The art of storytelling has been around for as long as humans have been able to speak. Marketing professionals have begun using the power of storytelling in their sales pitches, and now you can too! In this blog post, I will show you how to use storytelling techniques in your sales pitch so that you can increase engagement with prospects and close more deals.
Storytelling in sales is an essential component. Storytelling can help you engage prospects, make better pitches, and boost your close rate. Storytelling is not just for Hollywood movies anymore!
Everyone who is passionate about sales gets a kick from a close. But how do you get that kick more often?
Storytelling is an effective method that every sales professional should have in their toolbox.
This blog post will teach you why storytelling is so important to the success of your next sale and provides tips on how to incorporate storytelling into your own sales strategy with five easy steps."
You don’t have to be a great writer or creative genius to use storytelling. All it takes is a little strategy and practice.
1. Get Your Storytelling Basics Down- And Write Your Story
There are many storytelling techniques out there. Pick the one that works for you and write your story down – it doesn’t need to be a masterpiece!
Storytelling is not about writing skills; rather, it’s about using words and sentences in order to convey an idea or emotion.
You can use several different sales storytelling techniques in order to engage prospects, make better pitches and boost your close rate.
Storytelling can help highlight the value of your product or service by connecting with a prospect on an emotional level that is not possible through traditional sales methods.
A great way to use storytelling as part of your pitch is to focus on benefits rather than functional features – this way, you’re not only highlighting what the product or service can do for your customer but also how it will make them feel.
Storytelling helps you to paint a picture of this experience by bringing to life these emotions and benefits through imagery.
2. Determine the Takeaway - And Make It Memorable
This is where you will be able to make your story memorable by leaving out unnecessary details and focusing on what needs to be heard.
Storytelling in sales should always have a takeaway message, allowing the prospect to take away something valuable from your pitch so they can see how this product or service fits into their lives.
Storytelling is about more than just telling a story; it’s about getting your point across.
Storytelling helps create interest and the desire to learn more, which can lead them into taking action by buying from you or even following up for additional information.
Here are some examples of possible takeaways:
- This product will save customers time
- This product will make your life easier by doing A, B and C for you.
- Storytelling is an effective way to build rapport with a prospect and create a human connection. Everyone has a story!
Storytelling can help highlight the value of your product or service by connecting with a prospect on an emotional level that is not possible through traditional sales methods.
3. Get Your Prospect’s Attention (and Hold It)-
Storytelling is not just for Hollywood movies anymore! Storytelling helps create interest and the desire to learn more, which can lead them into taking action by buying from you or even following up for additional information.
No matter what industry you are in, everyone loves a good story.
Storytelling techniques have been used since ancient civilizations to share wisdom, knowledge and culture; this is why storytelling in sales works.
Storytelling makes it easier for people to understand what you do and how your product or service can fit into their lives because they are able to experience the benefits of your pitch through imagery rather than just having information presented in a boring list format.
4. Personalize Your Sales Story -
It is important to personalize your sales pitch in order to make it more interesting and memorable for your prospect.
Storytelling will allow you to do this by creating a connection with the buyer that is based on emotion, rapport and trust.
Storytelling can help highlight the value of your product or service by connecting with a prospect on an emotional level that is not possible through traditional sales methods.
The key to a good sales story is being able to make it relatable. Storytelling helps create interest and the desire to learn more, which can lead them into taking action by buying from you or even following up for additional information.
So share your own stories about how your product or service has helped others in similar situations. Your prospect will be able to relate and see how they can benefit.
5. Practice Your Story Out Loud -
Loud Storytelling is an essential skill for making a good impression on your prospect.
This will make them feel more comfortable and confident about doing business with you, which can lead to establishing better rapport and trust.
1) Describe the opportunity-
Storytelling helps create interest and the desire to learn more, which can lead them into taking action by buying from you or even following up for additional information.
You want your prospect to become excited about doing business with you!
