Storytelling: A Vital Tool In Your Sales Kitbag?

BY DAVID A. RICHARDS & ISABEL GUTIERREZ

Image by Social Cut

I want to tell you a story.

See? You’re already interested. Somewhere within you, there is a need to find out more. Just seven words and you’re hooked.

Is the story going to inform you, inspire you or just make you feel at ease with the world? Is it going to change the way you think about something, consider ideas you might not have thought of before or introduce you to a whole new world you didn’t even know existed?

Storytelling goes back millennia; it’s the way our ancestors shared information, myths and legends, down the generations. Frankly, before the written word and certainly the printing press, storytelling was the only reliable way to communicate an idea, a concept, a belief.

Today, we have many more communications channels than ever before. We can reach virtually anyone in the blink of an eye, often for free. But have we lost sight of our capacity, capability and competency for great storytelling?

At the start of Chapter 7 of his book, “New Sales. Simplified.” Mike Weinberg, a well-known sales coach says:

“Of all the sales weapons in our arsenal, none is more important than the sales story. I spend more time working with individuals and sales teams to improve their story than on any other aspect of selling. The story is that critical.”

Particularly in a new business situation, having a clear, compelling and customer-focused story is vital. It helps you describe yourself in such a way that allows people to understand you in the way you want to be understood, not the other way around. It means you can manage the agenda, describe the value you offer, and how you’re different from the competition. It helps them understand how you can solve their problems.

Just think if you don’t have a story that’s used consistently across your business. It can be destructive and can work against you. As Mike Weinberg so eloquently describes an inconsistent message, “Not only is everyone singing from a different hymnal, but what they’re singing sounds awful.”

So how do you make it your story work? Well, it shouldn’t focus on what you and your business does. It should focus on what you can do for your customers. To badly misquote American President, John F Kennedy, “ Ask not what your customers can do for you; ask what you can do for your customers”.

What gains can you offer and pains you can resolve; what return on investment you can provide; how you can make THEM more successful.

It’s not easy and, frankly, too few marketers and salespeople understand how to do this well. Luckily, I know an author, Isabel, who understands this completely. She’s a great storyteller. This is her approach.

What is storytelling and why does it work?

Storytelling is the most natural way to communicate how you can change and benefit your customer’s world.

Have you ever thought what exactly makes you human? You’d probably wondering where I am leading to with such an obvious question. Keep reading… and you’ll see.

What separates us, humans, from all the other fellow, earthy creatures is our capacity to reason. When we reason, we think. We accept or reject information; we memorise, we tell. And this is precisely the process our brain follows when listening to a story. Indeed, Roger C. Schank wrote about this in his book, Knowledge and Memory: The Real Story (1995).

“Human knowledge is based on stories, and the human brain consists of cognitive machinery necessary to understand, remember and tell stories. Humans are storytelling organisms that both, individually and socially, lead storied lives.”

A story is the only construct that holds our human attention for a long period of time. Have you ever wondered how you manage to sit enthralled through a two-and-a-half-hour film? Where did the time go?

Good films hook us to a story, and the application of this hook follows a process. The ‘storytelling process’ is a simple way of simplifying and relating facts, making it easy for pieces of relevant information to be absorbed into our brain.

This very same process is adopted by the great brands we love: Apple, Nike, John Lewis. Through stories, these brand champions broadcast what they are intending to sell over and over again, compelling us to listen to it, which we do, without even consciously noticing it.

Telling stories is what makes your marketing content great. By following the same techniques of traditional storytelling, you can deliver a clear message, cut through redundant information and focus on the points that are compelling and valuable to your customers.

Playing the right role in your business stories

The biggest mistake many businesses make when talking about their products and services, is to position themselves as the main character of their story: the “I am X, I do Y, and this is how I do Z.”

So let’s break some of the myths about your brand story and state three key facts:

Fact #1: you are not the main character of your story; your customers are.

Put it this way; if Frodo, in Tolkein’s film the Lord of the Rings, knew how to obtain the ring, told us his plan and then just went and got it, we’d be bored within five minutes. We’d probably think he was a smart guy and that’s pretty much it. Frankly, we wouldn’t be interested.

This is exactly how your customers feel when you tell them who you are, what you do and how you do it. You don’t give them any reason to listen to you. Your story has no hook, no resonance, no interest. As a result, within a few minutes, they’re yawning.

Placing your customers at the centre of your story is the first step to get them listening.

Fact #2: in storytelling, there is always a hook.

For the main character, your customer, admitting they have a problem is not very heroic. Your role, therefore, is to shed light on their issues and get them to realise that their problem, like a weed, is not going to go away, but grow and spread quickly.

You also know that they don’t know how to fix it on their own. Indeed, on many occasions, they may not even be aware of it. Their problem is the ‘hook’ of your story; your linguistic fishing hook. It can be an issue they’re stuck with, a lack of skill or time, or simply, a need for change. The critical factor here is that they need help. You are the helper, the guide, the mentor, the problem-solver; this is your role in your business story.

In the same way that Frodo needs Gandalf to succeed in his journey, your customers need you to succeed in theirs. And it’s your role to lead them to admit they could benefit from your help.

Fact #3: all great stories follow a compelling plot.

Yours should too. Like any good book or film, the plot of your business story should revolve around solving your customer’s problem.

Your storytelling should focus on what’s going on in their world that is affecting their confidence, ability to move forward and overall chances of success. By doing this, you are letting your customers realise that you are fully aware of their needs. You also remind them what is at stake if they don’t resolve this problem, and you can paint a picture of what their world will look like when their problem disappears — sheer heaven!

You empathise with them, become their confidant, advisor, ‘goto’ expert, earning their trust and giving them a foolproof plan, through your expertise, knowledge and insight — so they can succeed in their journey. Then and only then, they’ll know that purchasing your services is their ticket to success.

As Jonathan Gottschall, author of the Storytelling Animal, says:

“We are, as a species, addicted to story. Even when the body goes to sleep, the mind stays up all night, telling itself stories.”

In summary…

Storytelling is the most genuine way of building trustworthy relationships with our customers. Its magic comes from articulating with clarity: the role we play, the message we are broadcasting and the call to action leading to our desired outcome.

Fundamentally, we humans, are programmed to communicate, learn and grow through storytelling. Developing a compelling story that resonates with the needs of your customers, and potential customers, is a powerful weapon to have in your sales kitbag. Use it thoughtfully; use it cleverly; use it wisely.

For more information about how you can create stories which not only convey your value but also grasp your customer’s attention, get in touch with David or myself. As true storytellers, we are always excited to tell new ones, and yours could be the next best-seller.

David A. Richards founded Talk about Value to help business people go beyond the obvious - their products and services - and identify the real value that they offer their customers. This is so important as great value propositions are directly linked to growth, profitability and success.
For more information, please visit: https://www.talkaboutvalue.com/