When Kelly Harris began teaching Kindergarten, her goal was to stay for 10 years before moving on to the next phase of her career, and then the pandemic hit. “I went from working 65 hours a week to 85 hours a week and realized that I needed to do something else,” she says. So Kelly launched her own business and discovered her passion for email marketing and storytelling.
Over the past four years, she has developed expertise in building genuine connections through strategic communication. “What most people connect with and really respond to is stories,” she explains. As a Story First Business Growth Strategist, Kelly helps health and wellness coaches and entrepreneurs use their stories to connect with the right people to help them fill their pipelines and make more sales.
According to Kelly, people are exposed to thousands of messages a day but can only process 90% of what they’re seeing. “Our brains are wired for stories,” says Kelly. “You have to make sure that your message is what’s actually connecting with people, and when you tell a story, they’re going to remember that 100% of the time over statistics or anything else.”
Kelly’s philosophy centers on relational marketing, which she believes is the future of business growth. “In the world that we’re living in with AI, you don’t have to be loud,” she emphasizes. “You have to be authentic, and you do that by using your lived experiences to position yourself so that you are clearly the person that people want to pay.”
With a passion for helping entrepreneurs develop both mission-driven businesses and servant leadership skills, Kelly has developed the Story to Sales Sprint, a 14-day intensive program that helps professionals fine-tune their stories into a brand message that resonates with their audiences. “One of the things that I am very passionate about is making sure that your business has a mission and a vision because your vision is your long-term picture of success,” explains Kelly. “We’re going to do a story excavation to talk about your lived experiences and the stories that got you here, and position them in such a way that you actually stand out above your competitors.”
In addition to helping clients reach success one-on-one, Kelly’s long-term vision includes sharing her insights with larger audiences through books, podcasts, and speaking events. “I’ve always wanted to be on stage and to be able to help as many people as possible,” she shares. For Kelly, every speaking engagement and podcast appearance serves a greater purpose. “If something that I say helps one person, then it’s worth doing.”
What sets Kelly apart is her commitment to building authentic relationships. “Relational marketing is important,” she says. “We need people, we need connections, we need authenticity, and I really believe that relational marketing is where we’re going to see a lot of things move toward.”
With the goal of creating a community where people can feel safe and encouraged to take risks, Kelly is focused on getting her message out to her target audience. “I want to work with the world changers who want to be brave enough to get on a stage and share their story so they can create more impact and leave the world a better place,” she says.
To work with Kelly one-on-one or to join her next Story to Sales Sprint, visit her site at KellyHarrisCreative.com.
