775: If You Hate Selling, Try This Approach Instead

23:01And so like when you're bringing people into that journey with you as you're creating your course, as you're, you know, you know, getting ready to sell your services, be honest, be like, Hey, I'm creating a course. And like, tell people that, you know, and get people excited and bring them alongside you. So then like when you are ready to launch, they are already expecting it. And they're excited because they've seen the work that you have put into it. They've seen how like you put your audience first to give them something that's truly going to impact their lives. Like I always like to remind myself, like when people invest in my business, it is truly a gift.

23:33Like the fact that you trusted me was such a vulnerable piece of like your story. I don't care if it's like super, you know, nothing big or just either way, you're trusting me with your story. And I find that that's just such a big gift. So when you're investing in me, I take it so seriously. And I think we all do as business owners. And so that's something that I just, I truly do believe like bringing people, leading with transparency, honesty, like if you're comfortable with like, Hey, I didn't hit my revenue goals. This is what it was. And this is what I actually made. I think so many of us really appreciate that.

24:00You know what I mean? Because we all want authenticity. I hate that word. It's so trendy, but it's true. But it's true. It's true. I think we want realness. We want rawness. We want on these private conversations that we're having in these rooms with each other about our businesses. People want that more of that at the forefront. And so, and I think storytelling is such a great way to do that. And it really does truly does the heavy lifting for you when it comes to selling your products and services. So those are some of my thoughts. I couldn't agree more. I also see sometimes like when like recently a local business announced that it was closing and like we were frequent customers of it.

24:37And I'm like, I wish I would have known they were even in that place. Like we would have changed our behavior. And so like when Angelica shares that, then it's like, oh, past clients can refer like you, you don't know what you don't know. And so I just think too, that there is this like small business, like deep desire to support one another. But if we don't know what people need, we can't show up. And so I love that example. And it also is just a reminder of like what you see on social media is not always real like that. We have to remember that. So I want to know a cool, let's say that somebody that's listening, they hire you and they want to work with you.

25:12What are some of the questions that you would ask to help draw out stories? because I just know, even though you and I are like telling people, you have a bajillion stories living inside of you in your life. There are people thinking I'm too boring. Nobody cares. They don't want to know. So what are some questions that might get a listener starting to think a little bit differently about the stories that they could be telling online? Oh my gosh. Something like I said, I said it earlier. I think again, you have to just do it really like introspectively, like ask yourself, like what excites you?

25:43Yeah, exactly. Like what are some things that if you were to sit down with a friend, somebody that you just met, what are some things in your business that you feel like you could talk about for ages, right? Like, I think that's such a really, really great way to start. Another question, because storytelling that is so important, is invoking some type of emotion. I love to ask people, how do you want people to feel when they've interacted with their brand? What are the things that you want people to say when you're not in the room, after they have interacted, after they've heard your story, after they've worked with you?

26:11What are the things of how you want people to feel? What do you want them to do? Because emotions are just so key in storytelling. If you want anybody to do anything, which kind of sounds low-key manipulative, but if you want them to do anything, you need to literally lean into empathy. People need to be able to see themselves inside your story. So really asking yourself, number one, what inspires me? What can I talk about? What excites me to talk about? How do I want people to feel after they've really interacted with me? What do I want people to take away from the story? What do I want people to do after they've heard it?

26:42You know what I mean? I think really asking yourself those key things can really just open up a lot of doors. I think I used to really just share these types. We can have these different types of stories where you have your origin story, your client customer journey story, your why story. And you can have those things. But I also noticed that people also put themselves in a box. And so I'm like, storytelling can be anything that you make it. Anything. Like you have the power to make it any way that you want it to be. There's no wrong way. I think the wrong way is like, how do you strategically share it?

27:08That's like where you get into strategy, but you can have any story that you want and really relate it back to your business. And so really asking yourself those things of like, what excites you? What brings you joy? And then also to like, what does your audience need to hear from you? Really putting your audience first is so key because in my intensive, we have this target audience analysis and target audience. It's such an elementary thing, but it truly is such a key thing in your business. And I don't care how long you've been in business, whether a day or 10 years, anytime I've had clients that come in and work with me in that intensive, I have them fill out that target audience analysis.

27:39And I can easily pick out gaps of like areas that they're missing within their target audience. So like really asking them again, like, what are their pain points? These are like very basic things we hear all the time. If you're on social media and you're doing everything right, but you're still not getting sales or anything like that, that's where you're getting into a communication issue, right? Like how are you communicating with people? And so that exercise really opens that door of like, what language do I want to be using in my stories, right? Like just getting more of that strategy piece.

