I contrasted this form of advertising to the way real estatefirms market and sell their services. We tend to throw everythingagainst the wall and see what sticks. Some of us continue tobelieve that the thickest RFP response will win the business. Weall know that most of the information in responses to RFPs isneither interesting nor compelling. Statistics are dull, casestudies are trite, and fluff is, well, fluff.

But how do you put your clients and prospects on the edge oftheir seat during your presentation? How do you leave them wantingmore? How do you leave spaces in your written proposals for them toimagine and develop their own conclusions? Here are somethoughts:

How many times have you been at a cocktail reception and noticeda small group gathered around someone relating a fascinating story?What is it about the speaker that gets others to stop and focus? Icontend that it's not the speaker but the universality of themessage. More often than not, the story is either one in which youa) can picture yourself or b) find yourself emotionally engaged.The trick for service providers is to find stories that both grabthe client's attention and strike an emotional chord.