One of the biggest struggles of any salesmen is to get a potential client to connect with his pitch. It is hard to meet someone for the first time and get them to understand what you are about and where you come from. Whether it is selling to a large corporation, or a small family store, understanding is the key to selling. Understanding the pain of a customer is the job of the salesmen. However, it is also the salesman’s job to help the customer understand his story. People like to know who they are getting into business with and why they do what they do. Spouting off facts about a product does nothing to help show a client that you really believe in that product. No one wants to buy a product that not even the person selling it believes in. This is where storytelling takes over.
I don’t mean telling a fictional story about something to help con your way into a sale, but rather a meaningful story about your company. Whether that is a testimonial from a previous customer and how the product helped them or telling about how the company helps volunteer together outside of work. These stories are not as much to convince a customer that your company is righteous, but rather to show that they care. Providing examples of how previous customers have been treated with respect even as they are leaving shows character. Talking about going above and beyond to help a client when it was more than asked shows that you will be there for your future clients as well. Being able to provide empathy inspiring stories that help show your company really cares can be the difference between selling and not. Building a relationship is hard to do in a short amount of time, but truthfully opening up sharing stories can go a long way in a short time.
BoweryJE22
Stories are the best method of getting information and emotion across, as well as making things memorable. There are few situations in which a story is not beneficial in some way!
I think stories are under rated and under utilized part of sales. I agree i think storytelling can help costumers connect, the only problem is that it must be not only relevant but also engaging
I agree with you on the fact of how its hard for sales people it is to connect with people. And story telling can definitely be a way around that.
Story telling is huge. Owning my own business people sometimes just buy my products for the simple fact of the story behind it all. Or buy the product because their friend told them a story of the positive impact it had on their life. People are easily moved by emotions. Stories open the door for the prospect to look at the product/service in a different light and make them more inclined to buy.
So many people relate to their everyday life through stories. Some people are factual, but a lot are very narrative. Harnessing that aspect and communicating on their level draws in them in automatically!
Storytelling is huge! I remember in Professor Sweet’s entrepreneurial mind class, we talked about using stories and how effective it is to relate to the customer. It elicits emotions from them. It’s also a fun way to pitch. I tried it for a project and our team won the competition. It’s fun seeing their faces light up when you say something and it doesn’t feel nerve-racking.