Authentic Resourcing Blog

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We live today in a world with too businesses with too many products competing for the attention of time starved, information overloaded buyers who have more knowledge at their disposal than any other group of buyers in history.

Which is why competing for 1) their attention and 2) their business is a huge challenge in any market. But it’s not just buyers of products - but anyone that is marketed to - including the very people you seek to recruit and retain.

In such a world, it is stories (and not necessarily the product) that sell. Real stories and authentic communication which connect with buyers as people at an emotional level.

That applies whether you are trying to market a product, service, an investment opportunity, marketing a job opportunity to a new recruit or a long term career to an existing employee.

This was made really clear to me whilst watching this week’s episode of the BBC TV show Dragons’ Den.
Why?

UK-based readers who watch Dragons’ Den may have seen two entrepreneurs get financial backing from two celebrity millionaires - all because of the power of their story - and not their product or their business plan.

For those who haven’t seen it, the series is the venture capital equivalent of the talent shows American Idol or X Factor. The budding entrepreneurs give a three minute pitch to five millionaire investors (the ‘Dragons’) in a bid to secure an investment in return for a share in their business.

And just like the talent shows, the show features some pitches and ideas which are ludicrous, some that are genius and some which are neither.

You could say that the pitch in this week’s show by Former radio DJ Christian Richardson and business graduate Rachel Watkin was in the ‘neither’ category.

For the most part, the Dragons were uninspired by the idea of investing £53,000 into a recycled gift box business with fairly average products and an average sales record. It looked certain that they would be saying “I’m out” (the Dragon’s Den equivalent of Simon Cowell saying “You can’t sing, forget your dream and go home!”)

But during the question and answer session, there was a sudden change of sentiment amongst some of the venture capitalists. It came when the two individuals were asked to talk about their backgrounds and tell their personal stories.

To their credit, Richardson and Watkin gave a short, but candid account of what brought them there. Richardson was a DJ earning a comfortable 6 figure salary before developing a drug problem. He left his job and went into therapy before turning his life around. Watkin became ill after a routine operation went wrong. She couldn’t work, lost her property and had to start all over again.

Both of them wanted to make a fresh start and do something of value which would make a difference. Hence the ethical environmentally-friendly gift box business which provides major retailers with recyclable gift boxes for customers with a green conscience.

Within seconds Peter Jones, the telecoms tycoon, said: “When you tell me your story, it resonates with me. It makes you both highly investable. I’m thinking how can we make these people a success……I’m going to make you an offer…”

And instead of offering them £53,000, he partnered up with another Dragon to make a combined offer of £60,000 along with the opportunity to collaborate with another business which the two Dragon’s already owned. It was a complete turnaround.

Telling their authentic stories and being open about their imperfections made Peter Jones really connect with them and the whole situation turned round in a matter of minutes. You could say the lifeline and future success of their business turned on that single moment when they shared their strories.

Telling authentic stories is how I have always ’sold’ job opportunities to potential candidates when recruiting. Telling authentic stories is how I have always led and retained people.

Real, honest stories based around the history, values and culture of a busines along with the story of powerful vision for the future of a business engages people and is far more compelling than many people imagine.

Stories which are short, relevant and real will always do far more to help differentiate yourself as you attempt to recruite and retain talent.

Yes, real stories will put off some buyers. Indeed, not all the Dragon’s were inspired by the entreprenuers story.

But as my friend Chris Barrow says, “Marketing is the process you go through to decide who you don’t want to do business with.”

Marketing anything with authenticity means putting off the ‘wrong kind’ of buyers who don’t fit the profile you want to attract. It’s about developing a story which is focussed on drawing in the right type of people.

In a similar vein, your authentic story may well put off some potential and current employees. But that’s fine: at the same time you will draw in the right type of people who do connect with your employee brand at an emotional level.

And we know what happens when people connect with a brand emotionally - price becomes less important.

We buy from Nike, BMW and Starbucks for the brand - not the product or the price. There may well be better places to buy a better cup of coffee or a cheaper car. But it’s the the association with their brand values and how they make us feel that makes them unique.

When people who are emotionally connected with any brand in this way, the price becomes less important. They buy into the perceived value they get from the association with those brands.

In the same way, to attract, engage and retain talented people you need to focus on your business’s employee brand.

The way to do this is through stories. Stories which are authentic, stories which resonate with your target audience in a way that emotionally connects them to your business.

When you do this consistently, someone’s decision to work for your business is no longer about salary, compensation or the size and stature of your business. People want to be working with you because of who you are as a business - warts and all.

That’s when you stand out from the crowd and that’s how you find and keep the best talent without having to pay more than your competitors.

What’s your story…?

Want to see the 15 minute clip form Dragon’s Den?

It’s available to watch for free on the BBC iplayer site until until Sunday 7th September.

Just click here and forward the timer to 45 minutes into the show when the pitch for the gift box company begins. If you only want to watch the ’story’ part then forward to around 52 minutes in.