Emotional Stories That Sell: Techniques For Deeply Moving Buyers’ Decisions

by Paul Smith, author of “Sell with a Story: How to Capture Attention, Build Trust, and Close the Sale“

As brain science now proves, emotions play a critical role in decision making. Human beings make rapid, subconscious, emotional decisions in one part of the brain, and then justify (or possibly adjust) those decisions more rationally in another area. Research also shows that we recall information more clearly and easily when it’s attached to emotion.

If you want to influence buyers’ decisions, you need to influence them emotionally, not just rationally and logically. And it’s difficult to influence people emotionally with only facts and logic and data. Fortunately, we have a tool to tap into people’s emotions quite effectively — a story. In my new book, “Sell with a Story“, I offer the following techniques to enhance the emotional impact of the stories you tell buyers:

Make me feel.

Telling buyers how your main character feels (“He was outraged.” “She was distraught.”) is a good start. Showing them how the character feels by describing his or her behavior (“He stormed in and kicked over a chair.” “She ducked behind her minivan and started crying.”) is better. Best is to actually make buyers feel those very emotions. To pull this off, put your listeners in an equal position with the main character. Gradually draw them into the story and let them know as much, but no more and no less, than him or her. This position allows listeners to experience the same emotion as the main character by finding out the same emotion-causing information in the same way he or she does in the story.

Make me care.

If your listeners don’t know anything about the characters in your story, it’s difficult for them to care about what happens to those characters. If your story starts with, “There was this guy I used to work with who got fired…,” why should they care? But if you start with, “There was this guy named Matt I used to work with in California who was my favorite coworker. He got to work every morning before everyone and turned on the coffeepot. He’d always cover for me when I needed to take a day off. He knew the job and answered my questions without making me feel stupid for asking…,” and then go on to tell about how he got fired, then your listeners will care. Because they know Matt and like him.

Use dialogue.

Instead of telling the audience what the characters feel, let them hear it. Use words that capture your character’s unspoken emotions, as well as what he or she says out loud. For example, instead of telling listeners that your character felt nervous and unprepared for her new job, you could share her inner thoughts this way: “She shook the interviewer’s hand and said, ‘Thank you so much for the job offer. I won’t let you down.’ But inside, she was thinking, ‘Oh my God, I have no idea how to do this. I’m going to get fired on my first day!’”

Adapted from “Sell with a Story: How to Capture Attention, Build Trust, and Close the Sale“ by Paul Smith.

 

Paul Smith is the author of “Sell with a Story: How to Capture Attention, Build Trust, and Close the Sale“. He is a widely sought out speaker, coach, and trainer on business storytelling techniques whose clients include Hewlett Packard, Bayer Medical, Progressive Insurance, and Ford Motor Company. As the author of “Lead with a Story” his work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Inc., Time, Forbes, The Washington Post, Success, and Investor’s Business Daily. Follow the author on Facebook and Twitter.

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How To Start Your Peer-To-Peer Lending Business

If you plan to be a successful entrepreneur then learning how to start a peer-to-peer (P2P) lending business will be very beneficial for you. Small business owners have always looked for funding alternatives due to the stringent and difficult policies of banks, especially after the great recession of 2008.

P2P lending is when there is a social lending between two parties; it can also be considered as a form of crowdfunding. Let’s help you answer the most asked question of 2016, how to start your peer-to-peer lending business.

Check Your Cash Before You Check Their Cash.

Do a credit history check before you anybody a loan, even if they are your friends. The truth is that banks have solid reasons to deny loans at times, and you must know why a bank denied so that you do not make a mistake. Have a look at the person’s credit history to be sure of things. For a P2P business you need to have a steady flow of money. How will you lend it if you run out of it?

Get Yourself a Platform.

Most P2P startup business owners prefer setting up their office at home. This helps save money on the rent; you can use that money to make a website. The website will be your main platform through which you’ll be automating the application submission and screening process. You can also use social media platforms since a large number of people are on the web.

However, P2P mainly works on relationships as you’ll be available to your friends and family first, so see how you can reach them.

Encourage Presentations From Applicants.

