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Storyteller

Storyteller: Tell us a story, your story …

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So here’s a few questions you probably ask yourself more often than you want.

How do I make my business more attractive? How do I make my sales staff more interesting to clients? How do I make advertising and marketing pitches sing?

Sound familiar? They’re pretty fundamental, everyday questions.

They shouldn’t be.

You’ve probably tried tackling them with more advertising. With a greater presence on social media. With louder, amped-up websites.

And you might have enjoyed a reasonable degree of success, too.

But somehow, for all your good work, things seem to have levelled off. Plateaued.

Now you need something new, something fresh, to win new traction for your business.

But ideas are thin on the ground. That “Eureka!” moment’s just not happening.

Maybe it’s time to revisit an old friend:

Content.

Yes, sure, you’ve done content up to your eyeballs. Like everyone else, you know content is king. And like everyone else you’ve made sure your content is informative, short and sharp, easy to understand.

But unlike everyone else, are you offering something different?

This could be the real question you need to address.

This especially so now, when content has developed a certain sameness across more than a few industry sectors.

And while everyone’s bombarding everyone with – yawn — friendly banter, yawn, oh-so-clever maxims and generic insights, and muzak life tips, well … it all becomes white noise after a while.

People switch off. They’re sick of it, frankly.

And your content can be a crossfire casualty.

Ask yourself, would you read your content if it wasn’t about your business?

Hmmm.

So what to do?

Maybe it’s simpler than you think — if you get creative at telling your stories.

The internet loves the unusual, the quirky. It’s screaming out for the unusual, for the entertaining, the whimsical and engaging.

Your clients might appreciate a new perspective.

You don’t have to stop what you’re doing. Just finesse it a little.

Make it a little more fun, more engaging. Utilise the fun side, the quirky aspects, the human side, of your business.

Not sure just how to do that?

Talk to a storyteller. An experienced, professional writer.

You might just be surprised at how good a story you’ve never shared.

And so might your clients.

Camino

The Camino: A pilgrim’s grisly sojourn

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Demons, holy wars, sex, blood and gore, torture and fire, sacred bones, con artists — there’s nothing like a good walk on the wild side to highlight the fevers so closely tied to religion.

And there’s no better place to find all of these charming elements of faith than the Camino de Santiago, the famed pilgrim foot-slog across the north of Spain.

In fact, it’s fair to say it’s no place for the squeamish, physically or mentally. Just ask Ballarat author Kate Simons.

Simons has gathered a startling catalogue of forgotten tales of the Camino – curious, bizarre, terrifying — in forensic style in her new book Medieval Wanders and Wonders.

Her account starts out with a grisly story of sex, self-mutilation, demonic intercession and zombie-like resurrection. A sorely-tempted ascetic, Gerald, and his manhood part ways in the nastiest of ways.

But he’s only one of innumerable pilgrims who have made their way to Santiago to venerate the holy relics of the apostle Saint James, or Santiago as the Spaniards know him.

Simons delivers an incisive, arresting catalogue of everything from the machinations of popes, bishops, kings, knights and nobles to inquisitions, reliquaries, rituals, ascetics, art and architecture.

It’s a brutal story and a rollicking ride for what, by rights, is an academic discourse. Simons proves time and again that history, especially religious history, is every bit as shocking as any modern-day front-page screamer.

And then some. Like ISIS on steroids.

Dr Kate Simons, a research fellow at Federation University, trekked the Camino under the blazing Spanish sun, not knowing she would fall under the spell of its treasure trove of religious history, fervour, persecution, manipulation and well, horror stories.

Her Medieval Wanders and Wonders details in glorious fashion life and death, Heaven and Hell, crusades, warfare, monasticism, witchcraft, medicine, fear – the whole gamut of medieval thought and practice underpinning the pilgrim mind, body and soul.

Medieval minds weren’t exactly the greatest intellectual sponges about and Simons is quick to highlight the charlatans so willing to exploit religion, and pilgrims, for their base ends.

Simons pokes, prods, even parodies, the medieval mind with a healthy dose of cynicism in a critical — at times withering and at all times entertaining — scrutiny of the Camino.

A riveting, historical tour de force, Medieval Wanders and Wonders shines fresh light on the Camino de Santiago that will enthral travellers, lovers of intrigue, history and real-life thrillers.

Medieval Wanders and Wonders

By Kate Simons

www.austinmacauley.com

Reveal yourself

Loosen up, reveal a bit of yourself

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This could be a reveal. How’s that profile of yours going?

I don’t mean to get too personal but do you think it’s still cutting it?

Lots of competition out there, you need to be at the top of your game. And you know the old story … first impressions matter.

