The Direct Seller's Podcast
The Direct Seller's Podcast
The 3 Stories Every Direct Seller Should Be Telling
In this episode, Rachel dives into the power of storytelling and how it’s the key to creating a magnetic brand. Learn how personal stories can help you stand out in the crowded direct sales space, build deeper connections, and ultimately, sell more.
Key Points Covered:
- Why storytelling is your branding superpower
Stories build trust and connection, making you stand out beyond just “selling a product.” - The 3 story types to start using today
- Your “why” story
- Customer success stories
- Transformation stories
- How stories outperform facts when it comes to sales
Stories create emotional resonance while facts just inform. - Real-life examples of storytelling done right
From TikTok storytelling trends to using B-roll videos to bring your story to life. - When and where to share your stories
Ideas for sharing stories across platforms—Instagram, Facebook, Reels, email, live video, and more. - The 4-step formula for telling stories that convert
- The hook
- The struggle
- The solution
- The call to action
- Rachel’s personal example of how everyday moments can inspire content
Even simple life moments, like a conversation with your kids, can turn into powerful brand stories. - Why becoming a storyteller = becoming a magnetic brand
People buy from people they feel connected to—not just from a product pitch.
Your story matters. Start messy, get creative, and share more of YOU. The more you lean into storytelling, the more people you’ll attract to your brand.
Hang out with me more!
Send me the message PODCAST over on Instagram at @rachelaperry and I’ll send you my "Parties-Optional Profit Plan!"
For Additional Resources for Direct Sellers:
www.rachelaperry.com
Welcome to the Direct Sellers Podcast, the podcast for direct sellers who are ready to get uncomfortable, build their business and grow a team while changing the face of the direct sales industry. I'm your host, rachel Perry. Join me as we get real and talk about all the things you need to kick some serious direct sales booty, from overcoming limiting beliefs to sharing the exact strategies you need to attract the right people who become customers and beg to join your team. I've got you covered, girl. I'm going to be your new BFF when it comes to balancing life and kids while building your direct sales business with poise, peace of mind and, of course, a good set of fake eyelashes. Let's get started. Hello, my friends, welcome back to another episode of the Direct Sellers Podcast. I'm so excited to be here and I'm so excited that you're here. If you are currently in the digital offer challenge with me, I hope that you are getting the results that you want and getting excited. It's been so much fun, but today we're actually going to deviate a little bit from our normal topics and I really want to lean in and really we're not. I want to talk about using stories to build a stronger brand. Okay, so we've been talking a lot about creating something of your own over the past weeks, but today I just want to lean into this brand piece again and how to leverage your personal stories to create a stronger brand, because your personal stories are, honestly, like your secret weapon when it comes to branding.
Speaker 1:It's the difference between selling a product versus creating a brand story. People will remember. There's so much connection that comes with storytelling. We buy from people. We don't buy from just the products. We don't buy from the companies. We buy from people, and that's why stories are so important when it comes to your branding Like. Think about it. Think about the people that you follow, the people that you feel connected to on social media. People connect with people on social media. People connect with people, not just products.
Speaker 1:Listen, there's this TikToker that I have been has come up in my like for you page and I don't know if this is real, but she is, and I don't know why this came up in my for you page, but it did, and I'm fascinated by it the way she's telling a story. She's with her husband who is cheating on her and she knows that he's cheating on her, but he doesn't know that she knows and all she does in her TikToks is show B-roll of her like kind of like a day in the life, like taking her kids skiing or taking her kids to a play part or making dinner or doing a craft or whatever it is, and she writes the story basically in, you know, just in an overlay. So it's kind of like I think I know the name of my husband's mistress, like he, she just tells stories like that. Now, I'm not saying you need to talk about that stuff, okay, but it pulls people in. It's building trust, it's building relatability for some people. It's it's and she talks about her terrible mother-in-law, like it's not just the fact that he's cheating, she's kind of telling the story of her life as a woman, as a scorned woman. Well, really, she's not scorned, I guess. Well, who knows, I don't even know. But you get what I'm saying. Brands, the people love compelling stories and you have a compelling story. I'm not saying you need to pretend that you're getting cheated on, okay, but I am saying like I want you to start paying attention to how people are telling stories and how you're pulled in. It's not one of those things where you're like once upon a time or you don't even need to start with, let me tell you a story. It's just sharing your life.
