How To Sell A Service No One’s Heard Of: Storytelling Strategies For Innovative Offers

When you’re offering something that's new to your audience—whether it’s brand new to the world or simply unfamiliar to your audience—you face two major challenges: they're confused about what you offer and they don’t see the value of the service.

In this episode of the Strategic Storytelling podcast, I will show you how to use story—not fluff, not oversharing personal problems—to create clarity, establish relevance, and communicate the impact of your offer.

You’ll learn:

• The three reasons prospects get confused about a new service (#3 is the most common reason for offering any service)

• Real-world examples of small businesses solving this problem through stories (including those who should be using stories more than they are)

• A five-point checklist to craft stories that educate and convert (not just any story will work)

If you’re a service-based solopreneur or small business owner launching something innovative—or reintroducing an offer that’s being overlooked—this episode is for you.

• Downloadable Workbook: Cast the Characters in Your Business Story – Learn how to build strong stories using four essential roles: hero, guide, obstacle, and cheerleader. Click here.

• Work With Cathy: Want help crafting a story that clarifies your unique offer? Click here to get started.

What is the most important question to ask about storytelling?

It's not "How much did this story express your feelings?" or "How much do you want to tell this story?" or even "What is the impact of this story?"

It's "What is the business purpose of this story?" Why am I telling this story? Whats the ROI of this story?

After all, when you tell a story in a business environment, you are investing time and/or money. Your story becomes a business tool. Is it worth what you invested?

In this episode, I give you 3 questions to assess the ROI of your story.

I explain:

...What we mean by storytelling ROI (and why it's so important)

...Using stories to begin a financially rewarding relationship

...3 crucial steps to maximize your story's ROI

...The shift in storytelling mindset that changes everything

There's also a bonus tip at the end of the podcast to help you be more prepared with the right story.

RESOURCES:

Ebook (currently free) Three Essential Stories For Your Next, Best Client:
Get Them Ready Before You Need Them
Click here.

Previous podcast where I build a relationship from a story. Click here.

My most popular consulting program: The Strategic Intensive Click here.

My website. Click here.

More ideas for business stories:
30 Business Storytelling Prompts To Find Your Next Story. Click here.

Storytelling can become more productive when you start with a template. And it’s not easy to find templates for business stories. In this episode, we explore a surprising (and fun) story structure for service-based solopreneurs, adapted from a holiday classic and inspired by Ann Handley’s Everybody Writes.

This story template covers a lot of bases. It’s a variation of a success story. It focuses on the client, not the guide. It makes you think of your service as a problem-solving mechanism: What need do you fulfill?

You will learn…
…what makes this such a good template
…some differences between these fairy stories and business reality
…how this structure connects the client’s need with your service
…how to adapt this template for a service-based solopreneur

And, as usual, it’s short and to the point. No need to take notes: I've prepared a takeaway guide to your own version of this template.

RESOURCES:

Ann Handley’s book - Everybody Writes
Strategic Intensive - Solve that marketing problem.
The Ultimate Story Template- download your personal guide to this story

RELATED PODCASTS:

Interview with Jaquette Timmons - Stories of a Financial Coach. Click hereWhich do people admire: Talent or Hard Work. Click here.

NOTE: I mentioned a story that seems patterned on Rudolph: Danger the Dogyard Cat.

Danger the dogyard cat

I found it when I was living in Alaska and it’s still popular. The book was written by Libby Riddles, who was a real Alaska musher and the first woman to win the Iditerod, a grueling challenge for dogsled racing. In this children's book, ae feisty cat named Danger gets adopted from the pound. He has to confront all the sled dogs who initially don’t take him seriously. Then one day there’s a crisis and the team needs a leader to follow. I forget the exact details, but ultimately Danger the cat ends up leading the dogs and they win the race.
Click here to learn more.

If you’ve ever been asked, “How did you get started?” you know how often this question comes up in podcasts, interviews, networking events, and client meetings.

But instead of giving a throwaway answer to satisfy their curiosity, what if you could use that moment to attract your next best client?

In this episode, we explore how you can transform the most common origin story question into a powerful marketing tool. You'll learn how to frame your response to show your passion, uniqueness, and credibility—without sounding scripted or obnioxious.

You will discover:

• Why most people waste their origin story—and how not to toss yours away
• Two origin story strategies: Show your passion or highlight your unique difference
• What to do if your origin story doesn’t fit those categories
• A pro tip for “connecting the dots” between an unrelated past career and your current offer (so you increase your credibility)
• How to use your story as part of your website, podcast appearances, or live networking

Resources:

• Download the free guide: The 3 Essential Stories You Need for Your Next, Best Client. Click here for access.
  
  
• Want personalized help shaping your origin story to fit your strategy? Book a consultation by starting here.
  
  

If you find this episode helpful:
Please leave a review on Apple or Spotify. It helps others find the show—and helps you build a stronger storytelling strategy.

