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Don't forget, every situation has a story

March 18, 2014 by Andrew Sharpe — Retail Strategist, BRANDSPANK

A few weeks ago, my wife started to search online for a trampoline for our kids. Our girls have been wanting a trampoline for quite some time, and so my wife and I agreed they could get one, as long as they earned the money to buy it. When it was time to start looking, being the "green" person in our family, my wife thought she'd check for used trampolines first, before heading out to buy a new one. She knew what she wanted and after several weeks of daily searches, an ad popped-up that caught her attention. But the ad asked for offers, rather than stating a price. It was the exact trampoline she was looking for and it retailed for $1400 new. My wife asked me what she should offer, to which I shrugged and, admittedly, said just about nothing (I was busy thinking about a pitch I was about to make). Not much more was said until the next morning over breakfast.

My wife turned to me and said, "You know that trampoline ad?"

"Mm... yeah..." I answered, barely looking up from my bowl of cereal.

"I asked them what they wanted instead of giving them an offer..."

I looked up and thought to myself, "But that's not what they asked for..." and I was to get on my "lemme tell you how the real world works" soapbox, to explain that the seller asked you to make an offer NOT for you ask them to make an offer when my wife continued, "I told them our story. I wrote to them and shared how the girls started their pet-sitting business to save up for a trampoline and how they're giving 20 percent to the animal shelter, and I told them how they asked for contributions for their 'trampoline jar' instead of receiving gifts for Christmas. I let them know that the girls have saved up $662.57 so far, and I asked them what they were hoping to get for the trampoline to see if you and I could make up the difference."

I stopped in my tracks. There I was, someone who preaches to my clients about the importance of sharing one's story and I had missed how obviously brilliant this was. Of course, sharing our girls' story made it compelling and gave the seller of the trampoline a reason to connect with us. Having a story gave the online negotiations on Craigslist a human voice.

A week later, the seller wrote back to my wife and told her that he had been out of town and received many emails for the trampoline, most of which were sent to his spam folder. He went on to say,

"... taking into consideration your story, I would be more than happy to sell it to you and I am sure it would be for less than your kids' budget of $662.57. Do not let them know about this hint/tip. I like what your kids have done in order to get what they would like to get; unusual these days!!!"

As a retailer, you need to ask yourself if you're relaying your story in a way that resonates with your audience. Do they understand what you stand for, what you value, and who you are? Do they know why you do what you do and what makes your business different from other, similar retailers? Your story and how you share it is what will give people a reason to walk through your doors. If you don't have a story, you're just another email in the spam folder.

About Andrew Sharpe

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