Speaker 1:So some types of stories that you could be sharing are why you started your business, like what problem were you solving For me? It was so that I didn't have to go back to teaching so I could do some B-roll of me taking care of my baby, of me making dinner, of me cleaning the house and I could tell my story. I chose you know whatever it is. I taught for nine years and then just but tell it in my story. I chose, you know whatever it is. I taught for nine years and then just but tell it in story form. I stayed home so I could. I started my direct sales business so that I could do these things, so that I can show pictures or video of me playing on the ground. I mean, I don't have a baby now he's 18, but you know what I mean, like me playing with him, me taking him for walks, me making dinner or cleaning the house or whatever it is. That would be a great way to tell your story. Maybe your story is that you were tired of walking to your mailbox and seeing yet more bills that you couldn't pay. Record yourself walking to the mailbox, pulling out your mail. That's telling a story. It doesn't have to just be in words.
Speaker 1:Another type of story is a customer success story. How has your product or your expertise helped someone? So I actually did this. Yesterday or two days ago I sent an email out because I was promoting the challenge, the digital offer challenge and I shared a story of one of my previous students who was with 31. And she had talked to me and she had shared with me her kind of her story and how, what she what had come up for her and when the doors closed and and how she was so thankful she had a backup plan. That was a customer success story that I shared. That gives that's storytelling.
Speaker 1:What about a transformation story? That's the third type of story. What struggles did you overcome and how does that relate to your audience? How does that inspire your audience? You know, we hear or you know lots of people tell stories about their weight loss, their weight loss journey. People relate to that because they're in the struggle phase. Right, they're like that's where I am now and I want to get to where you are now. Maybe it's that you had really bad acne. That's your struggle phase. How did you overcome that? Maybe it's the skincare that you sell, maybe it's the makeup that you sell. How does that inspire your audience? You're not necessarily selling, you're just sharing your story, but you're selling through story.
Speaker 1:So some of your questions might be like well, okay, when do I share this? Like, what do we do? Because you know, for me, initially I was sharing my story in the very beginning, when I was in direct sales at my home parties, but now people aren't doing home parties as much, so when do you share your story? Well, you can share your story when you're engaging with new followers or new leads, helps them connect to you. Maybe when someone says, why are you doing this? Like, be ready with your why story, listen, launching a new offer, a new product that's just been released? Stories sell facts. Don't Seriously tell me this.
Speaker 1:Like, think about this for a second. If you're scrolling through facebook or instagram and you see two posts about the same skincare product, one is just like sharing the benefits and the other shares a story about how she, as a mom, finally found something that helped her feel confident in her skin again after having kids. Which one are you going to be most drawn to? Which one are you going to feel like, okay, I, which one? Are you going to feel like, okay, I'm going to buy from her? The one where she shares the struggles and how she overcame it? Sometimes people have objections, whether it be joining your team or whether it be buying something. Use real life examples instead of just giving like a scripted answer. Stories will also really boost your engagement as far as your content goes. So think about how you can become more of a storyteller.
Speaker 1:I have seen a lot of storytellers, I think, over on TikTok and that's why I started like kind of falling into TikTok. I don't post on TikTok, but I find it fascinating the way people tell stories over there, and I think that's been. I've been kind of researching that. Now, disclaimer if you decide to do that or maybe you're already on TikTok man, tiktok sucks me in like no other. Like I can go to TikTok and be like, oh, I'm just going to spend 30 minutes on here, yeah, 30 minutes. Go to TikTok and be like, oh, I'm just going to spend 30 minutes on here, yeah, 30 minutes. An hour later I've wasted my time on TikTok. So just beware, it can suck you in like big time. All right, where are you going to share your story Everywhere Instagram, facebook stories, reels, live videos, podcast episodes, sales like all email. Share it everywhere, okay, and it's not necessarily always the same story. It's just become more of a storyteller Sharing examples me telling you that I am scroll. I've been sucked into TikTok and how I look at it for story. That's storytelling.
Speaker 1:So let's talk about how to share your story effectively. The first part is the hook. How can you grab the attention with something relatable or intriguing? That's what I've been paying attention to on TikTok. How do people pull me in A struggle? Share a struggle. Share a challenge or a frustration that your audience also faces.
