they demonstrate overcoming adversity. Another option is the classic love story plot where boy meets girl, boy messes it up, boy works hard to get her back. This is a great opportunity to show vulnerability. Aquatic Design Group tells a story of specifying a pump that their vendor recommended without doing their own due diligence. The pump turned out to be insufficient for the massive university swim stadium they had designed. Aquatic Design Group took responsibility for the error, had the pump replaced at their own expense (costing half of their design fees), and won lifelong loyalty from the client.
Mine your past projects for bright spots. Share stories where clients adopted your firm’s unique value proposition, and how they benefitted. Develop your story by first establishing your point: why the client chose to hire your firm. The resolution is how your firm delivered, and what benefits the client received as a result.
I recommend that you have a Who We’ve Helped story for each of the main objections you consistently hear in your business development efforts. For example, if you consistently hear that your fees are higher than your competitors, share the story about how a previous client had the same concern, and how your firm added so much value to their project that any incremental fee difference more than paid for itself.
Randy Mendioroz, Aquatic Design Group, Who We’ve Helped Story Example
Conclusion
As Professional Service Marketers, our enemy is commoditization. Stories are the antidote. Nobody can legitimately tell your About Me, About Our Firm, and Who We’ve Helped Stories. Your stories are unique and they will set you apart from your competition.
What Do You Think? Have you used one of these stories? Was it effective?
Did telling your story inspire your prospective client to tell you their story?
As AEC Marketers, we are in the business of persuasion. Aristotle, the father of persuasion, defined it is a combination of logic (logos), emotion (pathos) and credibility (ethos). Our industry is really good at two out of three of these tactics: logic and credibility. But 67% would earn us a “D” if enrolled in Persuasion class. We must connect emotionally to be fully effective. Story is the perfect vehicle custom-built to deliver emotion.
Is emotional connection too squishy, warm & fuzzy, Kumbaya for the AEC industry? No, we are already using it. Our industry is built on relationships. How are relationships built? By creating positive emotional connections one person at a time.
Stories Help Us Lead
Quick, who are the greatest leaders in American history? I’ll wait for you to list three. Your list might include Kennedy, Lincoln, or Martin Luther King because a common skill among great leaders is the ability to tell stories. This extends beyond politics. When musicians, actors and athletes use story: asdefined as authentic expression that moves audiences on an emotional level, they become idols. While our goal may not be hero worship, storytelling helps us lead in business too. Beth Comstock, Chief Marketing Officer of GE says, “you must first tell a story, before you can sell a story.” Leadership and storytelling are inseparable. Plato said, “people that tell stories rule the world.” Which market would you like to rule?
Story Allows Us In
Nobody likes to be sold. We feel manipulated. Our audience keeps their defenses up against our persuasive charm. But story can let you in. When people listen to, or read a story, they become physically more receptive. They relax their shoulders, release their jaw, and even lower their heartbeat. Story also induces mental relaxation. Listeners become less analytical and can reach a trance-like state. This is why parents read stories to their children before bedtime. Story connects to the subconscious and imagination centers of the brain. Story, like a Trojan Horse, gets us inside the gate to then move our audience to act.
Story Moves Our Audience to Buy
Human beings liked to be moved on an emotional level. It makes us feel alive. We seek out emotional experiences on the page, stage, screen and stadium to escape from our overly logical lives. While logic makes people think, emotion makes people act. We purchase using emotion and later justify with fact. Think about the last big purchase you made. Maybe it was a house or a car. Sure, you did logical research. If you are really nerdy, you created a spreadsheet comparing positive and negative attributes among your choices. But, when you had to decide, you probably went with your gut. You walked into your new house and it just felt right. Selection committees don’t choose a firm solely based on lowest fee (a logical decision). Emotional connection, a feeling that the team will be great to work with, influences the final decision.
As Professional Service Marketers, all we sell is a promise to deliver. This promise must be credible (your firm’s reputation) and logical (proven project delivery method). These two attributes will get you on a short list. Harnessing the power of story to connect emotionally can win you the work.
Your Thoughts?
Has your firm used story to win new business?
When have you used story? In bios, project sheets, firm overviews, presentation interviews?
Do you find written or oral stories to be more effective?
As marketers, we are required to be persuasive. Externally, our primary job is to persuade prospective clients to hire our firm. Internally, we have to persuade our Principals, or CFO, to endorse and fund our marketing plans. Presenting with slides, using PowerPoint or Keynote, can be an incredibly powerful way to make an emotional connection with your audience. Therefore, this is a skill that all marketing professionals should possess. But very few of us have received any training in how to develop, design and deliver a persuasive slide presentation. For the next several blog posts, I will share my expertise as a professional speaker and graphic designer to provide you with simple, timeless tips to help you deliver slide presentations like a pro.
