Book Review: The Business of Stories by Susan Payton published by Rethink 2022
This was the Fabulous Networking book club’s read in May 2022 and it was well received. The book has a clear purpose and is well structured to achieve that purpose.
We’re constantly told that stories resonate with people and that we should tell more of them. At the same time we are advised to focus on our customers not ourselves. How do we reconcile the two? This book answers that question.
Payton explains why story telling is important and then leads us through the concepts of our personal stories, our business’ stories, and our customers’ stories. She leads us to the sweet spot where these interconnect and steers us through telling our stories in a compelling fashion.
I especially liked the structure of the book. Each chapter starts with a story that illustrates the key point of the chapter. These are supplemented with an explanation and further examples and then some exercises to help us to apply the lessons of the chapter to our own circumstances.
Each chapter finishes with a summary of the key points contained in that chapter. However, I did find the ‘well done, keep going’ message at the end of each chapter a but patronising but maybe that’s just me.
My key takeaways
- I have a story to tell which will resonate with my ideal client
- It is possible to tell my story in a way that makes it about my ideal client not me
- There are some useful tips on how to tell a story that our audiences will want to read
- I need to talk to some of my customers to collect more stories and set myself up with a system for recording them in such a way I can retrieve them when needed
Would I recommend this book?
Yes I would recommend the book to anyone who has the responsibility of marketing a business. Don’t just read it but do the exercises too. The book is an easy read with content and layout designed to aid the flow.
I suggest reading it with pen and paper to hand to record your key thoughts and how they apply to you.