28:05And so really knowing who your target audience is and being clear as day on like what keeps them up at night, but really looking at them from a holistic standpoint. So like, instead of like, okay, yes, your business is serving this specific area of their life, but like, how does that impact all areas of their life? Are you saving time when they can go spend more time with their family? Those things are what matters to people getting deep as possible so that you're really uncovering the real problem of why they're coming to you. And so they're saying like, yeah, I want help with social media, but really what they're saying is I want to have more time to do the things that bring me joy.

28:37That's what they're really saying. You know what I mean? And so really asking yourself some of these deep core questions and also too with your target audience can really help you start formulating a lot of these stories. Yeah. Oh my gosh. You just hit the nail on the head. We recently had a launch for my Pinterest program and I love, like, I love Pinterest. It's great, but I really love Pinterest because it takes one hour a week, which means I get a lot of hours back. And it was so interesting looking at the marketing of it because we were kind of hitting it from all different angles. And time and money are the two most common denominators for a lot of marketing.

29:11But it was so interesting because instead of just talking about Pinterest, when we were talking about just time in general, that resonated so much deeper than me trying to be like, you need to get on Pinterest and to do this thing. And so it's so interesting because I think a lot of times with marketing, especially when we go to sell something, we try to hit it so on the head, right? And clarity is great with communication. Totally not saying that it's not. But if you're not actually asking yourself, what is the end result that someone can expect? And how do I communicate that versus the thing?

29:44They don't know why they should care about the thing if they don't really connect with the end result. It was just so interesting looking at the marketing because I think that I see so many people in my community who are incredible at serving. And it's just like, you know, everyone has these like servant hearts. It's amazing. And the minute they go to sell, they're so on the head that it falls flat. And then they're like, selling doesn't work. What would you say? Do you see this too? Because I'm like, I can't be the only one seeing this. 1000%. 1000%. And that's why I love storytelling. I was one of those people.

30:14Yes. That's me. Yes. That was me. Leave it serving first. Like, especially as you're a business owner, we like, it's just selling just like, right. You're just like, Oh, I'm cringing. but it's like, hey, bills gotta be paid. I gotta eat. And so it's like, you eventually have to make that shift. But that was me. That's truly why I love story selling so much is because it made it so much easier for me to sell. I literally just talked about what I was doing in my journey to this day. Like literally what I'm doing, what's happening and bringing people alongside that journey with me to them like when I did sell, people signed up.

30:43People were like, yes, absolutely. Like, and I think that's just what's so powerful about it. It truly, truly does. Like really thinking about, again, I'm gonna bring it right back to your target audience. really thinking about that pain point, because to your point, like people be like to me, like, okay, I want to work with you. And I'll be honest, my service is exclusive. Like I really do. You have to be at a certain place in your business to be able to work with me because also too, we don't put in the work. Okay. You don't put in the time and the work because it takes a while to create these stories.

31:08You know, you have to take that time to really, again, create these impactful stories so that you can create content with confidence to where you're not sharing in a way of like, well, I feel like I have to share this because my target audience is asking for it, But like it feels aligned and feels really good to you. And so those things take time. And so, again, you have to really just bring it right back to your target audience. And then, again, like how can you position it to them where they can see themselves in the story? We hear this all the time. Like, how can you see them as the hero? I know we've all heard that, but it's so true.

31:36You have to bring people into your story where it's not like, hey, look at me. It's like, hey, learn from me. Hey, like see yourself in me. Right. Bringing people along with that. Again, I'm going to bring it right back hand in hand. We're walking through this together. I'm going to help you get to where you need to get to. Because people will be like, hey, I want to work with you. I'm like, all right, cool. Dick, I want to share stories. Why? Why do you want to share stories? I always ask people that. Tell me, well, I want to grow my business. OK, for what? Why do you want to grow your business?

32:03And then they'll tell me. And I'm like, go deeper. Like, is it so I can put food on the table, so I can support my family, so that I can be able to build a team and make an impact? Like, those are the reasons why you want to tell me, like, why you want to share your story. OK, so now let's unpack that together. Like, I think when you, again, put like, again, with meaning of like, this is the reason why I want to do this, where you're looking at it holistically of how it can heavily impact your life. It really does make a difference with selling. So look at it again with how is this going to impact them?

