“What job am I hiring my story to do?”
That is the most important question to ask when it comes to storytelling in your business and professional life.
A good story isn’t good enough. It must help drive your business model in some measurable way.
Let’s look at a few jobs you might hire your story to do:
- Shift someone’s mindset
- Teach someone something useful
- Help someone feel safe
- Reveal how someone or something is at risk
- Influence someone to take action
There are other jobs your story can do, of course. Generate new leads. Close sales. Win bids.
When you’re crystal clear about what job your story should do, you can clearly measure whether or not it did its intended job.
By asking this question, you will avoid the mistakes many make in their marketing efforts. Because too many marketing efforts focus on outputs rather than the outcomes.