EP 18: STORYTELLING in Procurement: The Hidden Advantage in Your Career Toolkit

How well are you storytelling in your procurement career?

In this episode, we explore how storytelling has become one of the most powerful and underrated skills in a procurement professional’s toolkit. Whether you are influencing stakeholders, leading a team or positioning yourself for your next move, your ability to communicate your story can make all the difference.

We cover:

• Why storytelling is a vital leadership and communication skill in procurement
• The difference between describing what you do and communicating who you are
• How to bring context and impact into your stories so they truly resonate
• How to use storytelling to influence stakeholders and shift procurement’s perception
• Practical ways to use social proof and facts to show your impact without feeling like you are bragging
• Why the story you tell yourself matters just as much as the one you share with others

We also talk about how storytelling can boost your confidence, help you connect more authentically and make your message memorable in a competitive market.

Thanks for joining. We’re so glad you’re here.

👥 Hosted by:
 Donna Bowden | Procurement Career Coach, Narrate Your Career
 Laura Sellers | Executive and Leadership Coach, Coaching for Procurement

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Transcript

Welcome & Hosts’ Mission

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Welcome to Procurement Pivots, the podcast for procurement professionals wanting to navigate change successfully and create career success on your own terms. I'm Donna Balden, Procurement Career Coach and founder of Narrate Your Career.

SPEAKER_00 0:16

And I'm Laura Sellers, Executive Coach for Procurement and founder of Coaching for Procurement. And between us, we bring almost 25 years of supporting and working with procurement professionals. And it's fair to say we've navigated many of our own career pivots along the way. And now we're here to help you do the same.

Why Storytelling Won the Poll

SPEAKER_01 0:34

Each episode will share practical strategies, honest conversations, and expert insights to help you confidently tackle the changes and challenges in your procurement career. Let's get started. Hi everyone, welcome to our latest episode on the Procurement Pivots podcast. We're delighted to be back again, once again with all of you. So thank you to all of you that are regularly tuning in, watching, listening. It's great to have you part of this journey with us. And so today we are going to be talking about the benefits of storytelling in various different aspects of your procurement career. Do you want to kind of share why we picked this topic, Laura?

SPEAKER_00 1:16

Yeah, sure. So hi everyone, welcome back to this week's episode. We did a poll on our LinkedIn page for the Procurement Pivots podcast, and it was the most popular topic and that was chosen. So it's on you guys, you chose this one. But it is definitely something that comes up in a variety of ways, like not just in one dimension, I would say. So for me, with the conversations that I have with my clients, it's more from a storytelling internally to try and get internal stakeholders to get on board with procurement's mission in the organisation. What about you, Donna?

Storytelling for Stakeholder Buy‑In

SPEAKER_01 1:57

Yeah, I mean, I think it it comes up in um in a variety of ways actually, but I think it's it can be internal because some of the clients that I'm working with, it's kind of helping them potentially with some of their you know progression, etc., internally, but I think it's then also you know, it's very much linked to what what is that story that you're you're telling about yourself, who you are, what you bring, etc. So a lot of it is linked to how you're positioning yourself for what's next. So what is the yeah, what what is the story that's kind of a future telling story, not just I've done this and this and this, the past, it's actually kind of linking it to wherever it is you're hoping to get to next in your career. But I couldn't, I mean I look, I I run a business called Narrates Your Career. So I, you know, I do a lot of work with my clients around, you know, particularly their own story, like how are they, how are they developing a story that showcases all their kind of you know uniqueness and and brilliance, etc. Um so yeah, I I yeah, I can't have a business with that name without kind of storytelling coming up very regularly, I would say, in the work that I do with clients.

SPEAKER_00 3:12

Yeah, and I think, you know, like like we're saying, there are different aspects to this, and it and it's not that you need to learn a different story for every aspect of that. It's about the skill behind storytelling, I guess, and and how you can adapt it to different stages of your career to use as a career development tool, but also as an impact tool, as a leadership tool. So it's it's definitely a versatile subject and yeah, to showcase the brilliance of what procurement does and what and and the uniqueness of each of the procurement leaders that we work with and and the team actually as well. You know, I do a lot of teamwork so around this and and influencing the business. So yeah, there's there's definitely it's a wider reaching subject than just on an individual basis as well.

