Add More Doors With Great Storytelling

Your stories can help you build trust, the ultimate differentiator. Learn how to incorporate stories into your growth strategy. 

Stories draw us in. They keep us entertained, elicit emotions, make us think, and sometimes inspire us to change.

Meaningful storytelling is an art. But it’s not limited to just books, movies, and TV shows: It also has a place in our professional worlds.

If you think about it, salespeople have to be natural storytellers. As a salesperson, your job isn’t simply to tell. It’s to connect, and for residential property managers especially, connecting with current and prospective owners is key to building an efficient business.

Consider, for instance,  how owners often have personal attachments to their properties. A well-told story can help you tap into that attachment, bridging the gap between abstract service offerings and the owners’ tangible needs.

As with any product, knowing the full story behind it helps prospective customers make that jump from browsing to buying.

Imagine visiting a local coffee shop for the sustenance that so many of us in the business world require. While their prices may be a tad higher than, say, what the big chain down the street is offering, what often differentiates these smaller venues from their larger corporate counterparts?

It’s their stories. Learning how the beans are sourced from fair-trade farms, how they’re roasted for ultimate freshness, and how the shop stays committed to sustainable business practices just feels different. It’s special, it’s unique…it’s a connection.

The same holds true for the property management world. BDMs are constantly on the prowl to prove their differences and win new clients, and one of the best ways to do so is with great storytelling that humanizes your pitch and connects with those around you.

Showing Authenticity Through Storytelling

Authenticity is key to great storytelling. It’s not hard to pierce the veil of deception in today’s world. You owe it to yourself and your owners to be honest, truthful, and transparent.

It’s even easier to spot these characteristics than it is to spot a fraud. Authenticity shows people who you are, warts and all. It reveals your integrity, shows your character, and builds rapport.

Using your real-life experiences to craft great storytelling builds trust and credibility. “I remember when that didn’t work in the early days of my property management business” goes a lot further than “My business was an immediate success from day one.”