The Story (in 100 words)
Once upon a time a young man stood up and shared 4 short stories in a room with 60 people. He raised $8000 for a project in Indonesia.
He discovered he had a knack for telling stories. Others said many people claim to know how to tell stories, but in most instances, they fall flat. They don’t help listeners learn anything new or move forward.
There has to be a better way he thought and taught others to sell with engaging conversations and stories. Others encouraged him to help businesses win sales with tales and so Sproutworth was born.
The longer story about Sproutworth
- 20 years ago, I raised $8000 for a community development project in Indonesia in a room of 62 people by sharing 4 stories
- Over 10 years a group of 30 lay people was asked to preach. I was the only one who was asked back to preach repeatedly during that time.
- 15 years ago I assisted in bringing in $10,000,000 in revenue for a SaaS company over a year. How? Sharing stories of customers’ experiences.
- In the past six years, I have twice coordinated a team to launch a new program by sharing their stories which led to leadership buy-in and the most buzz and feedback around any program in the organization.
- Two years ago, my daughter, at age 7 was runner-up in the public speaking contest in her school (she lost to someone who brought their pet hamster as a prop). And this year she beat out the competition in her school to secure a place on the debating team.
I’m Vinay Koshy of Sproutworth I help entrepreneurs and businesses develop an unfair sales advantage by winning sales with tales.
Now, far be it from me to exploit my friends and daughters’ accomplishments for my own personal gain. But I think the facts speak for themselves…
Vinay Koshy. For when you’re ready, to get noticed and develop an unfair sales advantage!”
Why do I do it?
When I was about 11, I got on my first ride on a roller coaster.
I wasn’t too sure of what to expect other than that I would experience speed. As the ride commenced I found my organs doing strange things – like my mind telling me that this was all wrong and that I was in danger, my heart skipping more than a beat, and my stomach…. well, let’s not go there.
My experience on that rollercoaster ride reminds me of what it can be like for most prospects and customers.
As businesses, we want customers and want them to have a positive experience. Yet more often than not what they are in for is an uncertain yet wild rollercoaster ride.
So what can we do to provide a great experience and tame the wilder aspects of the buyer/customer journey?
The answer is simple – get to know them and understand their experiences.
It’s something I learned working for SaaS companies including WPCurve building their audience to over 30,000 subscribers before it was sold to GoDaddy.
But how do you scale gain customer insights, fuel your content strategy, gain quality leads, etc all while driving business growth?
I have come to realize there is a simpler and better way to do it. What is it?
Crafting tales that lead to collaborative ways to connect with prospects and customers in your industry which in turn allows you to:
- Build warm relationships
- Better understand your audience and customers
- Craft the right content
- Share your culture
- Create memorable experiences if you execute them right.
It’s said that the golden rule of content is that it should be educational and entertaining.
Your brand tales can achieve both as you tap into the expertise and insights of experts. Other benefits include:
- Immediate ROI if you target your ideal customer personas
- Improve employee advocacy
- Improve employee engagement
- Build strategic partnerships
- Fuel your content machine and build a huge resource that can be repurposed for multi-channel promotion.
- Expand your influence via your personal brand
- Build trust and showcase your expertise with your target audience.
Most importantly it builds an audience and community which comes back for more.
You see, as we pulled up at the end of my first rollercoaster ride, I stepped out with my new windswept look, staggered over to my dad, looked up at him, and said – That was awesome! Can I go again?
That’s what you want to hear from your clients – That was awesome! Let’s do it again!
Want to know what I could do for your brand? Let’s chat – pick a time here.