Give me 15 minutes and I’ll help you sell with storytelling

0:00You've told your story a hundred times. And it's on your about page, on podcasts, in your content, and people say that it's so inspiring. Yet, they still don't hire you. Give me under 15 minutes and I'll fix that. Because here's the thing, people don't hire or buy based off a story alone. They hire you for the thing your story built. And most of us never built it. And that is the difference between a profitable personal brand and one that's just exhausting. My name is Renee Warren and welcome to Into the Wild. So, let's start with what your story actually is because you might not be telling the

0:37whole truth. Starting with point number one, nobody leans in for a resume. Your story has one job and that's to answer why you, why now, and why no one else. And most of us answer that with a bio. We list the credentials and the milestones and the letters after our name and then we finish with the big accomplishment, like how we scaled to seven figures. That's table stakes because everybody you're competing with has a version of that. So, think about it like a tree instead. You've got the roots down at the bottom and the trunk holding the whole thing up and then the leaves at the top putting oxygen into

1:13the world. The root is your source of truth. The trunk is what you stand for and the leaves, they're the signal. And it's what you put out into the world on repeat. Your root gives you conviction. Your trunk gives you position. And your signal gives you recognition. And every part of the tree matters. And I know you are probably already deciding that yours isn't interesting enough. So, let's just kill that right now. Your story doesn't have to be colorful or chaotic. People

1:40just want to know who the heck you are. Here's the thing though, almost everything you're putting out into the world right now is coming from the leaves. So, if we're going to go do this the right way, we've got to dig all the way down to the bottom, to the root of where this all began. Which brings me to point number two. Dig until it hits you in the chest. Your root is the lived moment that shaped you, and it's the thing that hits you right in the chest when you think about it. It's not your credentials, and it's not your bio. It's when something broke, or when something

2:12clicked, or when something cost you. Something broke is the loss or the failure, so maybe it was your body, or your business, or a relationship that finally gave you your out. Something clicked is the realization you couldn't unsee. Where you watched something happen one too many times and you couldn't look away after that. And something that cost you is when you get exactly what you wanted, and the price of it was way too high. Most authors, they write books they need. And most entrepreneurs, they start businesses they need. We see the gap in how things are. We live through something long enough that we finally realize that it

2:49should not be that way. So, we work to change it. Let me tell you a little story of mine. When I launched my first PR agency, I had both my babies that are 11 months apart in the same year. And we were working in this like co-working kind of shared communal office space. So, we're on the front part of the building was my PR agency, and on the back was a design firm. And everybody in the design firm were men. And we shared these co-ed bathrooms. And I remember going back to work so quickly that I actually had to pump when I was at the office. That awkward moment of walking

3:22into a co-ed bathroom that somebody had just used, and let me tell you, it stunk. Sitting there on the toilet realizing, oh my gosh, what am I doing? I can't be doing this anymore. And I realized that in that moment, in that part, it just seemed so intimate in being a mother, and especially a first-time mother, that that story, eventually I recognized, became a part of of the root of what I do and how I do it and why I'm doing this work. And so, sometimes we forget about those moments that are just so integral that has shaped us and who we've become, become a such a massive part of the work that we

3:59do, the books that we write, the podcasts that we publish. And in that moment, I remember they're sitting on that toilet pumping. It was the moment that switched me forever. Not only how I operate, but in my belief in truly how women need to start creating life on their own terms. So, here's how you find yours. There's three questions, and write them out by hand because you remember what you actually physically write down. Number one, what's the defining moment that made you who you are? Number two, what have you overcome

4:30that most people in your space haven't? And number three, what's the thing you used to believe that you know now is wrong? Answer all three, and then circle the words that keep showing up in more than one answer because that's a pattern. And once you've got the root figured out, you need somewhere to put it because the second somebody wants to book you or put you on their stage, the first thing they ask for is for your media kit. So, I built the templates for you, and you can get yours for free. All you got to do is DM me the word kit, k i t, on Instagram at renee_warren and I'll

5:04send it right over. So, that root is where your conviction comes from because you can never forget your own story. Now, let's say you've never had something chaotic happen that you think is worthy of a story. So, you're wondering if you even got something worth talking about, and that's exactly where I'm going next. Point number

