Episode 124: Connecting With Clientele Through Storytelling With Gael Gilliland

Gael Gilliland is the founder of The Legacy Recorder, and is passionate about helping every person record their life story for future generations to cherish. She is also a freelance writer and millennial mother of three future creatives, who in the present day give her daily inspiration and a few grey hairs. Learn more about Gail at her website, Biggest Takeaway You Don't Want To Miss Storytelling isn't just reserved for extroverts or those with a sales background. In our lives, we all are storytellers in one way or another. Incorporate this in your business and you will start to see stronger connections with your clients and your staff. Show Highlights Who is Gael Gilliland? [1:45] Why is storytelling so important? [2:15] Who should be telling stories? [5:30] Is there a template we can follow for storytelling? [6:30] What does storytelling look like? [8:00] Is there an example of storytelling that you use in your own business? [11:00] Special Offer Create a memorable holiday moment with someone you love (like mom or grandma) by helping them tell their stories. This free mini-course walks you through the basics to get you started: https://gael-gilliland.mykajabi.com/p/Work-with-someone-you-love Links Jump & Scale: jumpconsulting.net/scale Gail's Website: https://www.thelegacyrecorder.com Share The Show Did you enjoy the show? We would love it if you subscribed today and left us a 5-star review! Click this link – Bella In Your Business Click on the ‘Subscribe’ button below the artwork Go to the ‘Ratings and Reviews’ section Click on ‘Write a Review’   Transcript: This is episode 124 of Bella in Your Business. This episode is brought to you by my free webinar Jump and Scale Your Business. It’s my three-part training series all dedicated to finding and attracting the right kind of people that will scale your business. Did I mention it’s free? Listen, you have to attend this if you want to grow your staff, you feel like you’re being held hostage, you have high turnover, you feel burnt out, or you’re just not seeing the results you want. Join me for this three-part free webinar series. Register now at jumpconsulting.net/scale. That’s jumpconsulting.net/scale. I’ll see you there. Welcome to Bella in Your Business, where Bella will discuss anything and everything about your pet sitting business to help you land on target. So get ready. Bella’s got your chute. Let’s jump. Welcome to Bella in Your Business. My name is Bella Vasta, your host with Jump Consulting. Today we are going to talk all about storytelling because whether you realize it or not, storytelling is something that is really important to your business and all the things that you are doing online. Today my special guest is Gael Gilliland, founder of The Legacy Recorder. She’s passionate about helping every person record their life story for future generations to cherish. She’s also a freelance writer, a millennial mother of three future creatives who in the present day give her daily inspiration and a few gray hairs. Gael, welcome to the show. Thank you so much for having me. Yeah, 100%. Why don’t you fill in the gaps there and tell our audience a little bit more about you, where you’re coming to us from. So I am in rural Western Pennsylvania, an hour north of Pittsburgh, and I’m here with my husband and kids and dog. I’m originally from Phoenix and made the move to be with my husband’s family. That’s so cool. You and I met a couple of months back in Lima, Ohio, at Social Media Week Lima. You instantly were just like someone that my soul connected with. You were just the most incredible person, and I knew that there would be magic if you came on the podcast. So thank you for being here with us today. I want to ask you first, so we can set a foundation—why is storytelling so important? Gael: For me, storytelling is so important because it helps us create a deeper connection with people whom you may only have a surface relationship with, whether it’s existing family or people we meet later. When you think back to conversations you’ve had and you have an experience where you’ve either heard someone tell a story in a storytelling way or have a conversation in a storytelling way, I feel that people then change their own conversation. They then ask harder questions. They ask deeper questions rather than just the regular, “Hi, how are you doing?” It gives us an opportunity to move past the surface relationships. Bella: I love that. And what I want to constantly do in this podcast might be a little different than others we’ve done. I want to take your amazing knowledge of storytelling and translate it into how it could work for pet sitters and dog walkers. So what I’m thinking—and feel free to chime in here—is that initial phone call that we have with people or even email, because it can be done through email. People write a lot asking those questions before we get