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Tell Tales, Make Sales
By
Carol Mon
Want to be a great sales
person? Then learn to tell captivating stories. It may not be quite that
simple but engaging your clients emotionally with stories will improve sales.
Maybe you’ve heard the phrase “Facts Tell, Stories Sell”, ever wonder why? The
simple answer: facts speak to a person’s intellect, stories touch the intellect
AND the emotion, a much more important factor in persuading people.
Fund raisers have been using
the story technique for years. People will donate money if they are moved –
either by personal experience or by a compelling story. Think about the number
of times you are solicited for donations. Which causes are more likely to get
your hard earned dollars? Watch the Jerry Lewis Telethon and you’ll see
hundreds of stories about children with MD and other diseases and millions of
dollars pledged.
You can use the power of
story to improve your sales. Here are five BASIC tips to help:
- Believe.
It should be a story you believe in. Speaking from your heart will be far
more convincing and telling it with enthusiasm will be much easier.
Anecdotal stories are powerful because they come from a real experience.
- Appropriate.
Make sure the story is appropriate for the sale and customer. Share a story
spotlighting the solution to your customer’s problem. Of course choosing
the right story depends on the fact that you have done your homework and
know what your customer’s needs are.
- Structure.
Remember good story structure; include an opening, a problem, and a
resolution. It might help to think of the format of fairy tales. There is
a protagonist, antagonist and frequently a helper (magical being of some
kind). Your customer (or past customer) is the protagonist, the problem is
the antagonist and you are the magical being helping solve the problem with
your product or service. Stories are about journeys. You start off in one
situation, face a problem, overcome the problem and grow or learn from the
experience.
- Internalize.
Practice telling the story. With enough rehearsal the story will become
second nature and flow as part of the conversation instead of sticking out
like a crude sales tool. You probably spend quite a bit of time learning
the facts and statistics of your product. Invest a little time in
developing the moving story(ies) supporting your data and your sales will
soar.
- Capture.
Grabbing the attention of your customer is not enough; you have to be able
to hold the attention. Keep the focus on you and your product by bringing
the story alive. Important tools for livening up a telling include:
animating your face, using gestures, voice inflection or props if
necessary. The more interesting you make the story, the more in tuned the
listeners. The more in tuned the customers are the more likely they are to
buy.
Those are the BASICS to help
you get started telling and selling. Good luck.
Carol Mon is a
Professional Storyteller and author of
Ten Telling Tips for Talkers – Storytelling Tips
Everyone Should Know. She works with organizations and professional
associations teaching their employees and members how to communicate more
effectively through powerful stories. For more information visit
http://www.carolmon.com or call
860-214-3249. You can email her at
carolmon@carolmon.com.
Permission is granted to
reprint this article in print or on your web site so long as the paragraph
preceding is included and contact information is provided. Thank you.
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Created specifically for Carol Mon, Story Consultant
P.O. Box 310595
Newington, CT 06111
carolmon@carolmon.com
by Colorman Productions