5:23three, you're not digging for chaos. Somebody close to me once said that most successful entrepreneurs come from chaos, and I immediately thought, well, I didn't come from chaos, so I'm going to fail at this. And it actually gave me a lot of anxiety thinking when I looked in the room, I know a lot of entrepreneurs that are super successful that did come from chaos. And I thought if this was the one thing that I needed in order to be successful, then I've already failed. But, it's all an illusion because it's not true. We have lived experiences that have compounded, that have created our beliefs, have created where we are today. It's created

5:59the business that you're running. So, I want you to remember that when you're doing this exercise, you're not digging for chaos. You're digging for the truth. The best volleyball coach I ever had in my life never played volleyball a day in his life. And it's because he studied it, and he was obsessed with it. He could see the mechanics of how people showed up and where they were off. So, I believe that obsession counts, and observation counts. And sometimes the thing that you've been calling your weakness this whole time is actually a massive strength. Then, there's another part of this, too. We water the story down because we don't want to be

6:36dramatic or look like the victim. So, we tell the easy version, and then we call that branding. And every time we do it, we rob people of the chance to lean in and actually get to know us better. Let me tell you about what it was like growing up with this gal. I was the goofy girl and the silly one. I was the {quote} dumb girl. And close friends and family would say, "Oh, maybe she'll graduate high school someday. Maybe she'll go to college." And it wasn't said in a mean way. It was more like somebody slapped a label on my forehead and said, "This is you." And I believed

7:09that version of me up until I became an adult. And so, for years, the version of my story I gave people was the perfectly polished one. It was always about how I started a PR agency, how I won awards, and here's what we grew out of it. Multi-millions of dollars, a team of 12, clients from all over the world. And all of it's true, and none of it was the part that mattered or resonated with anybody. And I kept it surface level because I thought that would keep me safe, which is a nice idea and also completely untrue. I was actually just seeking validation. And here's what I

7:42learned in all of this. Is it doesn't matter what you say. It doesn't matter who you are, how gracious you are, how polite and patient you are. Regardless of what you represent, when you put yourself out there in the world, you are going to offend someone. So, you may as well stop telling the polite version and tell the holy crap version instead

8:02because that's the one people remember. And when you tell it, there are three important parts to remember. Number one is where you were, the place, the time, because specific is what makes it real. Number two, what happened, the event itself, and don't narrate the whole lesson. And number three, what it cost you, or what it woke you up from. That third one is what makes a total stranger care, because once you know what it costs you, the very next thing they want

8:28to know is how you got out of it. Curiosity comes first, and then you get to sell them on the how. There's one boundary that's really important here, though. If you're still feeling it, you're still in it, and you're still bleeding from it, that's not the route you go to. But when you've got the right one, you'll feel it, and that's your conviction. So now the listener is curious, and they lean in, and they tell you that they're so sorry for what you survived. And then they go home, and they don't buy anything. So let's talk about what's missing, which brings me to point number four, they're not buying

8:59the story. They're buying what you built because of the story. A moment on its own is just a good story. People lean in and ask questions, and then they carry on with their day, because nobody has ever hired anybody because of a story. Here's what's actually happening with the people who do this well. Their story produced something, a method, a thing they named, and that thing is what they sell. Think about Mel Robbins. She was 41 and broke, and her marriage was going down the toilet, and she could not get out of bed. And then one morning, she threw her feet over the side of the bed

9:33and counted 5 4 3 2 1, and then she launched herself. But she doesn't sell you that particular morning. She sells you the 5 4 3 2 1, and it's that thread that goes through everything she does. Same with Lewis Howes. Well, he broke his hand when he was playing football, and he wanted to be a professional football player. And because of that, it ended up leaving him on the couch, I think it was his sister's couch, and he learned how to to do LinkedIn. He learned to become a LinkedIn expert, he did master classes, but because of that really unfortunate break, it ended up becoming what he's known for today,

10:09which is the School of Greatness. So, the root is what happened to you, and the trunk is what you decided it meant, and who you help because of it. And what comes off that trunk is the thing that they can actually buy. And the trap in all of this is skipping the because moment. Most people go, they and they say something like, I survived this crazy ordeal, and here's my bio. And there's nothing in between. Because here's what somebody is quietly checking when they hear your story. Did you go through it yourself and come out the other side? Or have you walked other

