To Tell Good Stories, Put Yourself In Your Stories

So I’ve been asked a lot lately by insurance industry folks who want to start blogging, “How do you come up with your stories?”

Here’s my response, “My stories come from my own experiences- real-life interactions with customers and my usage of social media, marketing and being a business owner”. Pretty simple concept don’t you think?

Seldom do I write about theory. You’ve already told me numerous times you find it most helpful when I can weave a real-life situation into my story. It packs an extra punch, and lends added credibility.

But insurance people have a big challenge- telling stories that both entertain and educate

Quite frankly, I think that’s why so many people in the insurance industry struggle with blogging. They can’t see beyond the same old rehash of a dry, stale concept- a lot of posts I’ve seen are simply just defining terms with little context (trust me- when I first started blogging, I made this mistake).

Which would you prefer- a story about a claim that tells how replacement cost came to save the day OR a bunch of tired old definitions thrown around in a few paragraphs? I know which one I’d prefer 😉

We also have a challenge telling stories to our own customers- to both entertain and educate during our communications

Not blogging, but real-life interactions with our customers. This really hit home just the other day during a conversation with one of my customers. Here’s my story.

A customer dropped by to discuss her homeowners policy. As usual, the conversation came around to the fact her premium has doubled in the past 4 years. We discussed Mother Nature and how weather-related claims have beaten up on homeowners insurance- to the tune of billions of dollars paid out and only millions in premium collected. We discussed a few other things as well when it hit me- I needed to give her another example to show her the problem was widespread and not just limited to her. It was a “watershed moment”, if you will.

So I pulled up my own homeowners policy. I walked her through my policy- it was a similar amount and similar coverage. And even more important- my premium had done the same thing as hers in the same amount of time. And we both were claim-free.

What a telling moment. Here’s what I learned.

It’s easy to be a talking head. But it’s way more meaningful when you drill down and illustrate what’s truly going on with real-life examples.

To actually show your customer that you’re in the same boat- that you’re not just spouting off abstract facts & figures. That you truly understand her concern because you’re going through the same thing. Talk about putting some skin in the game.

To Tell Good Stories, Put Yourself In Your Stories

• When talking with my customer, I inserted myself into her situation by showing how rising homeowners insurance premiums have affected me too. Not only am I an insurance agent, but I’m a consumer just like her.
• By writing about this situation and sharing it with you, I’m inserting myself and my experience into the story to make the story more meaningful.

So, basically, it’s a two-fer 😉

If you want to tell good stories, make it personal. Put yourself in your stories. Because it’s just so much more meaningful. And it makes one hell of a story.

Do you agree? Have you had a similar watershed moment? How do you think putting a little of yourself in your stories can really amplify your message?