A presentation is just your applicants presenting their case highlighting why they need money and why the loan should be granted. You should encourage presentations as this will help attract more applicants too. These presentations will also help you make an informed decision.

Diversify Your Earnings.

There are many ways you can earn from your P2P lending business. You can charge interest on the amount given in addition to application charges and fixed borrowing fee. In addition to this there can be charges for late submissions etc. However, don’t end up being too expensive.

Get Lending Partners.

Instead of riding it out solo, get in touch with other lending partners so that your loaning product line has more variety. One of the best things about the P2P lending industry is that some businesses allow people reverse-bidding on interest rates for a loan. If the opening bid is $10,000 load with interest rate of 18% other lenders might counter the interest rate with only 6%, making the applicant think twice.

Know the Risks and Plan Accordingly.

People resort to P2P lending options because they’ve been refused by banks. This should tell you that all your clients are potentially a risk. Put the interest rate higher to counter the higher risk level and screen very carefully. Other risks include your servers who’ll get constantly hit by hackers for sensitive information, in order to be secure you need to hire a professional. Lastly you should have an official legal representative, one who you can call for help anytime of the day. You can also use one of several platforms specifically designed for P2P businesses. They are made to make things easy.

So there you go, now you have an idea on how to start a peer to peer lending business. You can leave a comment if you have any more questions or if you’d like to add your own personal experience on the matter.

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What To Look For In Your Business IT Support

Having the most suitable IT support for your business is essential. It’ll keep your business up and running, and sort out any issues you have. When running a business, having problems is inevitable.

If you’re looking for the right IT support service for you, read on…

A Fast Response Time.

When you’re looking for the most suitable IT support business for your business, you want a place that responds fast to queries. You don’t want to have to wait around for anything to go back up and running, especially if you’re experiencing an emergency. It can be stressful enough as it is! Always look for an IT support crew with a fast response time. You should get a good idea when you first reach out to them!

A Business That Asks You The Right Questions.

The best IT support business will ask you questions about your business. In order for them to do the best job for you, they’ll need to know a few things about you. If they don’t ask you questions, this could be a warning sign that they just won’t do what you need them to. They should know about the businesses they are working with.

A Series Of Great Reviews.

Always look for great reviews before you decide who you’re going to recruit as your IT support team. The guys at gradientdata.com say that this is really important. Having majority great reviews is a good sign and means you should be getting the level of service you expect. You can usually find reviews on their business websites, but try to find reviews on impartial sites for the most accurate picture of who is right for you.

A Company In A Nearby Location.

There may be times when you have something happen that means your IT support people need to come into your business to look at your system and machines personally. This means you should ideally look for an IT support company in close proximity to you. This should help you to get any issues you experience smoothed out as soon as possible.

A Support Agreement You Understand.

Some companies have agreements and contracts that you just can’t understand, but people end up signing them anyway. You should look for a support agreement that you understand. If you don’t understand it, ask for clarity and make sure you really understand it before signing up to anything. This will protect you and your business.

Look for these things in your IT support business and you should minimize problems and have issues sorted out as soon as you can. You can’t stop things from happening in your business, but you can do your best to ensure they are taken care of as fast as possible. It’s basically customer service, as when your system goes down, your customers are affected too. You should know how important customer service is. If you want to keep your customers happy and your business thriving, choosing the right IT support company is crucial. Good luck!

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Why You Should Be Using Social Media As An Extension Of Customer Service

Going into business, you would assume that in order to be successful all you need is a great product or service and a reasonable customer base that is interested in making a purchase. Sure, that might be what generates revenue in the beginning, but in order to attract new customers and retain loyal ones, you also need to focus on providing outstanding customer service.

It has been proven time and time again that companies who take care of the needs of their customers last a lot longer than those who don’t. In this day in age, companies large and small are upping the ante on their customer service efforts. Thanks to digital platforms like social media, companies now have the means to not only interact socially with their customers but also the ability to instantly satisfy their needs.

You May Want to Enlist Help.

If you’re thinking about using social media as a means for customer support, it is going to be extremely important that you maintain a professional, consistent presence online. There is nothing worse than starting a page and then not maintaining it properly, as this can ruin your reputation faster than not having a social media presence at all.

