Stories are universal, and they carry across religions, regions, ethnicity, social class and party lines. Everyone loves a good story, but why are stories good sales tools? Stories can relay information in ways that facts and spreadsheets never could. Ok, stories are impactful by why a story sells?
Memorable:
If I gave you six facts about the most extraordinary new technology and asked you to rename them a few hours later, you mostly likely wouldn’t be able to remember all of them. If you have a spouse or business partner to answer to regarding the decision-making process, will you be able to explain the information as well as the representative? The memorability of a story as well as being able to recall it even after only hearing it once is extremely valuable.
Make it Meaningful:
No matter how excited you were on the day you signed up for (insert blank), when you are receiving the bill weeks or months later there is a less chance of excitement. However, when you can recall the story surrounding your purchase, it becomes much more meaningful. Not only does the story sell but it resells itself over and over. Meaningful describes something that has a purpose and a meaningful story has a positive feeling that continues to follow the purchase.
Works for all Types of Learners: (Paul Smith)
A story has “something for everyone” to grasp onto. Visual learners can picture the action of your story. Auditory learners are hanging onto the words you use, and kinesthetic learners feel the emotion associated with the story. One single story sells to every type of person, each in a different way.
Captures Attention & Builds Relationships:
What are two things that great salespeople do naturally? To capture enough of the prospective customer’s attention and building strong relationships in a short period of time. Can you think of a time when someone told you a good story where you didn’t feel engaged? Story telling is a skill that helps sell yourself to your prospect by making them feel comfortable and connected to you and your product.
In future posts we will discuss some specific uses for a sales story and ways to craft that story in an honest and ethical manner without losing those connecting factors of the story. This is based on the Book “Sell with a Story: by Paul Smith, which I highly recommend checking out for ways to supercharge your sales!
References:
http://www.harvardbusiness.org/blog/what-makes-storytelling-so-effective-learning
https://www.six-degrees.com/why-storytelling-is-so-powerful/
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