We usually talk about the stories we tell about ourselves. We use stories to showcase our marketable qualities. We explain and promote our offers.

In this episode, we flip the script. We focus on getting other people to tell their stories. Often their stories will be essential for our own marketing.

For example, when you interview a podcast guest, you want that guest to tell an exciting story that will be memorable to your audience.

When you ask for a testimonial, you want a story about how you helped the client.

When you conduct client research or an intake interview, you want the client's uncensored point of view.

Too many entrepreneurs rely on generic “why” questions and end up with boring, same-old answers. Besides your own storytelling, you want to find a way to get others to tell their stories.

On this episode, you’ll discover:

...Why “why” questions sabotage your interviews

...Questions to ask to spark meaningful, entertaining stories

...The four-part interview structure that produces the best stories

...Why you must avoid opinions and advice (and get good stories instead)

...How to understand why they might avoid hard-core truth in their stories

As always, please leave a review, preferably on Apple or Spotify. Let me know how you're using your client's stories in your marketing. What works? What doesn't?

Links & Resources:

• Video Course: The Client Advantage – Use your clients’ backstories to enter the conversation in their heads.

• 30 Prompts To Tell Your Business Story – $9

• FREE: The 3 Stories You Need Before Landing Your Next Client

• For a deep dive into research, positioning, and strorytelling: The Strategic Intensive

• My website is here.

We all hear that stories are powerful—but do they actually bring in sales?

In this episode of Strategic Storytelling, I break down how stories make money for your business, both indirectly (as a smart marketing tool) and directly (by increasing conversions).

You'll learn what makes a story profitable, how to align your storytelling with strategy, and what to avoid if you don’t want your content to fall flat.

Whether you're writing a landing page, planning a campaign, or building your brand, this episode will show you how to use stories not just to entertain, but to earn.

What You’ll Learn:

• The difference between “fun to tell” and strategic stories

• How stories can help you plan, clarify, and position your business

• What makes a selling story and how to craft one

• How storytelling keeps you from killing the sale by being too pushy

• Tips to use storytelling to connect with your audience’s “before” picture

Resources Mentioned:

Cast the characters for your selling story

From Story Telling to Story Selling: Tell your selling story

Find your client's backstory

Story-Driven Planning Workbook

Podcast on Story-Based Strategy

Work With Me:
Need feedback on your story, landing page, or website? I offer personal video reviews so you can get fast, thorough, fluff-free feedback. Click here to learn more and sign up.

Connect With Me:
Website: https://cathygoodwin.com
Subscribe & Review: If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review on Apple or Spotify. It helps others discover the power of strategic storytelling.

When you're a solopreneur or running a right-sized business, hiring a mentor isn’t as simple as following someone else’s success story. In this episode of Strategic Storytelling, we unpack the reasons why traditional mentor models — often built for corporate careers or celebrity entrepreneurs — don’t work for most small business owners.

You’ll discover:

• Why their story may be inspiring... but useless to your business

• How to identify the right kind of support based on your business archetype

• Three powerful alternatives to traditional mentorship — including the idea of a "personal advisory board"

• How to use your own intuition as your most powerful decision-making tool

Before you invest in a high-ticket program or follow someone else’s path, tune in to rethink what "mentoring" really means for your stage of business.

RESOURCES AND MENTIONS:

Your Mess is Not Your Message: A Guide to Solopreneur Branding
This book contains a detailed discussion of the archetypes discuss here.
Free with Kindle Unlimited.

FREE: What is your archetype? Take this quiz...and then learn more about your archetype from my book.

Intuition: A Guide For Career and Business. I wrote this quite a while ago and it's still good.

Podcast with Robert Middleton (an Educator).
Podcast with Cindy Bidar (a Role Model).
Podcast with Ellen Finkelstein (also a Role Model)

One of many dozens of articles on personal advisory boards

Get in touch with me.

What do invisibility, time travel, and telepathy have in common?

It's not just a party game or a job intervew question, "Choose your superpower." These 3 storytelling superpowers that can transform your marketing.

In this episode of Strategic Storytelling, we’ll explore how to:

• Make your writing “invisible” so your message becomes the star (not your clever wordplay)

• Use time travel to guide your audience from frustration to solution

• Tap into the power of telepathy to respond directly to your client’s unspoken desires

Whether you're writing sales pages, emails, or social posts, these three tools will help you create copy that connects deeply and converts naturally.

No magic tricks. Just strategy.

Mentioned:

• Blog post on how to research your client's inner dialogue

• The Client Advantage course for going deeper into customer understanding

Listen now to discover how to:

• Make your story irresistible and unforgettable

• Avoid common copywriting traps that kill connection

• Use storytelling as a sales strategy (not just a creative flourish)

💡 If you found this episode helpful, please subscribe, leave a review, (preferably on Apple or Spotify) and share it with a friend or colleague.
Visit cathygoodwin.com for more storytelling tips and resources.

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