Beyond CVs: Future‑Facing Narratives

Communicating for Busy Executives

STAR Done Right: Context and Impact

SPEAKER_01 4:02

Yeah, and I think picking up on that word impact, which you know, obviously it comes up a lot in these episodes, it comes up a lot in the conversations that we're having in in kind of you know, coaching sessions. Storytelling is just such a brilliant way of having an impact on on others, you know, typically, you know, those that are able to communicate using you know some kind of storytelling kind of method, it can be so much more engaging, more memorable. You know, it's and I think that's the thing, it's kind of you know how how do you get your message, whatever that message is, across in a way that it lands well with people and they resonate with it and they they remember it, and you know, and I think you know, I mean, obviously a lot of the work I'm doing with individuals, it's supporting them in job moves, whether those are internal moves or external moves. But I think often you know, people will introduce themselves using quite a an outdated style of kind of introduction, it's very descriptive, it's you know, often very long-winded. It's I did this, then I did this, then I did this, then I did this. But actually, that that doesn't cut through, particularly in a really competitive job market. Like that isn't, you know, it's not always memorable enough, particularly if everyone else is saying the same thing. So I do think, you know, kind of whether it's internally with stakeholders or internally with people that might consider you for promotions or different opportunities, like actually it's just such an amazing kind of skill to develop for yourself, and particularly as you're as you're kind of you know, maybe moving up the ladder or you know, you've been in your career a bit longer. I think it you know, senior execs don't have lots of time to listen to lots and lots of information, like often they just want a snapshot and they want that kind of that message to be delivered, you know, very succinctly but impactfully, and so it can be just such a great way of of kind of showcasing that.

SPEAKER_00 6:21

Yeah, and I I think when I when I think back over my career to to ways of of storytelling that were introduced to me, it was it was more I was given a model, the star model, I think it's quite a popular one, isn't it? And where you can articulate a situation in in an interview. But something you just said earlier about executives, I think this is where a lot of us fall down, you know, without without planning and preparation, is because, as you said, senior executives sometimes just want a snapshot. And sometimes when we're when we have our own communication style of the story we want to tell, it doesn't always align and match with the person we're trying to sell the story to. So something that I would definitely recommend is really get to grips with what your communication style is and what the communication style is of the person you're trying to sell your story to. And and this is, you know, this is applicable whether it is you're looking for a new job, you're positioning yourself, whether you're trying to get a stakeholder on board. But basically, I I think understanding where you need to capture their attention, because where I see a lot of tension between stakeholder relationships with the with the procurement leaders I work with is when there's a mismatch in communication at that level. So, for example, if you've got somebody who's very results driven, wants the snapshot, they might be of a of an understanding where they just need to know, just tell me what you need or tell me what you did, tell me what the problem is. And if you're a process-driven person who loves the detail, that can be really hard to summarize. So, yeah, that that's where I would personally start is looking at my own communication style or the client's communication style and who it is they're trying to sell the story to. Does that resonate with you?

Tailoring to Communication Styles

SPEAKER_01 8:10

Yeah, absolutely. And coming back to the star technique, because I mean the star technique comes up a lot in the work that I'm doing with clients, and obviously a lot of them are, you know, they are setting themselves up for what's next. And so we're doing a lot of work around kind of interview, interview coaching, etc. But I think you know, what I've seen from working, I've been working with senior procurement professionals for I think it's 12, nearly 12 years. And when people communicate, like if you take that star model, situation, task, action result, most people talk a lot about the thing that they've done, the thing they've did, but the bits that often get missing, and if you were to ask my my clients, like what words come up really frequently, like we end up talking a lot about context and impact, and the whole thing with the storytelling, like, I think so many people, their communication is stuck in the the the T, the T and the A part. So, you know, actually, you know, when they're introducing themselves, they're saying, Oh, I did this, I did this, I did this, you know. You look at someone's CV, it's a list of things they've done often. But for me, that bit at the beginning, like it's an S in the in the in the situation, but I often will refer to it as the context. Like, if you don't know the problems that led to that thing needing to happen, you can't understand. Like, and that's the storytelling bit. It's the like, what was the before? What was the what you know, what's the middle part, what what's been done, and then what's the impact? But I think, yeah, that's where often like it's often the stories I think do fall down because if people don't understand the context of why was that even important, like why are you even telling me you did this thing? Like it's the sometimes it's like the complexity or the sensitivity or the political nature of this scenario that makes it really impressive, and yeah, and I think it often gets missed. So uh yeah, when you yeah, when you mention the star technique, I wanted to just mention that because I think just you know, through those stories, you know, whatever scenario that story is in, like really do think about like how are you setting up that story so that it's gonna actually relate to the people that you're talking to.

