Do you know how to talk about your work in a way that helps people understand what you do, who you do it for and how it could benefit them or someone they know?  Stories capture attention.  They resonate with people and are memorable long after an explanation has faded from memory, so I suggest you use Success Stories to demonstrate your work and how it benefits your clients.  In fact, I recommend you develop eight or ten Success Stories and keep them, figuratively, in your back pocket to use as illustrations when opportunities arise.

 

You can develop your Success Stories by answering the following three questions about a single client problem you resolved, then telling the story in a sentence that focuses on the benefit to the client.  When you tell the story in conversation, you'll use just the final sentence, providing more details only if you're asked.

Problem - What problem did you help a client solve?
Action - What action did you take to resolve your client's problem?
Result - What was the result of the action you took on your client's behalf?
Success Story - Now collapse your story into one sentence that focuses on the benefit to the client.

 

Example #1
Problem - An office within my client firm was not reaching its service or financial goals.
Action - I assessed the strengths within the office and helped the leader use effective delegation and training to leverage those strengths.  I helped the group work and sell together more collaboratively and effectively.
Result - The office exceeded every one of its employee satisfaction, client service and financial performance goals, becoming one of the company's highest performing offices in the country.
Success Story - I helped an underperforming professional services office become extraordinarily successful by engaging the hearts and strengths of its people..

 

Example #2
Problem - A client firm had three senior associates "knocking on the door" of shareholder status.  The firm wanted to give these associates an extra boost to help them be successful on their path to partnership.
Action - I coached all three associates.  Our work included business development, internal and external communications and relationships, professional development, delegation, time management, thought leadership and work/life integration.
Result - Each attorney is now a successful shareholder in the client firm.
Success Story - One of my favorite client projects was coaching three senior associates to give them the extra boost they needed to become successful shareholders.

 

What are your Success Stories?  I encourage you to develop several, then review and add to them periodically.  Revisiting your successes can be fun and restating them in terms of how you benefited your clients will help you develop new business.  Select stories that are representative, not one-offs, so people hearing them will understand how they or someone they know might benefit from your work. Also be sure to select stories that represent the kind of work you want to do more of, not work you'd rather not repeat or attract.

 

Success Stories are powerful tools in your marketing toolkit.  You can use them as examples of your work when you're networking or to illustrate solutions when you're meeting with prospective clients.  When business friends ask, "What have you been doing lately?" and you reply with a Success Story about how you just solved a problem for one of your clients, you help them understand what you do, who you do it for and how it could benefit them or someone they know.