10:40people through it and got them there? And then, there's the one they'll never ask you out loud, which is, what does that really mean for me? Now, if that bridge is clear, you never have to answer any of it because it speaks for itself. You don't have to prove yourself, and you don't have to defend your price. But if it's fuzzy, they're sitting there thinking, "Okay, but why you? Because I could go and hire somebody else completely, and probably for cheaper." So, here's my bridge story for The Pink Skirt. I know what it's like to sit in rooms with really high-functioning ambitious people, in between multi-millionaires who look the

11:16part and sound the part, and know what it's like to feel so uncomfortable the whole time that it almost made me feel like I was completely incapable of creating anything successful. And that is exactly why I created The Pink Skirt Summit. Because I wanted a curated room where people feel safe and seen, and no matter who they are, or where they come from, or what they look like, or any of their accolades, they know that they belong. Oh, my whole bridge in the in the creation of The Pink Skirt Project sounds something like this. I created the room I never had, because I know what it's like to feel dumb and

11:52underappreciated, and that no one would ever take me seriously. I know and I believe that there's other women that feel the exact same way, and I built The Pink Skirt Summit for them. So, here's your work, and it's two sentences filled in today. So, because of that, I believe fill in the your belief. And so now I help ICP do the action by your product or service. Then name the thing. And I don't mean your job title. I mean the method or the framework or the room or the process you walk people through and give it a name you'd be comfortable saying on a stage. And then make it easy

12:27because when somebody leans in, you want to be able to send them the link and tell them exactly what happens next. So now you've got the root and the trunk and something to sell and that's your position. There's one more piece though and it's the one most people give up on way too soon. Which brings me to point number five, boring is what gets you booked. Picture a bar, the local watering hole. Same two guys on the same stools every single week. Can you picture that now? And somebody new walks in and there's just something about that person. And one guy turns to his buddy and you know what he says? What's their

13:03story? That right there is your signal. It's the thing you put on repeat until people can only think of you. And it's what gets said about you when you're not in the room. It's not your bio, it's not your service, it's not your course. It's the stuff you're willing to be boring about. Mel Robbins, 54321. Lewis Howes, greatness. Same thing over and over for years. Now, I'll be honest with you, being successful in business

13:30is boring. It's really, really boring. And so here's the trap. You'll get tired of your own signal way before anybody else has ever even seen it or heard it. So you spice it up with a new offer or a new message and then you do it again six months later and nothing ever compounds. And the story we tell ourselves is that the people are probably just sick and

13:51tired of hearing us say the same thing. The truth is is they're not. Most people just need to be reminded. And this is the part that actually makes you money because when somebody finally has the problem you solve, you want to be the first name that comes to their mind. Not the best pitch, just the first name. And the only way that ever happens is through repetition. My podcast has been going for over six years and it cost me three to four thousand dollars a month, maybe even more. For a very long time, there was no return if at all, and it was just a cost. And the first 20

14:26episodes or so, I recorded with no camera, all on my own, and I was scared. I was scared of being seen, and we're only now seeing what all of the consistency was quietly building. The authority to teach exactly what I'm teaching you today, which is exactly why you need to keep going when it feels like nothing's happening. The people who feel repetitive to themselves are the ones who finally become recognizable to everyone else. So, here's your homework, and it takes about five minutes. Imagine you could overhear a friend describing you to somebody else, and finish their sentence for them. She is the one who blank. She is the one who helps people

15:04get on stages. She is the one who helps women in midlife get their energy back. Write it 10 different ways, and don't judge a single one while you're writing. Then, pick one you'd still be proud to say three years from now, and say it everywhere until you're completely sick of it. And then, keep saying it because consistency is your currency. Now, you've got the root, the trunk, signal, you've got conviction, position, recognition, and that is the whole spine. The story is what gets them curious, and the thing you built is what they actually buy, and saying it on repeat is what makes you the one that

15:39they call. So, stop starting at the top and wondering why none of it is landing, and do the digging first. And if you don't love what comes up, do it again until you start to see the pattern. And please, don't be afraid to say the thing you think is going to push people away

15:55because that's going to happen anyway. The more specific you get about the work you do and who you do it for, the more the right people will find you. I promise you. In the comments below, tell me what you want to be known for and how you're going to bring it to life. Just one thing, I want to know. And if you're ready to put the story somewhere people can actually book you from, DM me the word kit, k i t on Instagram at Renee _ Warren and I'll send my free media kit template right over. Finding your why goes way deeper than you think and it's

16:26the digging almost nobody does. Watch this next and I'll see you there.