SPEAKER_00 10:47

Yeah, great one. And actually, I brought the star and obviously you've talked about it. Should we actually say if anyone's not familiar what it stands for? Um so we've got situation, right? Then task, sorry, yeah, and then action and then result, yeah, yeah.

Showing Not Telling: Social Proof

SPEAKER_01 11:07

And I mean, from a definitely from an interviewing perspective, like businesses, so some people interviewing will have had formal training on how to interview people in the business, and the most well documented and well recognised way of answering competency-based interview questions, questions such as you know, the ones that come up really frequently. Can you tell me about a time where you've worked with a difficult stakeholder? Yes, probably there's lots of stories around a lot of the time. Can you tell me about a time where you've where you've identified innovation in the supply chain? Like in interviews, in interviews, yeah, I think I think yeah, the star technique is really important, but actually it can be used as a you know, as just a general storytelling framework as well.

SPEAKER_00 11:59

Yes, yeah, exactly. It's an adaptable tool, isn't it? So yeah, I I think that what you said about context there is really interesting because sometimes we get pulled. If you think about marketing techniques, you know, it's it there's an element of an emotion in the storytelling, the impact that it's had on people, you know, because if there was some stakeholder frustration and then this is what you did and this is how you did it, this is who you worked with, that that that also helps because some people do buy into that emotional language, they get pulled by the emotions rather than the process, don't they? So and sometimes that can be a bit of an uncomfortable topic to tap into the emotional side of things. That if if we don't speak to that sort of language, so if we don't relate to it, so that's that's definitely something I was thinking of when uh when you were talking about that with the context, yeah.

Team Wins and Internal Influence

SPEAKER_01 12:47

But I think also, and I know we've spoken about this previously, but there's not many chances in life where you get to talk about yourself and your career, like you're so I think you know, there's so many there's so many aspects in which storytelling can be really beneficial throughout your career in procurement, but even just having the chance to like share and download almost, like just not not share it because it's an interview or you're talking to a recruiter, but just having that opportunity to just go, you know, really kind of you know what it what what is my story and just be able to kind of confide in other people. Now, you know, that doesn't necessarily need to be a coach, like even just having the chance just to to say things out loud, like so many, so many clients I talk to, you know, actually very early on, like sometimes even in the first session or two, like they're talking about things that they've never ever shared to another person. And you know, actually, like it there's it can be great to say some of these things out loud because sometimes you know, we just we we're so busy, we don't give it thought, and like self-reflecting can be good, but also then involving other people as well and just sharing it and getting their view, etc. So yeah, I think just also you know, I think there's the storytelling to influence others, but also, you know, for your own benefit, it can be really, really helpful to just talk about your own career with with another person and kind of you know hear yourself talk about it out loud and you know, be questioned about it. I just think it just can be really, really helpful.

SPEAKER_00 14:40

It can be really helpful, and I think, like you said, you said something earlier about how we we don't always talk about it or we take for granted maybe some of the things that we've delivered because it's come naturally, you know, we've been doing it for a long time. So it's definitely a good good opportunity to take stock. But what if you're a person or who doesn't like to showcase themselves, you know, and you don't and you don't like to say those things out loud, it sounds showy offy, like if that's yeah, I think we were talking before if that's the one word. But if if you're a person who wants to show what they've delivered, but the thought of putting yourself on the stage really in a different way to what we spoke about when it came to networking and stuff, you know. What about that? How do we get over that hurdle when we want to showcase our abilities and and what we've delivered, but we don't necessarily feel comfortable being in the spotlight? How do we get around that?