32:31This specific transformation, how is it going to heavily impact their life? And that's just like one of the main things that I continue just to drive home. One thing that I think people get so wrong about storytelling, and I want to know your creative edge on this, is that people think if they told a story once, they should never tell it again. So they'll be like, I told this back in my podcast, episode number six, and I'm never going to talk about it again. And I even remember when I was writing my book, it was like finding this balance of like the tried and true stories that really are the core stories of my journey.

33:02And then also mixing in things people had never heard. And I remember my editor said to me, she's like, you know, when you go to a concert, you want to hear their greatest hits, right? You kind of get mad when they're testing out new material and you paid money to go to the concert. And it reminded me of like, we need to tell our stories again and again and again and again. So what are some ways that we can do this? Or like, what are people getting wrong with that? Because I feel like so many people assume that everybody sees every piece of content. Therefore, they've already heard it. when there is a very, very, very good chance that they have no idea what you're talking about.

33:371 ,000%. Again, there is power in repurposing your content. We all know this, right? Like repurposing and storytelling helps you repurpose in so many ways. And you can share the same thing. You just share it in a different way. So one thing that I always love to say is that storytelling just isn't linear. We naturally think, right? Okay, like a story has a beginning, a middle and end. But who says you have to start your story in the beginning? Yes. Who says that? Yes. Nobody. You can start it in the middle, create a great hook and, you know, keep it going. You know what I mean? Again, in different ways, you don't have to start at the very beginning of like, it was, I was born in 1988.

34:10It was a rainy Sunday morning. Nobody cares. Nobody cares. We ain't got the time, honey. Right. All your mom cares. Okay. Right. You have a short amount of time to be able to make an impact. So like, again, look at your library, really sit down and look at your story and like, again, read it and look. And like, there's a specific point here. like, Ooh, if it drives, like if it all of a sudden like sparks an emotion in you, okay, well let's hone into that. What do you feel at this specific part in your story? And I'll use my own story as an example. So a little bit of my background, I fell into my business through pageantry.

34:40I was a former Miss Minnesota international. And that's essentially what like sparked me into wanting to work in social media. I was in college with a biology degree with a minor in chemistry, wanting to go to med school. And I decided really late in the game that I was like, this isn't what I want to do anymore. And my mom was like, you're going to graduate and get this piece of paper, like regardless, I don't care what you do. And so I decided to find myself in a coffee shop trying to like Google and all of those different types of things, which then I met a friend who is one of my best friends today all through Google, who has helped me build the business I have today.

35:12And so look at that. You just heard that story, right? Okay. Well now let's break it down piece by piece. How was it that experience with Miss Minnesota? Like what was that specific in that journey for me that really was impactful that I can relate back to business owners. Well, that's where I learned just how powerful storytelling is. That's where I learned how storytelling can really remove barriers where people from, it didn't matter their race, age, socioeconomic status, they could relate to me in some capacity. So that's where I learned that everybody has a story. That's where I learned that business owners, when you share a story with impact, it can truly make a difference.

35:46So do you see how I took a little piece of my story and then brought it right back to my business? Like that was just like a prime example of that. And so I think again, going back and looking at your story, rereading it, pull out some key parts that are going to be impactful. And how can you bring that back to your target audience? Like that's how I do it because then that's how I'm able to get so many different pieces of content all the time. And if you have like your content pillars that you teach, does this relate back to my content pillar? That is a really great way, a great marker to be like, is this going to be relevant to my target audience?

36:16If my content pillar is community or, you know, or however specific you want to get with it. Does it relate back to my content pillar? Yes. All right, let's lean in and let's share that story. So that's kind of how I feel like there's like so many different pieces, but that's how I personally produce my content. Look, I've become kind of a systems nerd and anything that gives me more space in my day, I'm all in. And a reliable connection is a huge part of that because when the internet lags or cuts out, everything pauses and suddenly the simplest tasks take forever. I learned really early on that dependable internet, it's not a luxury.

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38:41Can you believe that we're already wrapping up 2025? This year was packed with travel and so many new memories. One of my favorite moments was our team retreat in Arizona with the incredible women who helped me keep this business running. I also recently took the kids to Nashville during fall break and somewhere in between I squeezed in a trip to Puerto Rico with friends. We booked some of our most memorable stays this year on Airbnb. There's something special about finding a place that doesn't just look great in the photos, but actually feels welcoming the moment you walk in. That this feels right kind of feeling.

39:14If you've got trips coming up, whether it's a family vacation, a retreat, or a work trip, your house will probably be sitting empty while you're gone. Have you considered hosting your home on Airbnb and letting it work for you? It's a simple way to earn some extra income that can be put towards a future trip or home improvement projects. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at airbnb.com forward slash host. And we always talk about like, how can you take one piece of content and promote it 10 different ways? Same thing goes for stories. Like you could tell the story about the conversation with your mom.

