In a previous post, I challenged you to choose only one thing for your story to sell:
- An idea
- A belief or mindset
- A cause
- An organization
- A person
- A product
- A service
- An experience
However, once you choose your one thing, you can use others on this list to support your story.
Let’s use TED Talks, as an example to illustrate what I mean.
The TED Talks brand sells one thing: ideas worth spreading. That’s the first bullet on the list above.
However, many TED Talks sell a belief or mindset. The most viewed TED Talk of all time is Ken Robinson’s manifesto on how schools kill creativity.
Others sell a cause. In her 2009 talk, Jacqueline Novogratz sold investing in others even in tough economic times.
Each TED Talk sells one thing — an idea, a mindset, a cause, etc. — however that primary story is packaged as experiences delivered by people. And experiences and people are two other items worth selling on our list above.
Ways You Can Enhance Your Primary Story
What if you sell a service like massage? You can package the story of that service with an experience, like a YouTube video. Or you could package it with a cause, like reducing hypertension.
Wendy’s clearly sold a product — hamburgers — when sales flat-lined in the mid-1908s. Although their “Where’s the beef,” campaign entered pop culture history, the chain found it’s greatest success packaging their hamburger story with Dave Thomas.
So what’s the one thing you’re selling with your story?
Once you’ve answered that, what else on the list above could you package that story with to better connect with those you intend to serve?