For example: “I had a client who was struggling because of X problem”
2) Align this with the prospect's pain point-
Storytelling in sales is all about tapping into your prospect's pain points and showing them how you can help.
Storytelling helps create interest and the desire to learn more, which can lead them into taking action by buying from you or even following up for additional information.
For example: “I had a client who was struggling because of Y problem. This was causing them to lose potential customers and it affected their revenue. I created a solution that has led to more than $100,000 in new business.”
This is what we call Storyselling! Storytelling helps create interest and the desire to learn more, which can lead them into taking action by buying from you or even following up for additional information.
3) Address your prospect's concerns along the way-
Storytelling in sales helps create interest and the desire to learn more, which can lead them into taking action by buying from you or even following up for additional information.
For example: “I know that there are other companies out there who say they do X but I want to assure you that we have been doing this longer than anyone else in the industry.”
This is important in Storyselling because you are alleviating their concerns and making them feel more comfortable about buying from you.
This will make it easier for your prospect to relate with what you have to offer since they can see how this relates to themselves or others that they know.
4) Tie it all back down to your product-
Storytelling in sales helps create interest and the desire to learn more, which can lead them into taking action by buying from you or even following up for additional information.
For example: “I know that there are other companies out there who say they do X but my company is experts at Y.
I am confident that our product will solve your problem and cost less than what you are spending now.”
This is Storyselling! Storytelling helps create interest and the desire to learn more, which can lead them into taking action by buying from you or even following up for additional information.
"In the simplest terms," say Johns Hopkins University professors, "a business plan must convey a compelling tale."
"Business plans that appear to 'jump around' between themes will generate a disconnected narrative in your storey and confuse your audience," Johns Hopkins continues.
However, we must go back to the time of Aristotle, who invented the terms ethos, pathos, and logos, to trace the origins of persuasive narrative.
These three ideas are at the heart of every successful stories ever written. They can be used by salespeople to back up a compelling stories that motivates customers to take action.
Here, we look at how using storytelling as a sales professional can leverage these concepts to rise above the competition.
Ethos- The ethical appeal, or believability, of the storyteller is represented by Ethos, which is Greek for "character."
Because the customer's view of the storyteller supports or undermines every piece of information from the sales professional, credibility is important.
When a customer first interacts with a salesperson, the first trait they evaluate is credibility.
By producing insights that demonstrate their conscientiousness, effective sales professionals establish their own reputation. Conscientiousness begins with extensive, meticulous preparation that prioritises the client in all decisions.
Sales professionals who are conscientious succeed because “highly conscientious employees do a series of things better than the rest of us,” as University of Illinois psychologist Brent Roberts explains.
Pathos- Storytelling also utilises the emotional appeal, or Pathos. If a sales professional is trying to motivate customers to take action, they will need an explanation of how this change will affect their lives in a positive way.
Even if the change is difficult, effective sales professionals make customers feel at ease by providing assurances that they are making the right decision. Storytelling engages customers on an emotional level by eliciting feelings of empathy or concern for characters in storeys who have similar characteristics to themselves.
Logos- The logical appeal, or Logos, of a story is how it affects customers on an intellectual level.
When Storyselling, sales professionals use their story to highlight the benefits of making a change and make it easier for prospects to understand why purchasing from them will benefit them in the future.
While Storyselling requires you to think creatively about what makes your company unique, there are several strategies that every successful story should include.
By using Storyselling, sales professionals who are conscious of the three pillars can create a story that will win over customers and build lucrative relationships for years to come.
Benefits of storytelling in sales-
Storyselling is a powerful sales strategy that can help you build your business.
Storyselling works because it helps customers see the value in purchasing from you over competitors, and its ability to engage on an emotional level makes Storyselling memorable for customers.
Storytelling gives companies brand exposure through social media channels such as Twitter or Facebook by making prospects eager to learn more about the story behind a company.
Storyselling allows companies to engage their audiences and differentiate themselves from competitors by taking an exciting approach that is unique and memorable, which leaves customers eager for more information about your products or services.