into “How much do you charge?” and “What do you do?” It could be really beneficial for your business, right? Getting people to talk about their pets—how old is your pet, where did you get your pet from, what do they like to do, are they used to you being home all day? By prompting people with questions, you will get them to tell their story. Gael: Yes. And if you add in extra questions—might sound weird the first time you ask—but asking how they think their dog feels when they come home or when they leave brings in that emotional connection. Many of the people who have pets and are looking for pet sitters definitely have an emotional attachment to their pet but also feel there’s an emotional reciprocation from the pet. Giving them an opportunity to tell their pet’s story and recognizing that the pet has its own experience and life within the home will set you apart from someone who’s just going, “Okay, what time?” and “How long?” Recognizing that human experience between pet and owner will be very helpful. Bella: I love it. It reminds the person who’s calling with this problem—“I need pet care”—to put themselves in their pet’s shoes. A lot of the time we are an outsource of love and guilt. That’s what it comes down to, right? They could put them in a boarding facility or kennel, but they don’t. They want pet sitters to come to their home because they feel a certain way and project those feelings onto their pets. But this is also brilliant from a psychological sales standpoint, because part of selling isn’t telling people what you do—it’s them discovering that they really want you. That can really happen if you get good at storytelling. I know there are people listening right now who think, “Nope, this isn’t me. I’m not a salesperson. My prices are on my website and that’s all they need to know.” So, Gael, who should be telling stories? Does this apply to everyone? Gael: Yes. You’re doing it every day whether or not you acknowledge it. Every time you post on Instagram, every time you do a Facebook post—anything that goes out in relationship to your business or personally—you’re telling your story. When you’re more mindful about how you’re doing it and what you’re posting, beyond just strategy, ask yourself, “When someone reads this, what’s their first reaction? Do they feel happy or sad?” Because every time someone reads or sees something from you, they feel a certain way. The more positive the feelings are, the more likely by the time you get them on the phone, you’ll have a better chance of closing the call than if you just mindlessly put things out. Bella: Now, when we are putting stories out—maybe creating posts on our business page—is there a certain structure we should follow? Or is a story just a story, like, “Hey, this happened today”? Gael: It depends on the platform, but think about the basic structure of a story: the beginning, the middle, and the end. The beginning sets it up, the middle includes some kind of crisis or buildup, and the end is the resolution—with your call to action. Think about presenting your marketing that way. For example, on an Instagram Story, you might spend three slides on the beginning, three on the middle, and the last part on the end with your CTA. Bella: That’s such a great guide. And think about what changed—what were you at the beginning, and what were you at the end? Or maybe it’s not you—it’s the dog or the client. You guys are being bombarded with stories every day. Someone says, “Hey, I need a pet sitter because my grandmother passed away in another state, and I’ve never left my dog.” By the end of that call, they feel comforted. You have stories told to you every time you answer the phone, and most of the time, you’re the hero of the story. Gael: Exactly. Every time someone comes to you with a problem, you’re offering a transformation whether you realize it or not. Think back to the last five calls you had and think about how you helped them finish the story—you get to be the last few pages. Bella: You’re the one who gets to fix it, and you hold the keys to peace and rest. Dog walkers and pet sitters are amazing. You have such an intimate relationship with what’s going on in people’s lives. Without exploiting people’s vulnerabilities, you can tell the story to the next person—“I had someone this happened to before. Here’s how we handled it.” Another way you could tell stories is on Instagram. When there’s a photo of a little white dog sniffing the grass, tell the story behind it—what problem you’re solving, what relationship you’ve built. Every dog you care for has a story: how it came to its owner, how it joined your business, what it does every day. Bella: Think like a journalist. How would you make this into a story? How would you create a lesson out of it? Gael: Every time someone comes to you, you’re offering transformation. Recognize that you’re not just providing a service—you’re changing experiences. Bella: That’s so powerful. Gael: Yes.