STOP PUSHING PRODUCTS THAT ILLUSTRATE
AND START TELLING PARABLES THAT ILLUMINATE
New Marketing Approaches for Today's Financial Advisor

by Stan Hustad


One of my best clients has his own paraphrase of a well-known quote about doing the same thing and expecting different results. He says, "If you do what you've always done --you will get what you always got." To demonstrate that truth, let me tell you a story about Sam (not his real name).

Sam is a veteran financial advisor with a premier insurance and financial services company. For years, Sam was doing the presentation that he had learned in agent training. He would talk about the company and its ratings; he would tell about the various products and services that he could provide. He would seek to get the client involved in a lengthy fact finder. He would try to understand the prospect's situation, and then project illustrations that would solve a problem or ensure an opportunity for the prospect. It was pretty traditional work; the kind that agent/advisors go through every day. But every day Sam was getting more frustrated with the results he was getting, and most importantly with the lack of enjoyment that he was experiencing in his work. So Sam and I started to work together. The first thing that Sam did was work very hard to determine the definite professional market that he was serving most effectively and wished to do more work in. This "declaring your market" is still rarely done by most financial advisors today, even though it is one of the keys to effective marketing. In the course of our conversations about this market niche, Sam described many of the things that he had done to help his clients achieve the purposes and plans that were important to them.

Then I challenged Sam to start doing things differently. I asked Sam to become a storyteller. On his next appointment, I asked him to bring no brochures, laptops or illustrations. After giving his one- minute presentation, I suggested that he simply tell true-life stories of how he had helped similar people have peace of mind, satisfaction, and solutions to the financial and personal situations that they were facing. With some real reluctance, Sam agreed to my challenge. It was even more difficult for Sam because he had just received a very strong professional recommendation from an ideal client.

After the completion of the appointment, Sam called me. He excitedly described the amazing results of his storytelling. The client had agreed to immediate action within the first 15 minutes of the interview. Three days later, Sam received a thank you note from the client prospect telling him that that was the most professional presentation he had ever had from an insurance agent.

Last year, Sam had his best year ever in the business. He reports that he is having more fun in his work than he has ever had before. He is working fewer hours and achieving even greater results. Sam had started to do things differently. He had stopped doing products with illustrations and was now telling parables that could illuminate and help the client see the light. Sam continually says, "It's going just great."

What happened?
There are some reasons this is working for Sam, and it might work well for you.

First of all, teaching and educating by parables and storytelling is as old as our human experience. It is very primal and rooted deep in the human psyche. When we tell stories, we reach people at deeper levels of their being. There may be a very good reason for this. A researcher, Mark Turner, in his book, THE LITERARY MIND, asserts that our ways of thinking and the origins of our language actually begin in the attempt to tell parables that express what is happening to us and what we want. To put it simply, our minds may not understand projections and probabilities very well, but they are hardwired for parables and storytelling.


Second, stories create emotional connections that go beyond what we can do with conventional information. We need not go into some of the brain theory available from the researchers, except to note that loads of information often leads to a lack of comprehension (glassy eyes) or to confused and apprehensive reflections (I guess I'll think about that). When this happens, we know that we have lost the prospect's attention and energy. There is little motivation for them to continue and usually no action is taken. Stories on the other hand go to a different processing part of the brain and can create strong emotion. Stories can create an emotional experience of value. Recently, Janelle Barlow and Dianna Maul have written a book called EMOTIONAL VALUE -- CREATING STRONG BONDS WITH YOUR CUSTOMER. They say "Customers want and expect to be positively, emotionally, and memorably impacted at every level of their commercial experience."The storyteller is able to create the strong bonds of emotional value.


Finally, the art of storytelling not only creates emotional engagements, but it helps the client and the prospect to remember you. How many truly memorable illustrations have you shown lately? Today the smart marketer understands that the primary responsibility they have is to help people remember what is truly important. Storytelling is all about helping people remember.

Do you want to be a good storyteller?
So if you are ready to start telling some stories, here are some simple guides as starting points to telling good stories.

First of all, ask the question, "What's the point?"
Every story has to have a purpose. Make sure that you know the purpose of your story and that when you tell your story that your listener "gets the point."

What's the predicament?
The best stories are not just narratives of events, but reflections on a problem. In those classic old time movies, Oliver Hardy used to say to Stan Laurel, "Well here's another fine mess you've gotten me in."The best stories have a simple mess somewhere. Your story should have a predicament.

Pets, people and pathos make for the best stories.
Every experienced storyteller talks about the power of animal
stories. Animal stories connect with us. So whenever you can, think about how your story might include an animal or the proverbial family pet. The best stories are not about events or ideas, but about very real people. Your story should have a main character or characters, and we should be able to have some strong feelings for their plight or predicament. That leads us to pathos. The word pathos comes from the same word that we get the word "pathetic."Often pathetic is used to describe our feelings about something or somebody because they are so incompetent or inept. They are so incompetent or inept that we feel sorry for them rather than for any anger or disgust at their bumbling behavior. Actually, the word pathos does not really imply such immense incompetence, but does mean deep feeling and sympathy. So a good story has a person to whom we can identify with and feel for.

Finally, a good story should have a puzzle.
When you hear a story that you know, or can easily guess the ending, your emotions disengage and there is minimal impact. A good story does have a sense of mystery and suspense.

How do I start?

Now take a look at your life's experiences and your professional practice. I would image that it is full of stories where something you did or something that a person failed to do has a powerful point that can help people discover a truth about you and what you can do for them. Let's start telling stories that can help our client and prospects see the light. That's called "illuminate." So, start by identifying three different stories from your repertoire of personal experiences.

First of all, chose a story that can demonstrate what you are very good at. Once you have your professional expertise well in hand, tell a story that demonstrates that expertise.

Secondly, you also need a story that illustrates how you work with people and the performance that you provide. Clients and prospects want to work with people who can provide a pleasant experience. Have a story that demonstrates how aware you are of making sure that the process is pleasant and a powerful solution to their predicament.

Thirdly, tell a story that helps the listener understand what people are able to feel, experience and do, because they work with you. This is your bottom line story. Make sure you have a story that can show the results of the things that you can do for people who work with you.

Edith Weiner, a noted futurist and strategist, has said, "The future belongs to the storyteller."When you start doing things differently, when you start telling stories and stop pushing products, the future will be yours. As a master story teller once said, "Let him who has ears, let him hear."



Stan Hustad is the leader of the PTM Group a performance coaching and personal performance marketing service to the insurance and investment industry. His program, The Difference Is You helps insurance and financial advisors market themselves with confidence, creativity, and high impact. He can be reached at (612) 729-0420, Fax (612) 729-0962, e-mail: ptmark @aol.com, or visit his web site at www.ptmgroup.com