Successful commercial messaging often includes stories that compel your customers to act by answering the key question, “Why change?” When product launches fail to generate revenue, it’s because salespeople and channel partners are not involved in messaging development during pre-launch preparations. When messaging is developed in isolation, it’s not compelling enough to get your customers to act.
Download the Guide to Better Storytelling here.
You might wonder how exactly stories apply to the sales process. How can storytelling improve your number at the end of the quarter? A well-told, captivating story can affect listeners on multiple levels. It’s no accident that storytelling is a craft that has stood the test of time.
6 Benefits of Exceptional Storytelling in Sales:
Imagine how much more effective your pitch becomes with these six benefits.
Science behind stories: How they stimulate the emotional side of our brain
When we listen to a standard presentation or boring lecture, the Broca’s area of the brain is stimulated. This area deals with language and logic. In contrast, when we are told a story with rich meaning and visual cues, things change dramatically. Both the right and left sides are activated. The right side (creative side) is engaged and stimulated. Stories grip us and help us experience emotions.
Storytelling in Business
As a sales rep, you have many different tools in your toolbox. Similarly, a variety of different stories can be told to convey a point. Using the correct type can help elicit the action or feeling you want from a customer. A few of the staples are:
When to Use Stories
In order for your story to be truly effective, you need to nail the timing. A misplaced story seems forced, awkward, and will fall flat. Here are some of the best times for storytelling:
Elements of a Great Story
In order to tell a good story, you need to be familiar with an effective format. Just like a sales call, stories need certain elements to succeed.
Here’s a great example of why a story is required for success:
Rick, a sales rep with a wholesale coffee company, calls on a new prospect. The prospective company operates 25 boutique coffee shops. During the call, Rick touts that his firm prides itself on exceptional customer service. Hannah, the potential buyer is skeptical. “That’s a claim I hear all the time,” she says. “Why should I believe you on this?”
Rick responds by telling this story:
“Last year our customer, Solid Grounds, (Hero) places a special order based on holiday internet sales. At 800 pounds, this order is big. I’m excited, the customer is excited, everything’s great. Now, to meet quality requirements the order needs to be air freighted (Stimulus). As we prepare to fulfill the order, Ajax Air – our air freighter – goes on strike (Conflict).
Switching shipping vendors at this point wasn’t an option. Every single alternative is booked solid because of the Ajax strike. I’m not excited anymore – no one is. I know there’s no way we get them their coffee on time, and we probably just lost a huge client. Sal, the owner of our company, gets wind of the problem. I figure he’ll be up in arms. I was wrong. Instead, he gets a real determined look – like he’s got something up his sleeve. He says we’ll deliver the beans to Solid Grounds to ensure their business isn’t affected (Crossroads). Only problem is that it’s 3PM and Solid Grounds is over 500 miles away.”
“We consider our options. This is the holiday season so the workload and commitments are stacking up to the ceiling. Sal proposes that he personally make the delivery. It sounds crazy, but there was no way he’d risk our customer losing business because of him. The truck was loaded and Sal trekked the 500+ miles to Solid Grounds. Unbelievable. Not only this, but Sal made two additional trips to Solid Grounds over the next three weeks.
Moral of the story: Rick makes the sale because of effective storytelling.
SBI's Guide to Better Storytelling will help improve your storytelling efforts. The guide also serves as a central storehouse for your best stories. As you improve your storytelling it becomes an asset to reuse down the road.
Download the Guide to Better Storytelling here.