39:49You could tell the story about the coffee shop. You could tell the story of meeting the friend. You could tell the story of getting the piece of paper and what you realized when you got it. Like in that one story, there's easily 10 other stories. Yes. 10 other stories. Yes. That's literally what it is. And it's just these reminders of like, this is where Akua came from. This is what matters. This is what she thought. This is what she overcame. And I think that's where we get it so wrong is that like, we tell the story once and we're done with it, or we don't spend the time to refine it or dig deeper on it.

40:18And there's so much power in being inquisitive. you've brought this word up so many times. And I think that so often we're like in the grind, or we have the system, or we have the rhythms that we're never actually pausing to be like, what is the point of this? Or what am I learning this? Or what is actually the hardest part about all of this? And that's where the stories live. And so I think it's a great reminder to just like pause and be a little bit more curious and ask yourself those questions or listen to this episode and listen to Akua ask you those questions. But I think it's so great. What would you say when we talk about storytelling to drive sales?

40:54So, you know, we kind of brought it up with like my recent launch of, okay, I love Pinterest, but somebody doesn't know why they should love Pinterest until I start talking about the concept of time and saving time. How do you incorporate storytelling into sales so that people aren't just going like, okay, now I've got to sell the product. So I'm going to talk about the features of the product. And they kind of ditch the whole framework that maybe got them success and engagement in the first place? I know personally for me, like the reason why I created my intensive is because I actually walked through it myself when I built it.

41:25And so when you're talking about some of these features and stuff like that, the services that you have, anything that you sell, whether you've tested it with your audience or if you've walked through it yourself, I will instantly create stories from those features. So like, how has this feature like impacted my life? So I'll even just use HoneyBook as an example. You know, we have our AI email composer that I just love. And that has impacted me greatly because I hate email. I hate email. And so what I love about it for me with like creating these systems in my business was that it saves me time, right?

41:55So now I'm talking about a feature, but I'm talking about it in a way, again, where it heavily benefits me and it impacts my life. So similarly with me being a storytelling strategist, like I want to help people share their stories that are impactful. I want to be able to, so the way that I do, I'm talking about specific features, like, right, like creating your storytelling library, your target audience analysis, your messaging analysis. I talk about these three specific things, but again, of like, when you walk through my messaging analysis, you'll never, ever have to question how you show up on social media.

42:25You're going to be able to show up feeling so confident and assured in who you are, where you're creating content that aligns with you to where it really removes, again, that heavy lifting of you having to sell your products and services. So again, to where then you are excited to sell and to where like now you feel more confident as a business owner. So again, like really honing it back into who it is that you want to speak to, like how you're using a specific feature or something that you know is going to really benefit your audience and tie it back to them and how it really is going to positively impact them is so, so key.

42:57I think also to transparency, I'm going to bring it right back to that. People want to see that your process is proven and repeatable. So again, how are you showing that data? How can you implement that data, those numbers in there if it's possible? Using people that you've worked with are a great way to really, you want to be able to create evangelists through that, right? To where like, how can you leverage those people where they can share the story also for you? So really leaning into those pieces too, to where, again, it just really makes it a lot easier selling. Like that's for me how I personally do it.

43:25I'm always like, all right, I have this specific feature. This is how it's going to greatly impact you beyond just holistically in your whole life. And this is why I think that you should work with me. And then what are the numbers that I can show of like, this is what truly works. And again, bringing people to where they can see themselves in my journey. Yeah. It's so funny because I used to, I mean, I've been doing webinars for almost a decade and somewhere along the way, I like cut out all the stories. Cause I was like, I just want to give people the content they need. I want to get them the results and all these things.

43:53And like, I don't want any fluff in my webinars. And I think, you know, that's a very worthy idea. And it was so interesting because over the last few years, I've started incorporating more stories into the webinars and they not only convert better, but they resonate. Like people remember the stories more than the content. And so it's so interesting because I think to so many of us were like, people's attention spans are so small and all these things. But like, I even think of like sitting in a sermon at church, like I remember the story sometimes more than I remember the scripture. Right. And so it's like people remember and cling to stories.