If you believe that the ongoing maintenance and participation that is needed to manage a company social media page would be too much, you might want to consider working with a social media agency who would do the day to day managing for you. They would essentially work with you to find out what your target audience is, what your goals are for your social media page, and help you with the day to day responsibilities of ensuring that your reputation grows.

Benefits of Social Support for You and Your Customers.

Still not convinced that offering social media as an extension of your customer service efforts is a good idea? Here is a list of the benefits that both you and your customers can expect:

· Instant Gratification.

Customers want instant gratification. Making a phone call and having to sort through prompt menus, sending emails and having to wait 24-48 hours for a reply or having to physically come to a location are not their idea of instant gratification. As such, social media would provide a platform for you to be able to answer their questions or concerns within a few minutes. Not to mention with decent social media content, many of their answers may be found by simply browsing your company page. This saves you time and keeps them happy.

· Personalized Service.

Customers highly prefer dealing with people that they can relate to as opposed to operator #101 from a call center or an automated voice service. As social media is a more social environment, companies are able to show more of a personality which makes customers feel more comfortable in talking to and getting help from you. Photos of employees, for example, put a face to the name which makes the service more personal.

· Next-Level Interaction.

Social media also gives you the open platform to answer consumer concerns you weren’t aware of before. If you see mention of your brand from a customer that was dissatisfied with a product or service, you can reach out to them and even offer some form of reconciliation whether it be a gift card, refund, or a discount on future purchases which can warrant positive feedback.

· Increased Positive Feedback.

Customers are more inclined to send a word of thanks to a company they’re following on social media as opposed to a company they’d have to send in a testimonial or become a member of a consumer review site. A simple thumbs up, smiley face, or even giving you a star rating is a lot faster on social media than any other platform.

As you can see, utilizing social media as a customer service measure can be a great opportunity for your company and your customers. Your customers get what they want… instant satisfaction from service providers they can relate to. While you get the opportunity to keep your existing customers happy, promote your brand, and attract new customers. So if you’re looking for a way to outshine the competition and meet the needs of your target audience, you should really consider developing a social media page.

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4 Ways To Fail The Right Way

By John Wechsler, Founder & CEO of Launch Fishers

It seems impossible that Walt Disney was fired from a newspaper job for “lacking imagination” and “having no original ideas,” that Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team or that The Beatles were rejected for a recording contract on the rationale that “they had no future in the music business.” But would any of these stars have attained greatness without these failures?

I think not. In fact, striving for failure is a valuable ritual and is a critical part of achieving success. This is the kind of message successful entrepreneurs and public figures share at Failfest, an annual celebration of failure that brings together entrepreneurs in Indiana. The event, hosted by co-working space and community Launch Fishers, helps innovators gain perspective and empowerment from failure.

The event’s biggest takeaway? Innovative organizations don’t fear failure. Here are four ways you can use it to your advantage:

1. Plan for failure by making “learning” a priority.

Planning to fail is actually more involved than just expecting it. This step involves changing your perspective about what failure is and allowing time and space for it to occur.

When you reposition failure as a learning opportunity and budget time and resources for “learning,” the entire organization can rally around the concept in a more constructive way. In the same vein, consider rewarding “learning” by building success metrics around process and performance. Repeating a successful process will ultimately result in successful performance, so why not create a culture of doing the right work the right way?

2. Don’t too caught up in early prototypes.

It’s easy to fall in love with your idea and believe it will work. But it’s critical to get input, encourage ideas and keep perfecting. Your product, service or concept needs to evolve in order for it to become well adopted.

Inventor Norm Larson understood this concept; he didn’t get his product right until the 40th iteration and it now sits in 80 percent of American households. Norm Larson created WD40.

How can you be objective and distance yourself from early prototypes? Encourage ideas from anywhere and everywhere. Some of the best ideas may bubble up from the front lines: people in customer service, reception, sales and other positions that deal directly and initially with stakeholders. The best thing leaders can do is listen to ideas that come from all areas in the company and create a way for departments to share them.