Metrics That Matter in Stories

SPEAKER_01 15:37

I mean, I think this this is a this is a really, really common topic, I would say actually, and particularly in the work that I'm doing with individuals, they're positioning themselves for whatever's next. And so many brilliant procurement leaders are really uncomfortable with talking about the things that they've done well. So I think there's there are lots of different things you can do. Actually, we spend quite a lot of time together working out what the story is. So we do quite a lot of work around like really, I suppose, analysing kind of high points in their career and you know, those those projects that they were most proud of, and we're kind of looking at yeah, a whole set of things that they've done and delivered and trying to see where the where the trends are, where the patterns are, where the themes are. So it's kind of it's working out the story together, but sometimes even that itself can still feel quite uncomfortable. So, you know, often we'll be looking at what others' feedback has been or the social proof aspect. So rather than saying, oh, I'm really good at this, it's kind of and I think it's actually the how can you show these things rather than tell. Like the telling can sometimes feel some people feel like it sounds like they're bragging, so it's it's how can you show it rather than just say it, so that it it's it's you know, people can see that it's genuine because you're demonstrating how it happens. That might be through, you know, it might be that you've become known for solving these particular types of problems internally, and that always comes up, you know, kind of internally with your feedback. So it might be that you're you're you're showcasing others' feedback off you rather than saying, you know, I'm I'm a brilliant problem solver. You might reframe it and say, you know, I'm really proud that stakeholders consistently comment on how I've been able to help them solve their problems.

Adapting Your Intro for New Roles

SPEAKER_00 17:42

Yeah, I I really like that aspect because it's good for building the confidence of the individual, actually to say, you know, what consistent feedback have you had? What do people say about you? And this might have been in the form of 360 feedback, which a lot of the time when I start working with people is that they've had some 360 feedback and they want to build upon it, you know, and and I think it's definitely something that can help build confidence, but also show you something that you might not have known was there about what you do do well and do do consistently. So that's a that's definitely an important part of it as well. And I think to be able to uh you know, back to the question I posed, it can sort of take the pressure off a bit to say, oh, this is actually what other people say about me. It's not just me blowing my own trumpet, yeah, you know. And I think as well turning the conversation a little bit into the how you sell this internally as a story about what procurement have delivered, you know, there's a lot of we, you know, talking about what the team have delivered and how we've been adaptable to the needs of the organization. But you said the word earlier, social proof. You know, when you're building procurement as a function within the organization, you're you know, a lot of the leaders I work with, they're taking their procurement function to a place it's not been yet in the organization. So there's still a lot of internal selling that needs to do. But we, you know, last year I was working with a team and we were talking about the journey of the team that they'd already been on to recognize A, how far they'd come, but B, how they could use that as part of the social proof that you mentioned to sell that to other functions within the organization. Because when you're looking at it from an internal perspective, we need to be mindful of the influence that some of our stakeholders have on other ones of our stakeholders. How can we leverage that? How can we orchestrate that? How can we get the social proof of what we're already doing well with one function to sell that story to help us sell ourselves into the other one? So I think when you said social proof, it just reminded me of that aspect as well. That if you're not one to go, yep, okay, I've achieved all this because it can feel uncomfortable, there are other ways of doing it, you know, to bring in the team aspect, to bring in the social proof of what others are saying.