So, again, how’s that profile of yours going?

Is it showing you as the professional only and not your personality?

Not every client is going to connect with a mega-driven, ultra-focussed, uber-confident superhuman.

Many would be just as comfortable with someone they can relate to, and who they believe has their best interests at heart.

Maybe a lot more comfortable.

Is your more human side something your current profile reflects? Does it show anything of your other interests? What you do outside of work? Things where you might find a natural common ground with your clients?

It might be sport, a theatre group, a wine-tasting club, or arts and crafts of some sort. Maybe you’re a charity volunteer, maybe a bellringer at the local church. Perhaps, like this scribe, you double up as a musician.

Does your profile reveal some of the other you? You know it might just help you engage more effectively with your clients if it did.

Like I said, I don’t mean to get too personal but it might be time to talk to a writer. One who can convey all your attributes to your clients.

The Building blogs of business

Blogs: Building blocks of business relations

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Blogs and building relations are critical to sales — first-time sales and ongoing sales alike.

We all like to deal with brands, with companies, that are familiar. Names that we know and feel comfortable with.

But how does a business help grow that familiarity, that confidence, that comfort factor?

In many ways, truth be known. But one very special way is with blogs.

Why blogs?

Well, for one, because a blog doesn’t have to try to sell something.

A blog can be like a chat with a girlfriend over a coffee, with a mate at the footy. What you’d call a water-cooler conversation. It’s not the hard sell. It’s not selling anything, actually. Except goodwill.

The blog idea is simple. Talk about something interesting, maybe something topical.

Talk in a way that shows your personality. Engage your blog’s reader to show you value them beyond just the money they might mean to your business.

In many countries, business is all about relationships and friendships.

Friendships are important because they grow and depend on trust. But friendship depends on talking with one another.

You can do that talking with a blog. It’s easy. Invite your clients to talk, listen to what they have to say. Talk to each other. Communicate. Become familiar with one another. Listen to the feedback and learn.

Blogs are a great investment in your business’ most valuable asset, its people. They could work wonders for your business.

Get ahead of the game. Get blogging.

 

PS: What do you think of this blog post? Email me @ info@noelmurphy.com.au.

Engage more often

Engage more with your clients … it’s your call

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How often do you hear that you need to engage more with your clients?

Be nice to have a dollar for each time you did. Be even nicer, better for your business, if you could actually engage more often. And a bit more easily, too.

But you know the story, finding time is tough. Your business is already demanding your attention, always. Then there’s the family, the kids, the gym …

It’s a wonder you have any time free at all, let alone for extra engaging with your business network.

Still, you know the importance, the very real value, of making that extra contact. Of checking in, even if just for a quick g’day, with your clients.

A phone call goes a long way, of course. And if you can squeeze one or two in while you’re in the car, terrific. But mobile phones have a way of adding to the busyness of the coal-face, and cutting out what might once have been a little free space.

Even if you can get in that call or two, how do you stop yourself sounding stressed or forced? Or worse, like you’re ticking the boxes?

At the risk of sounding a little old school, what about sending a personal email? Maybe even an old-fashioned letter?

Yeah, yeah, who has the time for that? And who reads their emails, let alone snail-mail letters?

You might be surprised to find it’s lots of people. You read all your own, don’t you?

Okay, people might not get right back to you straight away if you write them, they might be busy too. But rest assured, a quick personal note just touching base, even if there’s nothing much going on, will be noted. And appreciated.

It shows you value them.

Trick is, how to get out to those clients quickly and efficiently when your time’s at a premium already.

In truth, it’s not really so hard. Not much more than a quick phone call, really.

That’s provided you talk to someone who can relay your thoughts and your personality — readily and concisely — out to your network.

You need a writer. That’s what they do. Write just what you need. Quickly, properly and, importantly, professionally.

Talk to one next time you get a free minute or two. Make that minute or two. You might just be saving your business.

And you might be surprised at just what else they can help you with as well.

Content is king, and critical to your clients

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Content: (noun) substantive information or creative material.

Sounds flash, eh?

Just whip up a bit of content for your website. Bit of impressive banter, a few buzzwords, bit of the old vocabulary.

Yep, shouldn’t be too hard to get something substantive and creative. That ought to rope in a few new clients. It’s just words. How hard can it be?

Hmmm.

Thing is, when’s the last time you read something you’d write yourself and found it … ahem, engaging?

Or convincing enough to persuade you to learn more?

Content is curious stuff. It can be engaging, whimsical, serious, pushy, persuasive, authoritative, sympathetic.

In business, it’s everything.

Content is tied closely to credibility, survival, turnover and, ultimately, success.

