I used to start marketing initiatives with great enthusiasm, only to have them sputter out due to lack of follow through. The Gentle Rain process, coupled with Mark's advice, has ensured that I focus on the most important activities and that the initial enthusiasm doesn't turn into vapors.

—Daniel Berger

Financial Services

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I am most comfortable when there is a game plan or system to follow. Mark's approach, while flexible to accommodate individual needs, leaves no doubt about what must be done at each stage to keep the business development process moving forward.

—Shannon Anthony

Human Resources Consulting

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We used to spend considerable money on appointment setters, but got nothing. Gentle Rain enabled us to control our marketing ourselves. Now, we are 45% ahead of plan, yet only investing 20-30 minutes a day to keep the marketing system running smoothly.

—James Cassidy

Managing Partner, Human Resources Consulting Firm

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The ideas for what to put in a marketing letter, and even more importantly, what not to put in the letter, has proven to be invaluable. We have increased our response rate by 35%, based on what we learned in the boot camp.

—Vance Sheinfeld

Technology Consulting Firm Practice Leader

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Our firm will never have the global awareness of a McKinsey, but the Gentle Rain process enabled us to become better known to our defined market than any of the brand name firms. That is ultimately more important in our ability to get the projects we want.

—Michael Scott

Partner, Operations & Supply Chain Consulting Firm

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A very easy to implement, yet sophisticated approach for marketing professional services. Excellent advice on everything from how to turn the screener into an ally to accelerating the sales cycle.

—Shannon Anthony

Human Resources Consulting

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I hated to admit it, but our 'unique marketing message' sounded just like everyone else's 'unique marketing message'. The good news is that we nailed that problem before leaving the program. Now, we are more effective at differentiating our services, and it has paid off with 3 new clients.

—Peter Long

Partner, Global Executive Search Practice

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Marketing with Stories

Let me tell you a couple of quick stories. Perhaps you'll find them relevant.

In the early 1990s, Fortune magazine decided to do an article on selling. The question they set out to answer was:

Why are some people so good at selling while others so blatantly bad?

To arrive at the answer, the writers interviewed two-dozen top sales performers across a broad spectrum of industries. Among those who were interviewed were financial advisors, insurance producers, executive recruiters and a wide variety of consultants and high-value services providers. Here's what they learned.

The most successful sales people sell without it ever being apparent that they are in fact, selling.

There's nothing obvious or obnoxious about their presentation. No Trial Close, Ben Franklin Close or Take Away Closes. They sold, but they sold invisibly.

Moreover, the Fortune article concluded that the more you are marketing and selling high-value services, the more important it is to be able to sell invisibly.

So what exactly does this mean? How did the top performers go about building trust and credibility? How did they overcome often deep-seated skepticism? How did they persuade others to their point of view?

The one thing in common was... they all told stories.

Lots of stories. Stories that demonstrated how others had successfully achieved results by using their services. Stories that preemptively addressed objections or concerns. Stories that made it easy for others to refer them to their friends and colleagues. Stories that build credibility and reduced skepticism.

Let's be honest. Didn't we capture your interest and tweak your curiosity when we began this webpage with— "Let me tell you a couple of quick stories. Perhaps you'll find them relevant." ?

People like stories.

They like to read stories and they like to hear stories. Stories enable us to visualize things that are incredibly difficult to grasp otherwise. Good marketing stories paint a picture. They make us want to learn more.

Thus, if we want to get people intrigued about our services, if we want them to be able to tell others about what we do, if we want to carve out a niche for ourselves, we need to create a series of great marketing stories.

Excellent marketing stories don't scream, "I WANT TO IMPRESS YOU!" They don't scream, "BUY MY SERVICES NOW!" Rather, good stories give the reader or listener the warm feeling of being taken on an interesting trip. And if the story is well constructed, at the end of the journey, we're going to be impressed. We're going to be interested. We're going to want to take the next step in the sales process.

And that's why the most successful marketers tell stories.

My second story begins in the 1940s.

Advertising Age magazine states that the single most effective marketing campaign ever created, in terms of selling the most goods and services, first appeared in 1948. It still runs periodically today. It's been copied and "knocked off" by countless marketers over the decades and been used to sell hard goods as well as intangibles, high-ticket items and those with a nominal cost. You'll probably recognize it. Here's how it starts.

Take two men. Both graduates of good universities. Both hardworking and ambitious.
Flash forward twenty years, and one is in the corner office commanding the attention and respect of hundreds. The other toils amid the legions of middle managers in a largely obscure position. Why did one ascend to great heights and the other plateau so early?