3. Get out of the building — and out of your industry.

Great ideas usually don’t come to you when you are sitting at your desk; they come from conversations with people about their experience. Find out about the problems people face and consider how you can solve that pain. It’s a simple concept and the basis of creating a successful product or service.

True innovation comes, however, when you look at other industries for inspiration. What brands, products and innovations inspire you as a consumer? Are there parallels you can use in your industry? How could you adapt the approach?

4. Don’t give up.

Keep in mind: if Edison threw up his hands and gave up after 9,999 failures, there would be no lightbulb. If Howard Schultz gave up after being turned down by banks 242 times, there would be no Starbucks. If J.K. Rowling stopped after being turned down by multiple publishers for years, there would be no Harry Potter.

The most important way you can continue to fail the right way is to keep going. If you fail, fail again. Our society has created unnecessary baggage around failure–It doesn’t need to be an embarrassing, terrible thing. The more comfortable we get with the role of failure in advancing ideas, products and companies, the more innovation we will see in the world.

 

John Wechsler is the founder of Launch Fishers and an active advisor to entrepreneurs and startup teams. He has founded, co-founded or served in C-level roles in several high-growth and venture-backed startups, including Formstack, Formspring, DeveloperTown, Vontoo, Wishoo and beenz.

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4 Reasons Young People Are Starting Their Own Companies

The latest edition of the Global Entrepreneur Report found that more millennials than ever are starting their own businesses. This equals more than double the number of businesses their baby boomer grandparents were starting. Many factors cater to the rise of new businesses as millennials come to age, and they all work together to create an ideal environment for entrepreneurs.

Check out these four reasons why more millennials are setting off on their own:

Millennials Want to Control Their Time.

One major downside of working for a large company is a lack of schedule flexibility. Many millennials say they would leave a company for another one that offered more flexibility, and 77 percent of millennials say a flexible schedule makes the workplace more productive. One way to guarantee a flexible work environment is to start your own business.

Many millennials become entrepreneurs so they can dictate their own hours. If they want to work from 4 p.m. until midnight and then sleep until noon, there isn’t a boss telling them they need to arrive at 9 a.m. This flexibility also allows them to control their work-life balance, instead of a company mandating 40 hours or more per week.

The Internet Makes Entrepreneurship Easier.

Entrepreneurs don’t need a brick-and-mortar store to run a business. They really just need an internet connection. From designers running their own agencies on their couches, to crafters selling unique gifts on Etsy, it’s possible to get a business started with just a few clicks. Gone are the days of buying a store and sinking your savings into materials in the hope that it pays off. This low-risk environment means anyone can start a business, even if it fails.

There’s a Whole Industry to Support Entrepreneurs.

Many companies cater to online business by making setting up shop easier. Marketers can hire freelance contractors instead of full-time employees with benefits, and coworking spaces create spots for meetings when entrepreneurs need to look professional. For product delivery, companies can use apps that offer same-day drop-off at a fraction of the price of UPS or USPS.

Even credit card companies are finding solutions to high-risk ACH processing clients like young businesses with no credit history. These companies help startups get on their feet and process purchases when they previously wouldn’t have been able to accept credit. This creates a culture that’s friendly to entrepreneurs.

Millennials Don’t Have a Lot of Money.

Millennials are young and might never have had much money to their names, which is perfect for going into business. They never had anything to lose in the first place, so they’re not as worried about starting something new. In fact, many millennials don’t perceive going without a significant paycheck for the sake of the company as a hardship, as long as they’re doing something they love.

Whether they’re starting a multi-million dollar company or they’re just offering developer services from their basement, millennials are striking out on their own. These young entrepreneurs are bucking the status quo.

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Why Even The Busiest Startups Should Value Work-Life Balance

by Elliot Tomaeno, founder of ASTRSK

You may be located in a city that never sleeps, but that doesn’t mean you and your startup should follow suit.

I know: That’s easier said than done. With smartphones providing around-the-clock access to email, it’s no wonder work-life balance is becoming more and more elusive with every passing year.