44:29And like you said, they start to imagine themselves in it. And so if you are someone who maybe like me, you're like, I just want to give people the systems and the strategies and the tactics and the tools. Like the story is a part of that remembering and also a part of it resonating so that they actually do implement. 1000%. I mean, you completely nailed it on the head. Yes. We remember, I think we recall facts up to 22 times more when it's in a story. So when you're selling your products and services, you have to remember, you have to make people care because you'd be like, yeah, I built this thing.

45:00It's amazing. And you're so excited about it. And then you sell it and nobody gives a damn. People are like, what's going on? You have to make people care about what it is that you're selling. And the way to do that is through stories, really impactful stories. And so I think your webinar is just, it's a classic point of that. If you can weave some of these benefits into a story, people are going to remember it. So even if they're like, hey, I don't buy today, they're going to remember it. And when they are ready to purchase, they know exactly who to go to because you shared these impactful stories and that's what they're going to remember and hold on to, to be like, Oh my gosh, I remember she shared this story.

45:31I'm going to go back and look and then boom, they've purchased from you. So like, again, it's so, so impactful. Final question. So if somebody is listening to this and they haven't even considered telling their story, I think a lot of people listening have an idea, a dream, a vision. They're waiting to launch until it's all ready to go to say, voila, look at me, I did it. And they haven't even started. What is one prompt that could maybe get them to start sharing their story, even while they are a work in progress, which by the way, we all are. I think the one prompt I would probably ask people because I want people to really get better at collecting the stories and feeling more confident too.

46:08I would just ask people just to document what you did today. What did I do today? What did I do today? Just keeping it simple and just writing that down or take notes or bullet points. I don't care, but document what you did today and let that start now. And even if it's okay, if you don't have anything today, just put whatever, like even if it's nothing that sparks anything, but keep doing that. What did I do today? Because then I'm like, did you have an impactful conversation with a friend or right? Or did something really funny happen that could all of a sudden spark some type of creativity or curiosity with you that you want to lean into it more?

46:40I think again, just starting really small and storytelling is a muscle. That's something I really want to remind people. I was never a good storyteller myself. I truly learned through my own journey and pageantry and beyond. And I'm still everyday learning, even as an educator myself. And so I bring to myself, I'm like, I don't have it all figured out. I'm not going to lie to you. And so, and we are going to figure it out together. I'm going to help and build this in a way that feels really good to you. So like, it's a muscle that you just have to keep working and you have to get confident. And another thing that I always love to share with people of is that honor yourself as well in the process, because we feel like all the time that I have to share all of these really personal things in my life.

47:19And you don't have to. If you want to, great. I'm more of an open book, but some people aren't and they get immediately discouraged. And I'm like, really think about what your boundaries are and how you want to honor yourself in that, because you still deserve to have privacy if you feel the need to. But again, this it's a beautiful journey. And I don't want people to get so caught up in overthinking it. What did I do today? Ask yourself that. And what are some things in the, what you create when you're writing that down of like, what is it that sparks curiosity? What is it that gets you excited?

47:45I just want to bring it back to those things. And so that's the one thing that I would say, and then just honor yourself in that process. Akua, where can everybody find out more about you, connect with you, tune into your podcast, give us all the places. Yes. So you can connect with me. I'm always on Instagram at Akua Kanaru underscore, or you can hang out with me on my website, AkuaKanaru.com, or hang out with me at the independent business podcast powered by HoneyBook. So I've loved this conversation. So thank you so much for having me. Yes. Thank you for coming on the Gold Digger podcast. This was amazing.

48:17Stories are so powerful. And if you are someone listening to this, you have a story to tell. I know that we all say that. And I know that you are likely a listener thinking, but Jenna, you don't know how boring I am, but boring is relatable. And there are so many pieces of your life and what you're working on that could be used as stories to connect you with the people that you are creating for. I love telling stories. I love writing them. I love sharing them. I love thinking about them and I love reflecting on them. And so take Akua's approach of being just a little more curious and introspective today.

48:54And you are going to start to see all of the stories in your own life and begin to tell them in a meaningful and impactful way. I promise you, your business will change when you start to tell more stories. Thank you so much for listening to another episode of the Gold Digger podcast. I hope you loved today's show as much as I did. And of course, until next time, keep on digging your biggest goals. I'm over here giving you a virtual high five because you just finished another episode of the Gold Digger podcast. Did that go by way too fast for anyone else? If you want more, head over to golddiggerpodcast.com for show notes and all the discount codes from today's sponsors.

49:34And if you're looking for a new crew of movers and shakers like you to bounce ideas and ask questions, be sure to join my exclusive community for gold diggers on Facebook. The link's waiting for you at golddiggerpodcast.com.