Tools: Personality Profiles & Preferences

SPEAKER_01 19:57

Yeah. And I think also, you know, coming back to that point, a lot of people are concerned that they're going to appear as maybe being arrogant in what they say or that they're bragging. But talking in facts as well, you know, when you when you when you include some facts, it's it's uh, you know, you're just you're just telling the truth and you're including some kind of factual stats or metrics in there, you know, that's not bragging because that is what actually happened. Whereas actually, when you don't attach the fact to it as well, it can feel like it it could be interpreted as subjective, and it's that's your you know perception of who you are and how you operate, but actually it's looking at you know what are the most impactful kind of facts that you can improve to back up that story that you're trying to to tell. But I think you know, going back to your early point, like there isn't it's not like one story is gonna work for everyone, and it's really working out like who is who's the audience, who's listening to this story, and why you know why are you using it, and actually, you know, what facts are gonna resonate most with that particular audience. So, yeah, I think like even you know, a lot of the work I'm doing with people is helping them, you know, position themselves for what's next, but when they land that new role, actually, you know, we then start looking at well, what are the things you can do in advance to set yourself up for success in the new role, and you know, who are the different types of people that you're going to be meeting? Your peers, your team members, senior stakeholders, leaders, etc. Like actually, what are those different versions of your own story? Because you know, your story is your story, but how can you slightly adapt that? Because you're gonna be, you know, in those first few days, weeks, or months, you're gonna be kind of wheeled out and introduced to so many people in the business. And one of the first things they're gonna say is, Go on then, tell me a bit about yourself. And it's not an interview, it's not like having to prove necessarily, but you do want it to be impactful, and we know that that first interaction can determine kind of how future interactions go. So, like, really again planning and thinking, you know, I'm gonna be meeting these different types of people, how am I gonna introduce myself and just really quickly give a snapshot to my story? It's not tell your whole story, but you know, what's your kind of 30-second, 60-second version of a quick introduction gonna be, and how are you gonna adapt it for those different types of people?

SPEAKER_00 22:44

Yeah, absolutely. And even if you don't know, obviously, if you're meeting stakeholders for the first time, like you say, you might get wheeled out to a few different people when you start a new role. I love the way you know we say that, but it can be the case, but it can be the case, you get to know the business. So, a couple of things I would suggest here for anyone who who's wondering, well, how do I adapt it without knowing what that person needs, is that if you have access to any colours from personality profiling, if that's disk, if it's insights, if the company's done a company-wide exercise, you might have some data there where you can say, right, this person's a red, this person's a blue, this person's a green, or a yellow. That can help you to sort of already try and tailor, okay, well, this person seems to be of this nature, then I will tailor my story to that. So I think that's a really good place to start if you have that information available. It's not always there, it might be there, and you might not, you know, you might have to ask them for it. You know, that and I had a client who said, Well, it's a bit much, isn't it, to go and say, Oh, can I have your personality profile, please? But actually, if you're to say, look, you know, I'm really keen to get great stakeholder relationships, here's how I like to communicate, would love to know what it is you need from me. You know, how do you like to have that information delivered? And once you've got a bit of a picture of of what your stakeholders need, then you can start to tailor what story you need for each one. Yeah.

Set Expectations with Stakeholders

SPEAKER_01 24:10

I think actually that's such sorry, go on. No, no, no. I was gonna say that's such a good point around just having that open conversation about communication styles. Like that that doesn't happen enough, actually. It really doesn't happen enough. And you know, I think that can just that can really that can be game-changing, I think, actually, for the relationship when you've had that early conversation, whether it's a stakeholder or even you know, whether it's a new boss that you're about to start working with. And you know, I kind of that came up actually recently in uh some work I was doing with someone before they were starting in their new role, and you know, we were running through kind of you know, actually in those first few meetings with your boss when you arrive, like what are some of the things that you would love to kind of gain from those conversations? And I just think there's so much power in having that as an open conversation from the beginning, actually.

SPEAKER_00 25:11

Definitely, and that one of the best line managers I've ever had, I've had two great leaders I was fortunate to report into over my career that it that stood out particularly for me. I've had some great sorry, I've had some great leaders across the board, but two in particular who I who I really felt really championed me. One of them, a really simple question that she asked me when we first started working together was how do you like to be managed? And it is such a simple, powerful question because it it showed willingness that that and and knowledge that not everybody responds to the same type of leadership. But also it was just a wow, that yeah, that it helps you to feel already quite empowered and quite free to be yourself. So, you know, and I've no that's always stayed with me when she asked me that because it was really it was really game-changing to go, okay, I get to have some empowerment here, some freedom. So it is, and like you say, open communication, as you said earlier, it's so powerful. Sometimes we overcomplicate these things, we think it's a dark art. And actually, part of what what we help to do in the coaching, I think, is to actually strip it back and ask those simple questions. And and something like that. How I always say, how how do you like what approaches do you like from a coach? What would you like me to do? You know, what and and we we continually have that conversation. But I think in a storytelling perspective, to ask your key stakeholder, because ultimately everybody wants to be listened to, everybody wants to be heard, uh, ask them, you know, what do you what would you like to see from procurement? What would you like to hear from me in terms of updates? Powerful, powerful questions.

