Make Storytelling Work For Your Industry

What do an oyster farmer and a hedge fund have in common?

They’ve both proven tremendous success using the science of storytelling to grow their business. With over a decade of powerful storytelling under my belt, I’m beyond confident that storytelling can prove successful for you too, regardless of your industry.

Why am I that confident? It’s science. Neuro science to be exact.

When we take in purely factual information, a certain part of our brain called the Wernicke’s area is activated to translate words into meaning. Data and decimal points don’t typically “light up” other parts of our brain. But when we listen to stories, multiple parts of our brain are activated and our brain responds to the story events as if they were personally happening to us. It’s called narrative transportation.

This means that we are the main character of every story we hear. Likewise, we can make our target audience the heroes of the stories we tell. Once our true fans can put themselves in the heroes’ shoes and envision how we can serve them, we are capable of changing the way they think and interact with our brand. In short, effective storytelling translates to brand awareness, sales, and customer retention. In short-er, we can serve our true fans.

Storytelling in the Investment Industry

My company has helped investment boutiques raise billions of dollars, using a proprietary framework that begins with storytelling. The proof is in the  ̶p̶u̶d̶d̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶ funding.

• We helped a new fund go from $1M to $1B in 3 years

• We raised $300M for a new boutique with bottom decile performance

• We raised >$500M for a boutique and closed their flagship strategy in <3 years

• We doubled the size of a boutique asset manager with 1 deal

• We secured $60M in seed capital for a new interval fund before launch

• We secured $25M in seed capital for a new mutual fund before launch

• We helped numerous funds get on the coveted RIA platforms

But before the billions, there were stories. The stories are the medium for connecting with prospects before you can influence their behavior.

Storytelling in Other Industries

I’ve also helped founders in completely different industries use storytelling to grow their brands and businesses. Take, for instance, Holbrook Oyster - a family-run oyster farm in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. When they approached me, they wanted to commercially distribute their oysters, as well as sell them retail.

Credit: https://www.holbrookoyster.com/

I worked with the partner responsible for the expansion. Together, we defined their target market so they could really niche down and speak to an exclusive audience. We re-branded, developed a killer website, and began storytelling. We beta tested the distribution to select restaurants to be sure the story resonated. It did, and we leaned into the exclusivity of Holbrook’s oysters, positioning them as the go-to for Wellfleet oysters.

Holbrook’s leadership was able to take the branding and story to use as a basis to build out a multi-faceted business. The company is now shipping oysters across the country and they own a store. Their oysters are in multiple restaurants in New England, including the Liberty Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts. Plus, they launched a tour business. Holbrook Oyster’s name is becoming synonymous with Wellfleet oysters.

How Storytelling Can Work for Your Industry

Here’s the exciting news: The framework for storytelling doesn’t change based on your industry. You can create and share your stories the same way I did to raise $8B for investment boutiques, the same way I helped Holbrook Oyster expand into a successful, multi-faceted business.

Get started by writing these four stories. (I can help!)

1. Brand Story: how your brand or company guides your true fans

2. Back Story: your journey; complete with a problem you encountered and how you emerged transformed

3. Job Story: why you created your product or service, and what role it plays in the lives of your true fans

4. Impact Story: how you helped a true fan succeed

Once you write these, it’s time to put your stories in play. Incorporate them into your website, marketing collateral, social media, presentations, podcasts, sales calls, etc.

Need a guide to help you write and incorporate your stories?

I have over a decade of experience driving business growth with storytelling and am putting together an exclusive training class to help founders:

• Develop their target market

• Write compelling stories

• Define their signature pillars

• Get active on LinkedIn

There are a few spots left on the waitlist!