Storytelling in Sales
When I was around 8 years old, I went on a sales call with my father. He sold paper and plastic products. I sat in the corner and quietly watched my dad sell branded plastic bags, copy paper, and toilet paper to the owner of a small shoe store.
How did he sell him TP? A story. He said, “Imagine it’s a busy Saturday, the toilet clogs and you have to plunge it, or worse yet, you can’t fix it. Your shoppers, instead of focusing on the fit and style of your shoes, are distracted by an off-putting odor. Desperate to fix the issue you call a plumber but they can’t come until Monday. Your customers won’t forget that experience.”
My dad then brought out a small cup of water with a lid, put some of his toilet paper inside, and shook it. It dissolved. He said, “This is what my product does that others don’t. You’ll never be plunging toilets on a busy Saturday.”
The shoe store owner bought two cases and I learned then the power of storytelling in sales.
My father could have just gone straight to the demo or worse yet, directly to the price, and said his toilet paper was better than the store brands, but the story is what resonated. The story is what transported the shoe shop owner to that mythical Saturday and made him see the cost of going with a different product.
Strategic stories are the secret ingredient in spectacular sales. We’ve seen it time and time again.
We’ve worked with sales representatives who diligently followed the slide deck, repeated a well-memorized talk track, and made sure to list every one of their product’s differentiators. They could pass their manager’s product/pitch quiz with flying colors, but their sales were often flat.
We’ve also worked with sales representatives who threw in a story or two to build rapport and strengthen the relationship, and their sales improved.
But we’ve also worked with those rare salespeople who have learned to tell STRATEGIC STORIES. They are the best of the best.
A strategic storyteller knows when to tell a story, the necessary ingredients of that story, and how to tell stories for maximum impact. Strategic storytellers bring their products and services to life in the context of their customers’ palpable pain points.
In other words, the best storytellers don’t just tell a bunch of stories and hope one hits. Instead, the best sales people tell the right story, at the right time, in the right way. They’re strategic.
Fortunately, strategic storytelling is a learned skill. Here are five tips to be a more strategic storyteller:
1. Build your Story Library:
Take time to actually write down the stories that show the success of your products or services under different circumstances. Include names, places, and specific circumstances. Bring the situation to life and vividly show how your product or service saved the day. Construct a diverse library of stories that illustrate every feature of your product or service in a wide array of circumstances. For more information on building a strategic story library, see our Soundbite from December 2018.
2. Know your Prospect:
Not every story will equally resonate with every customer. Learn as much about your potential client and their business as possible. Spend time imagining their day, week, and month. What headache keeps them late, what promise inspires them to come in early? Learn both their hopes and fears and then select stories that synergistically paint the picture of how your product or service fits in.
3. Tell Stories that Stimulate Interest AND Convey Information:
Your stories must simulate interest from your potential buyer, whether you are selling a company, software, or toilet paper. But your stories also have to convey information. The most strategic stories draw people in and teach them something in the process.
4. Practice! Practice! Practice!
Anyone can have a list of stories, but HOW you tell them is essential to success. Don’t just let the content on the page speak for itself. Instead, use verbal and non-verbal tools to build excitement, convey your authenticity and enthusiasm, and highlight your take away messages. How you tell your stories is just as important as the stories themselves. Practice telling your stories out-loud, to colleagues, spouses, even pets. Get comfortable with your stories so they feel genuine and real.
5. Put it all into Action:
This is where the magic happens. You need to apply stories from your story library to your customers’ strategic pain points and opportunities. You need to bring your product and service differentiators to life in the context of circumstances relatable to them. Having the right story, placed in the right spot, and told in the right way, will give you the greatest opportunity to close more deals.
I know I’m biased, but my Dad was a great salesman. And he was great because he was strategic with his storytelling--a strategy that worked just as well for him selling paper products as it will for someone selling enterprise software or even their own company.
Strategic storytelling is what separates the great salespeople from the good ones.