The Stories We Tell Ourselves

SPEAKER_01 26:48

Yeah, absolutely. And and the part that we've I mean, one of the parts that we've not really got on to is also, you know, what are the stories that we're telling ourselves as well. Yes. Because, you know, that's a whole nother can of worms that we're not going to have time to go into kind of in detail today. But yeah, I just again we we have spoken about this previously. I think particularly when we did the, I think it was the identity episode, actually. Kind of, you know, how what are those things that we're saying to ourselves and how how is that affecting us? And actually that can be, you know, we can be telling ourselves really positive stories, and we could that that actually affects us really positively. We can be telling ourselves, you know, those those those other stories that really kind of allow the doubt to creep in and you know that really kind of erode your confidence. So I think it's just you know, actually, also I think getting clear on how you're going to position your story to others and really believe in that story. That's the thing, it has to be genuine, authentic. But I think when you've taken time to work out like what is my own story, I think then you start you start telling yourself that story as well. I'm just gonna like just an example. So when I last, I think it was last year, and I was about five months into the business, and I was at an event, and just I had this light bulb moment that you know I'd I'd been a recruitment leader essentially for 20 something years, had had pivoted myself, set up the business in career coaching, but I was still going around four or five months later saying, my new business, my new business, you know, I've moved into career coaching. Look, actually, I've been informally coaching people throughout my career, you know, and the work that I've been doing, you know, it was almost like in my mind, like both outwardly to others and internally, I'd kind of labelled myself as new, new business owner. And actually, that that's not very that doesn't build your confidence. And I was kind of talking to all these, I was at an event and I was talking to other business owners, and I just picked up on when I introduced myself to quite a few of them in a row, I just realised that my introduction was very much, oh, I've you know, I've just recently set up my business, and from that day on I've been so conscious to not be so outwardly leading with that because actually, you know, the work I do now is off the back of 20 something years of work that I've been doing to support people in their careers, and fine, like I was employed, then I had my own business, but actually that's kind of irrelevant because I've been you know helping others in their careers for such a long time. But I just think those stories that we tell ourselves and that we maybe share with others kind of almost some. Sometimes unknowingly, that can have a really big impact. And sometimes like not positively as well.

Reframing Beliefs and Identity

SPEAKER_00 30:06

Yeah, that's such a great point. A great story, Donna, because like like you said earlier, and I think I was it the identity episode we talked about. I'll have to go back and check, but where we talked about how nobody starts from scratch. You know, you might have started a new business, but everything you've done up until now is part of who you are. And I love to bring that out in the client conversations that I have, because even though you're in a new role or you're in a part of procurement that you've not been in before, you're not starting from scratch. Let's remember what your strengths are because there are clues to this. There will be an invisible string of patterns that work well for you, and that's part of your story. But also, if you do have that belief, and you know, I do a lot of beliefs work with my clients because it's about reframing them. We all hold beliefs about ourselves that are good ones and that are bad ones, and we need to listen to the bad ones so much more than the good ones. Yeah. And and I think it's about reframing the bad ones, it's about calling them out and saying, okay, this is a belief I've either picked up from somebody who's told me that or I've just decided was a thing because of something that didn't feel so great. It's about reframing it. So I'm I'm gonna use your example, but also identify it with something of mine. So I I've been in business for three almost three and a half years now, and I often say I'm still new to this in a sense of I'm still learning. I always love to learn. I am a learner, I have a learner mindset. I always want to learn more. So it's but like you say, it's part of your story. It doesn't mean that I'm new to coaching now. I've been doing it for a long time, and same as you was informally doing it for a long time before that. But I think I can still, if I still believe that I am new, it's because it's like it's I'm not new because I don't know what I'm doing. I'm new because I'm a learner and I love to still learn. And if I'm not learning, I'm I I get frustrated in my career. So I'm always like, new book, please. I've got like two loads of shelves here. I'm always going to be learning more. But what I would say, just to tie it back, is about bringing that back into concrete evidence, where you said about data earlier, bringing back into testing these learning strategies, because it that story you might have might continue to evolve as time goes on. So that's so I think that as we said, it's a it's a bit of a skill, it's a bit of a skill set, but it's uh it's definitely something that is a very powerful one, and the stories we tell ourselves are a huge part of that too.