Our professional lives literally tag along with us everywhere we go. They’re in our pockets and purses while we’re out to dinner with friends and while we’re catching up on our favorite Netflix series — and it takes superhuman amounts of willpower to resist the urge to drop everything and check our phones when we hear that lovely little “ding.”

Resist the Temptation.

The primary problem with our growing attachment to work is simple: A team that never shuts down is a team that’s going to struggle over the long haul. At first, it may fill you with pride to see your staff working late into the night, sending emails and fulfilling tasks until the sun comes up. But it won’t take long for you to start seeing the warning signs of bigger issues on the horizon.

One of the first symptoms of burnout you’ll see is decision paralysis. Members of your team will feel overwhelmed by what appear to be simple daily decisions, waffling back and forth between options, and either delaying their verdicts or not making any at all. Of course, once enough people across the entire business suffer from this ailment, your productivity will drop drastically, and the ripple effect will hurt your bottom line.

Luckily, the solution to achieving companywide work-life balance isn’t all that tricky — and you, as the leader, play a key role in making it happen.

Promoting the Balance.

At the end of the day, your employees have free will. If it’s in someone’s DNA to overwork himself silly, there really isn’t much you can do about that. However, that doesn’t mean you should sit idly and watch him crash and burn.

Simply showing employees that you care about their well-being can work wonders toward promoting a healthy, happy, and appropriately productive workplace. Here are three ways you can accomplish this:

1. Walk the walk.

According to one survey, 60 percent of employees say their bossesare to blame for their poor work-life balance. More likely than not, this is because their leaders are people who are burning themselves out by working 60-hour weeks, sending emails into the wee hours of the morning, and never taking any days off.

If you want your employees to embrace a healthy work-life balance, lead by example — not just with your words, but also with your actions. Step away from the office once a day to take a walk around the block and clear your head. Stop brown-bagging your lunch and eating at your desk; go out with colleagues and friends a few times a week. And, for goodness’ sake, take a vacation. You’ve earned one.

Showing you’re dedicated to your own well-being is the best way to encourage others to be dedicated to theirs.

2. Allow remote working.

It might not be true for everyone, but there’s pretty strong backing of the idea that working from home boosts happiness and productivity and reduces turnover. I highly recommend you consider letting your employees work remotely on a regular basis — and there are countless ways you can go about this.

For example, you could frame it as a loose recommendation where, one day a week, employees have the option to work from home. Or you can take it a step further, like I did at my company, and create a “work from anywhere week.” Our office was sealed shut for an entire five-day period, and employees were told to tackle their workloads wherever made sense for them: at home, at a café, in a park, or at the library.

“Work from anywhere week” ended up being a big hit, and everyone returned feeling rejuvenated and excited to be back in the office. Don’t underestimate the power of giving your employees space.

3. Bring wellness into the office.

Even if employees are working healthy hours and avoiding mental burnout, it’s still possible that your work environment isn’t doing all it can to protect their physical health. Things like sitting at a desk all day and eating fast food for lunch can combine to cause an uptick in sick days, a lack of productivity, and general unhappiness.

Here’s some good news: Companies that invest in wellness programs tend to see a three-dollar ROI for every dollar they put into them. That means providing yoga classes, massage therapists, standing desks, healthy meals, and other perks at the office is well worth the money. Further, giving employees a taste of these things at work may also lead them to seek them on their own — which would only lead to an even happier and healthier workforce.

Any modern startup is going to be busy; there’s just no escaping the fact that today’s working world is “always on.” However, though technology has evolved like crazy over the past two decades, humans are still humans — and we need rest in order to function on all cylinders.

Don’t forget about how important self-actualization is when it comes to personal and professional growth. Make sure your employees have the space to explore and find themselves — both through work and outside of work.

When leaders promote healthy work-life balance, spirits rise, productivity peaks, and they create the healthy environment every startup craves.

 

Elliot Tomaeno is the founder of ASTRSK, a PR agency based in New York City. Since 2012, ASTRSK has helped launch more than 200 startups and tech products and has worked with companies like Squarespace, Frank & Oak, Managed by Q, HelloFresh, Favor, ClassPass, and Havenly, as well as films such as “Ex Machina” and “Steve Jobs.”

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