Content is king. On your website. In your reports. In your media statements, your blogs — everything you put out to your existing and prospective clients.

But it must be the right content. Not something just thrown together because it sounds clever, has a few big words and looks kind of pretty.

Content has to engage your client.

It has to communicate what they want to hear from you.

It has to relay what you want to say without sounding pushy, overbearing or a try-hard.

In short, it has to be believable. It has to be genuine.

Which, in the end, means it has to be compiled by a professional.

Don’t leave something so important to chance … or you won’t be very ‘content’ in the other sense of the word.

PS: What do you think of this blog post? Email me @ info@noelmurphy.com.au.

New Year

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Welcome to 2017. Hope it’s a beaut for you and yours.

Always a curious thing how the New Year’s so full of good intentions. Never any shortage, it seems, of resolutions, ambitions and promises as the calendar ticks over to mark another 365-day orbit around the Sun.

After the turmoil of 2016, expectations of something better will be running high.

Personally, my resolution is to make sure I don’t become a celebrity, not that there’s much danger of that happening.

How many beloved celebrities shuffled off the mortal coil last year? It must have been a nerve-wracking year to be a celeb.

Check out the list: David Bowie, Robin Williams, Prince, Muhammad Ali, Leonard Cohen, Gene Wilder, Glenn Frey, George Martin, Arnold Palmer, Keith Emerson, Ronnie Corbett, Merle Haggard, Leon Russell … and there were plenty more.

Even pretty Carol Brady, Florence Henderson, fell off the perch.

So I’m planning to fly under the radar, stay well away from TV reality shows and avoid X Factor auditions. I’ll be putting music recording on hold and my best-selling book plans under the bed.

I’m even tempted to stop answering the phone ‘I wake up with Today’ but, hey, I could use the bucks.

One thing I can’t avoid at the start of each New Year, though, is a couple of predictions. It’s a bit of a bad habit, given so many of them fail to materialise. But for reasons I’m a bit scared to analyse I persist.

So here goes: 10 tips for 2017.

  1. Bill Shorten replaced as Federal Opposition leader by Anthony Albanese.
  2. Donald Trump savaged over insider trading profiteering after the markets soared on the back of his passive election speech.
  3. Stock market shock as Wikileaks revealed economic figures and forecasts doctored by Chinese government.
  4. Revived avian flu scare after several species of migratory birds across Pacific Rim are found infected.
  5. IS forces decimated in Syria by US/Russian coalition.
  6. Kanye West jailed on ice charges.
  7. Essendon footballer Jobe Watson wins Brownlow Medal, but forfeits due to report.
  8. One Nation MP Pauline Hanson successfully sues ABC for defamation.
  9. Former Geelong mayor Darryn Lyons signs on for Virgin flight into space.
  10. Angelina Jolie marries Johnny Depp in shock rebound pairing after recent divorces for both.

Sorry about that but I’m glad it’s out of my system. A Happy New Year to you, and all the best in 2017.

 

PS: What do you think of this blog post? Email me @ info@noelmurphy.com.au.

Christmas

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Christmas, for some people, is a bit like nostalgia — it’s not what it used to be.

If you’re not surrounded by kids, especially young kids, it can be a little empty. It’s not hard for some people to find Christmas too commercial. After all, it’s been going on for a couple of months now.

No doubt it’s hard work. Negotiating the Yuletide campaign of office parties, client knees-ups, annual get-togethers and family gatherings can mean a solid workout for the liver and waistline.

But planning and managing kids’ presents, dinners, barbecues and backyard cricket matches is fun. Especially if you approach it all the right way, with a touch of creativity. It’s good for the soul.

Of course, all this busyness can mean your eye is a little off the ball with your business and your clients. It doesn’t have to be that way.

Not if you share a little Christmas largesse with them.

Want to throw a Christmas party? Sure. But make sure everyone’s free to get there, and help get them home too. They’ll love you for it.

Too expensive? Don’t fuss. Everyone knows business is doing it pretty tough right now. But remember, it’s the thought that counts.

A lucky dip of kids’ toys for your workers to take home might be the thing. Maybe you could try something a bit different; like a whip-around for clothes, toys and foodstuffs you can donate to charity.

Christmas cards to your clients, dancing elf videos of your staff with thank-you and Merry Chrissie messages, or just a straight-up emails, texts, Facebook posts or Tweets … make sure you do something to  engage with your most important asset — your people — at Christmas.

From this bloke’s perspective, Christmas is another year older. That’s the joy of being born on December 25.

And yep, birthdays are a bit like nostalgia, too — they’re not what they used to be.

 

PS: What do you think of this blog post? Email me @ info@noelmurphy.com.au.

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