Storytelling and Sales

 



Storytelling can be noted down as the most powerful skill that you can learn in Sales.

A story is like an idea planted in the mind to open up new possibilities in a more human way. A story can also be used as a mode to change a mindset. For eg, when you share how you helped someone with a similar problem, you come up to be more persuasive than just telling them, you can help! That's the power of stories and the ease it brings in the sales process.

Story Telling, Simplified!

A great story follows a well-defined framework. Pixar is famous for its 12 acts. But we will stick to the storyline where there's a beginning, middle, and end.

In Sales and in Life, simplicity is the key. So, let's jump right into it:-

1: Beginning – The more personal, the better.

The beginning is when you will need to set a context to help your prospect connect to your current user via a story. Do keep in mind not to share intricacies. It's always better to describe a similar persona by name, title, or other relevant details that match with your current prospect. Though you will need to make sure it's not too generic and sounds like you are making up a random story.

The key here is to be genuine and share a story of an exact or similar persona you've helped in the past.

Here's an example:-

"Oh! That reminds me of Jed, who, like yourself is a VP of Sales based out of New York!"

2: Middle – Describe the Pain and Negative Impact

This is the part where you take your prospect in a flashback of your current user by describing the pain that your user faced before describing the positive outcome. Discuss the challenges faced by your user and how did you/ your product help overcome them and also, do make sure to notify your prospect of what happens if he does not take this challenge seriously right now. Discussing the negative impact is also important.

Here's an example:-

"Jed's emails were landing up in the spam folder after automation for almost a month, which cost him a fortune in lost revenue."

3: End – The Solution and Positive Impact

Remember who the lead is! The user is always the hero/ heroine and not your product or the company! Your product/ company is who Yoda is to Luke or who Dumbledore is to Potter. You did nothing but assist and help the user. Mention how your user thrived after he solved a given problem in which you assisted.

Solution selling, remember? Here's a blog post that I wrote a while back about solution selling. Do not be a sleazy salesman by starting off with "After using my product..." instead tell the prospect how did you help the user coupling up with his own experience.

Here's an example:-

"Setting up email records with the assistance of our Success Team, Jed got a 33% hike in his email open rate and has now started getting replies. Does this sound relevant to you?"

Once these three sections are done well, your prospect will be all ears on knowing more about how Issue X was solved for User Y. To which the solution can be provided and a solution selling model can be promoted instead of push selling.

Brain and Storytelling

The brain is a powerful organ and it does actively participate when hearing a story in 4 ways:

  1. Dopamine: The brain releases this neurotransmitter after experiencing an emotionally-charged event – making it easier to remember key facts with greater accuracy.
  2. Neural Coupling: A story activates parts of your brain to allow the listener to convert the story into their own ideas and experience.
  3. Syncing: Listeners will have similar brain activity to others hearing the story and also the storyteller.
  4. Cortex Activation: When processing facts, two areas of the brain are activated (Broca’s and Wernicke’s area). A great story can engage other areas like the sensory, frontal, and motor cortex.

You will have a soothed smiling face if your story is crisp and on point. Of course, the deal is a closed-won deal. But that's not always the case.

The good effects of storytelling

If the prospect has experienced a given problem and has got a solution for the same, you will always have a window open for someone whom your prospect might know, who is yet to figure out the solution.

Bam! You have a referral now! So, if the deal does not close, a good story will always prove to be a healthy way of starting a good client relationship with your prospect.

Share the outcomes and not the features

This is gold! While talking to your prospects, never pitch features! Always share the outcomes. Remember, how Apple's commercials depict how a picture looks like when it's shot on an iPhone? Have you seen Apple ever pitching on how many Megapixels are there in the cameras?

Have the same mindset while you talk to your prospects. Go for the outcomes and not the features!

Case- Studies go a long way!

Magic happens when you pair up your story with a case-study of a user as it will portray the honesty and the genuinity in your story!

When you use a case study as a reference, you talk through: who experienced the problem (person not just the company name), what was the problem they experienced (in context), what was the impact they got from it.

Conclusion

Storytelling is a skill that can be practiced. Great stories help the listener connect and remember details more accurately. Storytelling for SaaS sales is one of the most powerful techniques to influence and help your prospect solve their problem.

Do check out closureiq.com - I post content relating to Sales there too.

Until then, as always,

Happy Selling! 🙌

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