How Storytelling in Sales Helps You Rise Above Other Brands
Every opportunity to discuss your brand, service, or market position is a choice between simply pitching the benefits of your product or sharing a personal, meaningful story that connects you to your listener.
One is low-hanging fruit that chases a dollar. The other creates differentiation and establishes long-term relationship potential. One is simple, the other takes effort and nuance.
Whether that interaction is one-on-one or delivered from a keynote stage to an audience of thousands, the fundamental is the same: When you pitch, you make your job and that of your audience harder. When you connect, you rise above the competition and empower your listener. The choice is yours.
What's the story behind your number?
A typical product pitch plays to metrics, KPIs, and statistical “proof” of a product’s superiority compared to the competition’s offering. Unfortunately, your competition has their own sets of metrics, KPIs, and statistical proof that their product is, in fact, the superior option. For every number you market, the other key players in your sector are marketing their own numbers with equal fervor.
A number on its own rarely carries enough impact to create a contract. Numbers without a story to back them up or give them personal value are quickly ignored or forgotten. When faced with a buying decision built solely on numbers, customers become confused and frustrated. Rather than lean toward your brand and product, they will lean toward what they already know and understand. That results in buying decisions based on emotion rather than logic.
Adding stories to statistics turns the odds in your favor. The connective story brings your data to life, you clarify the difference between your brand and others, and you win that play for emotion.
Make connections with your customers
Whether your audience is one or one million, connecting with that audience begins with understanding who they are, what they want, and how you’re the one that can give it to them.
Customers are people, not wallets, each with their own complex lives and daily challenges to address. Turn your one-way lecture into a two-way conversation that includes their voices. Ask questions and make them feel heard and valued. Encourage them to share their opinions and thoughts so they become a part of your sales story.
Resist the urge to leap into content at the first interaction. Never run straight to the sale without first respecting the value of foundational human-to-human connection. Instead, open with personal experience, share a recent victory or failure, establish commonality and aligned values that change the dynamic from "seller pitching to buyer" into "friend talking with friend." As you progress through your presentation, constantly look for ways to back off the marketing and stay focused on the listener. Remember this rule: Relationship first, data second.
Close your story by showing the value of your connection
A strong conclusion makes you memorable and guides your audience to success. Every good engagement is about change; if nothing changes for your audience, nothing changes for you. Your time together was simply small talk.
Even the most mundane conversation should wrap with a meaningful, proactive call to action. Sometimes that call is for a next step on the road to a completed sales cycle. Other times it’s simply an invitation to continue the discussion. What do you want them to do next? How will you help them get where you want them to go? Why is taking that next step in your listener’s best interest? And how will they win by extending their connection with you?
FAQs about storytelling in sales
What is the power of storytelling in sales?
Storytelling creates differentiation, and differentiation is key to driving most purchase decisions. Without a strong story, every competitor’s pitch flattens out to relative equality, leaving the buyer little choice but to make their selection on gut instinct alone.
How does a salesperson benefit from storytelling?
Anyone can regurgitate product benefits, performance metrics, or corporate statistics. The winning salesperson brings their data points to life by adding recognizable stories in a compelling vision of success that reaches far beyond any number or KPI.
How do you connect with people in sales?
As Tony Robbins says, “Engaging people is about meeting their needs, not yours.” Successful sales require successful relationships, built on genuine interest in others and honest dedication to serving them above serving yourself. If your honesty doesn’t shine through, a fellow salesperson will spot it a mile away and take their business elsewhere.