The copy goes on to suggest that the key contributing factor was that one read the Wall Street Journal and the other didn't. This format of "Take Two People" Compare/Contrast is a highly successful marketing formula. What Advertising Age believes is the underlying reason for its success revolves around one simple fact that differentiates it from the multitudes of other marketing campaigns— it's a story.

So why do you need a marketing story?

You need them for your brochures, sales letters and your website. You need them for your face-to-face sales presentations. However, we believe that the most important reason to have a marketing story is—

Marketing stories differentiate you from your competition and establish your brand.

Ultimately, the stories you tell about who you are, your uniqueness and the results your clients achieve, are what will establish you as one of the preeminent players in your field. And since 1992, that's what we've been doing for over 1100 clients-creating compelling stories that communicate who you are, what you do and what makes you different.

So, how might we work together? Here are a few different options.

Option One— purchase the Marketing with Stories Toolkit

This comprehensive CD/workbook system is the recorded version of our "live" seminar and contains all the examples, exercises and workbooks that attendees receive in our in-house training program. It's just like having us by your side guiding you through each of the steps in the story development process. Each toolkit also comes with a Free Critique Coupon that you can use to get personalized feedback on your marketing story.

You will learn:

: A 4-part structure for organizing any story.
: How to use stories to eliminate the objections prospects have about your services without being obvious about it.
: Creating stories that spread buzz.
: How to create stories that differentiate you from the competition.
: Using stories to create your corporate brand.
: Why statistics don't convince and stories do. How to integrate facts and figures into a story without ruining the narrative.
: Where to get inspiration for a story when your creative juices run dry.
: How to use questions to draw prospects into your story.
: What's a metaphor? How to use them for punch in your stories.
: Manipulating emotions through stories.
: A simple process for distilling complex ideas into word pictures.
: Telling stories about others. Stories of success and failure.
: How to tailor your stories to the perspective of your audience.
: How to intrigue readers in the opening two sentences.
: Key elements for verbal story telling.
: How to create stories that will be believed.
: What kills otherwise effective stories.
: How to persuade others through your marketing stories.
: The power of subtlety in story telling.
: The common factors that all good stories share.
: Don't try to tell your competitors story. Creating your own unique point of view.
: How to determine what aspects of your services are of most interest to your prospects.
: Words paint pictures. How to find (and use) the right words to captivate your readers or listeners.
: How to communicate the consequences of not taking action without being an alarmist.
: Starting off with a bang. How to use quotes, metaphors and other tools to immediately grab your listener (or reader's) interest.
: The "Happy Ending". Wrapping up the story with a positive glow. Making your reader or listener want to take the next step.

The Marketing with Stories Toolkit comes in a standard and deluxe version. The primary difference is that the deluxe version includes my copyright free Directory of Sales & Marketing Letters. Most every excellent copywriter I've met keeps a "swipe file" of great stuff they've read which they use for inspiration. These fill-in-the-blank templates are great for creating lead generation and stay-in-touch correspondence.

Money back guarantee

Buy the program and examine it for 30 days. If for any reason you're not happy, send it back and I'll refund you 100% of your money. It's that simple.

Marketing with Stories Toolkit (CD set)

To be well-known in a niche market and get people intrigued about your services, you need a great marketing story. This step-by-step guide is the key to developing your unique story.

Price $295.⁰⁰

Marketing with Stories Toolkit Deluxe (CD set)

Get the Marketing with Stories Toolkit
plus the Directory of Sales & Marketing Letters.

Purchased Separately $520.⁰⁰
Deluxe Package Price $395.⁰⁰ You Save $125.⁰⁰

Option Two— schedule a Marketing with Stories seminar

If you have 4 or more individuals who would like to learn how to create great marketing stories, you may want to inquire about us conducting the Marketing with Stories Seminar in-house at your offices. The program can be structured from a half-day (perfect for staff meetings or retreats) to an intensive 2-day experience with writing critiques and evaluations. Contact us for details.

Option Three— hire me to create your great marketing story

You might want to consider hiring me to write compelling marketing stories for you. I can create stories that illustrate your capabilities, differentiate you from the competition and address the common objections you face when marketing your services. Stories for your website, brochures or sales letters. Alternatively, if you've already got a marketing story but think it could use some punch you may wish to have me spend an hour or so editing and critiquing it.

Contact Us

Call 770-643-8566 or email me at mark@GentleRainMarketing.com and let's discuss how we can be of assistance.