SPEAKER_01 32:30

Yeah. So I suppose to conclude, I I mean, you know, I think understanding your own story in relation to how you're positioning yourself to others for me is so so so important, particularly, you know, in the world that we're in right now. It's a competitive space internally and externally. Yeah, and the only thing that is truly unique about you is your own story. Like no one else has that story, they probably will have shared experiences, etc., but pulling together and really understanding and believing that story that you're telling that's unique to you, and that's the kind of the key thing. So I think just you know, understand what your own story is that you're then going to share with people and maybe practice kind of how you share it. And it's I don't mean like a you know, really like sousy kind of elevator pitch style, like it needs to feel conversational, but you know, think about the different types of people that you come into contact with and the different scenarios, and you know, a lot of the time they're gonna say, Oh, do you want to introduce yourself? You know, actually, what is that introduction in those different scenarios? And that's your story, but how are you going to adapt it in different scenarios? And sorry if I can just add in, Laura, just finally, the when it comes to the the star technique, you know, that's a formal framework, but I would just encourage everyone to think about in your communication are you also showing the context and the situation up front and also the difference that your action made. Like, you know, people are oh yeah, I you know, I follow the star technique, but often they don't, they go really quickly to the thing they did. But actually, setting the scene, it helps setting the scene helps people understand the you know the the the kind of size of the challenge that you were facing.

One Story, Many Audiences

SPEAKER_00 34:35

Yeah, that's a great one, and I I think the context bit is really helpful. So just to build on yours and a takeaway for me then from having that, I guess the skeleton of the story that because that is the uniqueness about you, and everybody's got that unique story. There is the element of right, how do I adapt that to the people I need to sell that to? So we're not having lots of different stories, it's just about do I need to be shorter and snappier with this person who prefers the headlines? Do I need to go more into detail in this scenario, for example? So that's definitely something I think, and and part of being adaptable is is great procurement leadership as well. You know, I think it's something that's often said, but to build on that as well, that's social proof that we talked about. Yeah. So so we talk, we we you said about the the context was really important. That's where the data and the social proof comes in, right?

SPEAKER_01 35:24

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. So again, we could talk for hours, I'm sure, about this topic. I'm sure it will come up again in in um in future episodes. But as we've said before, you know, if you're listening to these episodes and you're sat there thinking, because we're covering a lot, we're packing a lot into a really short conversation and we're kind of throwing out some things to think about. But if you're ever sat there and thinking, do you know what? Like I'd like to explore that further with some help, with some support, like reach out to either of us or even reach out. Like we've had a few people get in touch with with us, and you know, and so you know, it might be obvious that it's one or the other, it might be a combined thing, but you know, don't don't just sit there and listen and think that there is no help and support if you would benefit from kind of doing some of this with you know with with support alongside you.

SPEAKER_00 36:20

Yeah, and you you make a great point there about you know, the we we both have our own businesses, we obviously have procurement pivots together, but we're both very good at knowing what that person needs. So we've both referred people to each other, haven't we? If we know that what they're looking for, actually, you need to speak to Donna or you need to speak to Laura. Actually, this is something we could do together, and we've been getting inquiries like that too, haven't we? So yeah, it's it's definitely something we want to help with. And it and ultimately, I think something that we would both say, particularly when it comes to coaching, is about meeting our clients where they are. Like everybody, as we've said, you've all got a unique story, and it's our job to meet you where you are. And we'll knowing what I bring, what you bring, and what we bring separately, what we bring together, come and have a conversation with us and we'll be able to point you in the right direction.

SPEAKER_01 37:05

Yeah, absolutely. All right, well, thanks everyone. It's yeah, great that you're joining us for these episodes. So we will look forward to seeing you soon.

SPEAKER_00 37:14

Yes, thank you. Take care, see you next time.

SPEAKER_01 37:16

See you later. Bye, everyone.

SPEAKER_00 37:20

Thank you for tuning in to Procurement Pivots. We hope today's episode gave you actionable tips to help you to continue to move forward in your procurement career.

SPEAKER_01 37:29

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