IT ALL STARTS WITH A STORY
Before we proceed, let’s get back to your investment opportunity. I have a challenge for you: Sell me on it! Regardless of the investment opportunity you’ve chosen, give me your most compelling pitch.
Why is this vintage bag a must-have? How does this company redefine the future? Make me see the undeniable value in acquiring this NFT without a moment’s doubt.
I pose this challenge for a reason: every investment starts with a story.
You see, we humans are not naturally programmed to invest. We are good at saving and spending, formulating plans with our money, but investing doesn’t come as naturally.
This reluctance is deeply rooted in our mental battlefields, where we face off against two formidable adversaries: the fear of losing our hard-earned money and the test of delayed gratification. It’s a natural instinct to prefer the joy of now over the promise of tomorrow. And when you add the fear of losing money to the equation, it further deters most of us from taking the leap into the world of investments.
We are not hard-wired to invest, but we are programmed to listen to stories. And it is these stories that get us to invest.
Think about the last investment you considered (perhaps the one you’re now urging me to consider). How did you discover it? Was it through a friend, a financial advisor, or a piece of news?
One sure thing is the narrative you heard was powerful enough to form an impression on your mind and draw you to take money out of your wallet to buy something you might not have known existed before.
If you’re skeptical, consider the surge in people who have invested in cryptocurrencies recently, largely influenced by word-of-mouth recommendations.
As Nobel Prize-winning economist Robert Shiller explains, “Economic narratives are contagious. They suggest scripts for people to follow, repeat their messages, and thrive on human interest.”
Here’s the key point for your investment opportunity: The more engaging the narrative, the greater the potential to attract future buyers over time.
While compelling narratives are not the sole condition for an investment to succeed, and I would certainly not advise anyone to buy an asset just because the story is enticing, it’s essential to acknowledge that narratives play a significant role as catalysts. Remember: to profit, you need to find an investor willing to pay more than you did. For this, a compelling story is key to motivating that action.
Therefore, the first step is to evaluate the strength of the narrative surrounding your investment opportunity, specifically, finding methods to measure it. Let’s see how.