As humans we may be adept at experiencing the world around us through our various senses; but have you realised we only tend to remember those experiences (be it through touch, hearing, sight, taste or smell) by the way it makes us feel’?
It’s not just the words or the facts, but it’s also the ‘emotions’ those words, icons or symbols evoke in us, that gets lodged into our memory... and nothing can stir feelings better than a good ‘story’.
We’re intrinsically drawn to stories… be it the cave-man, who’s sharing his encounter with a saber-toothed tiger on a recent hunting trip, or a Rap artist, who tells his tales via his songs – they both possess the power to grab our attention, help us visualise and absorb the information and (if it’s compelling enough), it helps us build strong association with the ‘story’, the ‘ideology’, ‘the storyteller’, the ‘brand’, products and so on…
Estimates say that people retain 65 to 70 percent of information shared through stories, whereas only 5 to 10 percent of information is retained through dry presentation of data and statistics.
Successful sales person are highly skilled at telling stories to their clients/prospects, which trigger emotional responses from them and inspire them to take action. The stories are cleverly woven to engage and tackle the pain points of the customers, that help them ‘see’ the ‘proposed value’ derived when associated with the brand, also enabling them to picture themselves being ‘triumphant’ in the suggested solution.
The Infographic below from Hubspot could help you understand the ‘neuroscience’ of storytelling:
What Are The Types Of Stories A Sales Rep Can Tell?
It must be clear by now that ‘storytelling’ can work as an incredibly powerful tool to engage and convince your audience to consider the value you’re proposing. To get your message across, and to elicit a certain desired action, you can work on various types of stories, as mentioned below:
VISION STORIES:
This entails how you can communicate your brand’s ‘vision’ to inspire the prospect to take action. The story could be about how an innovative product or service saved a company at the brink of its closure. Or it could be about how one company folded because it didn’t make the right decisions when it had the chance; and its competitor got the upper hand.
WHO AM I STORIES:
This story is about letting your personality ‘shine’. It is about demonstrating who you actually are, as a person to make that ‘connection’ with the prospects. If you can weave a genuine story about yourself, into your conversation that evokes a feeling of a ‘trustworthy’, ‘dedicated’ and ‘likable’ personality – then you are able to bond with the clients and elicit a positive response from them.
WHY AM I HERE STORIES:
This is being as candid and purposeful as it gets. The story you tell will inform the prospects about your intentions upfront. You are more transparent, which in turn will create a sense of ‘trust’ within your prospects and make them more receptive to your message. They’re more inclined to ‘listen’ and ‘act’ in accordance to a person who seems dedicated to his/her work; who’s not beating around the bush but seriously means ‘business’.
COMPANY STORIES:
These are stories which are exceptional and awe-inspiring. The ones which possess that ‘wow’ moment – something out of the ordinary, something that’s ‘disruptive’, ‘creative’, yet highly effective and rational. An idea that they’ve never thought about or considered, such that your brand and the story is embedded within their memory evoking a ‘good’ feeling within them.
The ‘HERO’ In Your Stories
The ‘silver bullet’ of mantras that every sales representative should incorporate into their brand narratives – is to make the ‘client’ as the ‘hero’ of your stories.
The principle which every salesperson should internalise long before they narrate their stories is that – they, or their brand is only entering a ‘preexisting’ story as a ‘supporting character’ who is only there to help the ‘protagonist’, the ‘hero’, or the client to tackle his/her problems and achieve his/her goals.
With this understanding in mind, sales representatives automatically engage in meaningful conversations, and where their only goal is to learn more about the client’s perspectives, pain points and needs. It helps the representatives to ask more questions rather than blowing their own trumpet and going on about the products features.
The story can be narrated in a ‘three-act’ play format. The First Act opens with a compelling opening and features the client as a ‘hero’ who’s facing some challenges. The Second Act provide solutions as how those situations can be changed by the brand by providing facts and actions of how the obstacles were conquered, pain reduced and ultimately translated to success. The Third Act is about a ‘powerful close’- it can be an obvious ‘call to action’ (a signed contract, initial payment, a future meeting) – which reiterates how the world can change in partnership with the sales representative/brand, making the client the ever more powerful ‘hero’!
The infographic below from a study by Origin illustrates how weaving stories increases the perceived value of products:
Finally…
It’s quite evident that when it comes to stories we become curious. Stories help us anchor on to ‘emotion’ and feelings. A memory, be it good or bad, both have a strong association with the ‘way we feel’. It’s up to us, as to what kind of feeling or emotion we evoke from our prospects and from our brand narratives. Preferably one that makes them a ‘hero’ in the process and nudges them to take ‘inspired’ actions!
Call Andy Fox (me) on (03) 5249 5570 or email andy@element7digital.com.au
Our Website is element7digital.com.au