Speaker 1:Going back to the skincare thing, acne Like, people still deal with acne in their 30s, 40s and 50s If that's a challenge or frustration that you've had and you know they have, talk about it. Talk about the solution. That's the third part. What is the product that you used, or what was your insight from this, or what was the transformation? And then include a call to action like guide them on what to do next. Maybe it's to comment on the post or DM you or sign up for something.
Speaker 1:Then I want you to so, not then I should say so what I want you to do is start thinking about what stories which of like each type of story. I want you to come up with some ideas. So your why story, your like a customer success story, and your transformation story, and what I want you to do is and you can just pick one, pick one and share it this week. All right, share it this this week. Tag me so I can see that you're doing it. And listen, don't be afraid to try it. Okay, don't be afraid to just try different things, because that's how you figure it out. That's how you figure it out.
Speaker 1:It's doing it messy. It's doing it messy and not having everything perfect, not having everything amazing, and we tend to fall back into the facts, like let me just tell you the facts about this, rather than using stories. But the thing is, is facts tell, stories sell? If you want more customers or you want more team members, you've got to start sharing the moments that made you fall in love with what you do. I really want you to think about what was the real reason that you started your business, because guess what? That story is going to help someone else be like oh yeah, me too, but do it in a different way. Don't go.
Speaker 1:I started this business because Share it in story form. Tell a story. A friend of mine just shared a carousel. She shared her story of kind of like the big aha in her life, and it was through Carousel, so just like posts on Instagram, and it was so fascinating and pulled me in so much because it's a story and people love your story, they want to know your story. But share it in such a way that people just get sucked in. You don't need to start by saying I'm going to tell you a story. Like I said, stories are going to help you stand out in this crowded space. Don't hold back because, remember, people don't just want to buy a product or join a team from someone that they see hawking the product. They want to buy from a person they know, person they trust.
Speaker 1:And if you feel like you're struggling a little bit in your business, it could be that you're just not storytelling enough and and you know right now one of the big things that pull people in our day, in the life and it could just be you recording yourself putting on makeup in the morning, making your bed, taking the kids to school, making dinner, working, whatever it is, and just put that in little, bite-sized chunks, put it together in a video and then tell a story. It doesn't have to be like first I do this, second I do this. It could just be talking about something else, like the reason I chose to stay home or the reason I quit my nine to five was so that I could be home with my kids, or so that I could. Maybe you decided to build this direct sales business because you wanted to travel more. Record yourself traveling more. Use images that you've taken from vacations before. Think about it. Get creative. Don't get stuck in your head. I think that's probably the thing that gets most people stuck with storytelling is you're in your head and you feel like you might not be doing it the right way, or you feel like you don't have any stories and that's just not true. I mean, think about all the things that you've done and, as you, as you think about it, write them in your notes app or something so that you can keep track of them. Here's a story that I could use in my content.
Speaker 1:Yesterday, caroline asked me. She said Mom, I just realized, like I just remembered, you're an immigrant, like you moved here from England, so you're an immigrant. What was it like being an immigrant? And weirdly, I remembered like the first moment I walked into the new school and I was sharing like with her how excited I was and how I was anticipating just so much amazingness. And it actually ended up not being amazing and I was teased and picked on all the things and I got really emotional telling the story. But that was a big, transformative part of my life.
Speaker 1:It's kind of that like you go in with this innocence, thinking everything's amazing and then it's not and like how do you handle that? That would be a great story to tell if I was talking about how sometimes things don't work out or don't end up the way you think they're going to be. But there are ways that you can overcome and there are. That doesn't mean that's the end, like I could use that as a story. So what are things that have happened in your life? Happen as a mom, happen as a working for mom, working as like working full time, whatever. You have stories, what are they? And let's start sharing them more. Become a storyteller, my friends. I guarantee you, if you can start really leaning into storytelling, you're going to be attracting so many more people to you because you're becoming a magnetic brand, and that is what's so. Powerful is when people can relate to what you're talking about.
Speaker 1:Guys, I hope this was helpful. I'll be back here next week for another episode of the Direct Sellers Podcast. Until then, take care. That's it for this episode of the Direct Sellers Podcast, but our fun doesn't have to end now. You'll catch me hanging out over on Instagram between episodes and I'd love for you to join me, so hop into my DMs. I promise you're not getting any hate girl messages and I promise I'm not going to be asking you to weirdly buy anything. Send me the message podcast so I can send you my free 90 day action planner, because who doesn't love a good template?