Welcome to part two of the “Sales Success Through Business Acumen” series. If you missed part one—Coach Your Team to Speak the Language of Business—find it here. In today’s article, you’ll also find links to two free storytelling learning resources to share with your team.
We can all agree that we want our salespeople to be helpful to prospective and actual customers.
We want them to create value by having collaborative conversations where they share insights that have a significant impact and empower people to reach a consensus on why they need to change and what that change looks like.
This is great in theory, but how do we achieve this in practice?
Historically, we have provided our salespeople with various brochures, case studies, videos, etc., but they still claim, “I have nothing compelling to share with prospects.” If we are honest with ourselves, some of the content we have provided may have been a little self-indulgent, focusing solely on our company, our products, and how great we are. However, amidst all of that, there was still some really useful content; the salespeople just failed to utilise it correctly.
As with everything, there were probably 20% of salespeople who effectively used the content, and one thing they all had in common was their ability to be great storytellers. Let me be clear; I am not implying they made things up. Instead, they could communicate effectively through stories.
Why are stories so important?
Because people remember them, and if they remember them, they repeat them to others, and the story takes on a life of its own, propagating throughout the network of stakeholders we need to reach out to, much like a viral social media post.
What makes a story work? Is it the way it is delivered, or is it simpler than that? It all starts with a structure.
Set up:
- Who is the main character of the story?
- What is the goal of the main character?
Experience:
- What obstacles and challenges do they deal with along the way?
- What solution did they find?
Conclusion:
- What was the outcome?
- What was the impact on the main character?
Learning resource
If you want to understand more about this structure, click here and you will be taken to a piece of learning on the structure of stories.
Delivering the story
After structuring your story and building its narrative, ensure your delivery is engaging with these simple tips:
- Slip the story naturally into the conversation
Example: “Your challenges remind me of a similar situation one of our clients faced…”
- Use emotive language
Example: Instead of “they had issues”, say “they were drowning in operational inefficiencies.”
- Create an emotional journey with emotional triggers
Describe the client’s initial pain points/struggles, then build towards the transformative solution.
- Have a moment of silence before revealing the outcome
- Summarise the point to drive it home
Example: “So in the end, our solution helped them cut costs by 25% and boost productivity dramatically.”
If you want to further understand how to make your stories engaging click here.
Finally, think about what you need to be effective in your delivery:
- Keep stories short and to the point (max 3 minutes)
- Never breach a customer’s privacy
- Avoid speaking too quickly
- Make sure the story is relevant to the situation and audience
- Don’t lead with the outcome of the story
- Practice, practice, practice
💡 Tip: Stories are most effective when the prospect can relate to the role of someone in it, so aim to include a distinct character that is your prospect.
You can strategically use stories to:
- Illustrate the impact of a risk or opportunity your solution addresses
- Highlight the value of specific solution criteria/features
- Demonstrate why they should choose you when the timing is right
While anyone can tell stories, those who don’t naturally do so should build a portfolio of relevant stories they feel comfortable sharing. However, it’s crucial to share stories only when appropriate – a good story told at the wrong time can derail the conversation just as easily as a poorly timed story.
Instead of relying solely on marketing materials, leverage your sales team as the best source for compelling stories. Share effective stories amongst colleagues, practice delivering them, and even ask clients who view you as a trusted advisor if you can share their success stories.
In summary, master the art of using stories judiciously and drawing from real customer experiences to convey value and build credibility during sales conversations.
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