Why Should You Develop this Skill? To be perceived as a leader in your firm, you must be able to present your ideas clearly and persuasively. There is a direct link between leadership and presentation skills. In fact, Toastmasters International, the worldwide organization previously known for developing public speaking skills, has just rebranded with the tagline “Where Leaders Are Made.” Having the ability to present well will not only gain you the respect of your firm’s Principals, but will also serve you well in persuading your entire firm to embrace your marketing plan. Outside your firm, this skill will enable you to present at industry conferences and raise your value to firms looking to recruit you.
The Problem Most PowerPoint presentations are dreadful. You’ve probably heard the term “Death by PowerPoint” or perhaps you’ve read “Really Bad PowerPoint” by Seth Godin. Powerpoint is almost universally hated because most presenters develop, design and deliver slides that do not engage their audience. I’m sure you’ve suffered through a presenter turning his back on the audience to read 15 bullet points. Don’t blame the presenter, blame his education. With plenty of classes in Literature, English, and Writing, you were well educated in verbal communication. Unless you attended art or design school, you didn’t receive an education in visual communication. Yet PowerPoint forces people communicate visually. So, what do presenters do? They revert to what they know (verbal communication) by placing a bunch of bullet points on a slide. This is the quickest way to lose the attention of your audience.
A Great Presentation is a 3 Legged Stool The 3 legs to your presentation are Development, Design and Delivery. Remove one of these legs and your presentation will end up on its rear! You’ll want to begin with the development of your content. Consider why you are making this presentation, who is the audience, and what do you want them to do. Start to outline your main points and gather evidence, stories and imagery to support those points. Next, you’ll want to design simple, clear slides that support you and your message. I recommend including 1 message per slide. Finally, you’ll need to practice your delivery so that you are confident in front of your audience. Remember that you are the star, not the slides. If the slides can live on their own, then cancel the presentation and send the audience a PDF.
What Do You Think? Do you have a favorite TED Talk that effectively uses slides?
Do you have a PowerPoint horror story?
What tips can you share for creating slide presentations?
If you want to see the principles mentioned in this post in action, purchase a DVD or Online Download of Change the World Slide by Slide: How To Design & Deliver Professional Slide Presentations.
Have you noticed that several companies have recently updated their logos? Starbucks, GAP, Pepsi, and Comedy Central all come to mind. Should your firm update its logo? Here are four good reasons to freshen up.
1. Your Firm Has Come of Age
Congratulations! While many new businesses don’t last more than two years, yours is healthy, growing and moving from childhood into adolescence. In start-up mode, you probably didn’t invest the time, energy, and dollars to create a logo and brand identity system that represents the level of professionalism you now want to convey. As the saying goes, “what got you here, won’t get you there.” It’s time to shed the toddler haircut and baby clothes for a more grown-up look.
Perhaps your firm has reached a significant milestone. A fresh new logo can be a great way to symbolize this accomplishment. As Schmidt Design Group approached their 20 year anniversary, we worked with them to design a new logo and book that were unveiled at their 20th Anniversary Party.
2. Your Logo is Rotten (beyond its expiration date)
Everything has a life cycle. Businesses and logos go through distinct phases of conception, growth, maturity and decline. Like the myth of Narcissus, we can get overly attached to our own (brand) image. This can blind us into denial about the fact that our logo has gone into decline. Just as fashion and hairstyles become dated, your logo’s color, typography (font), and symbol may be communicating that your firm is past its prime. Even classics, like the Shell logo below, get a facelift every ten or so years.
3. A New Strategic Plan
A healthy firm grows and evolves to respond to new demands and opportunities in the marketplace. This could mean that your firm has added new services to your quiver. Or, you may be serving new markets. If the evolution of your firm is significant, you’ll want to shift the perception of prospective clients to catch up with the new you. A new logo can symbolize this shift. The first time we worked with Island Architects in 1999, it was to update their start-up logo into a more professional mark (reason #1 above). Then, in 2008, the firm made a strategic decision to communicate that they design modern homes in addition to their heritage of classical homes. A logo should be a beacon communicating where you are headed, not where you’ve been.
4. Merger, Acquisition or Ownership Change
A change in firm ownership can often inspire a new firm name and thus a new logo. Even if the firm name persists for continuity, new leadership may want a new visual symbol to represent their new era. When we began work with Tucker Sadler Noble Castro Architects, they had new owners, new Principals and a new office. Instead of continuing to add the names of Principals to the firm name, they shortened it to Tucker Sadler to reflect their founders, their web site address, and how they were referred to colloquially. We designed a new logo and brand identity system to propel the firm into a new chapter of their evolution.
Your logo is not your brand, but it is the most visible touchpoint of your brand. So, how do you know when it’s time to update your logo? The previous four scenarios are all good reasons. Or, consider hiring LecoursDesign to perform a Brand Audit. This wise investment will help you determine the strength of your logo and all your brand touchpoints.
