You can't attract prospects without good stories... by Larry Melnick

...and you can't tell a good story without a good script.

Humans live in stories. Your story is a window through which you see the world. Also through which the world sees you. It affects how you make decisions and how the world makes decisions about you.

The fact that we naturally live in stories is actually good news for professional services firms. After all, we don't sell a product and therefore we need to rely on prospects to infer our potential value.

Unfortunately, most case histories simply don't tell the stories in a thorough and compelling enough manner. Don't get me wrong. I realize that it's "short attention span theatre" out there, so I'm not talking about writing a book. What I am talking about is a case history that's designed to grab a prospect's attention and then deliver the story in a clear, compelling and concise way by answering 5 key questions:

1. What was the business problem or opportunity that existed (not that they needed a new website or identity) and what were they trying to accomplish?

2. What were the key insights that we knew or learned through research that helped determine our strategy (shows that there's good thought behind the work)?

3. What did our strategy involve?

4. What if any obstacles stood in the way of success (external and/or internal)?

5. What were the results of our efforts (increased sales, etc., not the website that you developed)?

When you have a free moment, take a look at one of your case histories. If it doesn't sufficiently address these questions, you're probably selling yourself short. You're also not providing your business developers with enough knowledge to effectively engage prospects in a meaningful way.

This article has been provided by Larry Melnick. Founder and Principal, Hunter Business Development. For more information please visit http://www.hunterbizdev.com.