ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.–You can’t attend any credit union event without someone talking about the “credit union story,” but one person says it’s a mistake if that story is about the credit union itself.
Instead, said songwriter Jimmy Yeary, it really needs to be about letting consumers and members know they are “not alone” and the credit union hears them.
Yeary, who has written number-one songs performed by Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney, Rascal Flats, along with songs for numerous other country performers (he wrote the 2013 CMA Song of the Year, “I Drive Your Truck” by Lee Brice), told the Defense Credit Union Council meeting that he “loves to tell stories.”
“But not long, drawn-out stories,” he said. “Stories that can connect you with others in seconds for the purposes of networking. Stories that build trust, Stories that sell your heart. Ultimately, you’re selling yourself.”
What I Feel, You Feel
Yeary told credit unions they can do what he does, but they need to keep something in mind.
“The level at which I feel something is the level at which you feel something. The level at which I don’t, you don’t,” he said. “If we can connect, we can form a friendship. Friends help friends. It’s people helping people. We all have an intrinsic need not to feel alone, and when you can meet that need for somebody you have given them a gift. We form trust. People who trust you, like you. People who like you, follow you.”
Yeary said credit unions really need to “grasp the value” of your story. “Nobody can tell your story quite like you can. If I can cause millions of people to gravitate to my simple little story, you can do the same thing with the same strategies and techniques.”
Credit Unions Go Country
To close his presentation and make his point, Yeary went around the audience and gathered a half-dozen personal, emotional experiences, then asked his audience for some words that describe what credit unions are about, before singing a song based on those lyrics.