Sell it With a Story

Sell it With a Story
The Power to Connect to Your Clients' Imagination

Nothing is more powerful in the sales process than telling a great story about your product or service. A story connects to the listeners imagination. They see that by buying your product or engaging in your services their lives or business could be dramatically better.

Are data and statistics important? Absolutely. But they cannot create the emotional appeal of a well crafted story.

Here's some of what you'll learn in "Sell it with a Story:"

When you tell a great sales story, the listener sees themselves in the picture. They are experiencing the benefits of what you are offering. It's almost as if they are selling themselves.

You as a story teller are positioning yourself as a problem solver. You are demonstrating a keen understanding of the challenges, desires, and wants of your customer.

Most importantly, your stories must be relevant. That means that you have to be a good listener and understand who they are, what they want, and how you can satisfy them. That comes from asking a lot of really smart questions.

Your stories cannot be one size fits all. They have to be tailored to fit the needs of your customer.

They should not take forever to tell. Audiences have the attention span of a three year old. Get to the point.

Know the purpose of the story. Tell them something they don’t know. If it’s the same old, same old, they will tune you out and good luck getting them back.

Do your stories have to be long? No. Drawn out tales might confuse or bore your audience. Before telling the story ask your self: what’s the point? What is vitally important for my audience to know? And you must answer their unasked but extremely important question, why should I care?

Brevity is beautiful. Be your own best editor. Eliminate verbal excess. Steve Job’s famous speech at Stanford University was fifteen minutes. Martin Luther King’s I have a dream speech was powerful but brief, only seventeen minutes.

No more than three points to every story. Why three? First of all, its memorable. We can hold three concepts in our brain.

Make your messages timely, interesting, relevant, understandable. Always translate and interpret what you are saying. Never take it for granted that others are getting what you are saying. Say things like “Here’s what I mean by that, here’s why I think this is important, here’s how I came to this conclusion, here’s how this changes things”

We vastly overestimate our ability to communicate our ideas and feelings. We are convinced that we are being incredibly clear. The listener may not be so sure. This course will coach you how to formulate ideas so they are understandable, and action oriented.

Tell your stories with passion and conviction. If you're not enthusiastic, how can you expect your customer to feel that way? Using a flat, dull voice is a turnoff for your client. They may look interested, but their mind is elsewhere.

Know your customer. One size does not fit all. Customize your approach so it makes sense to the person you are talking to. Your stories should be about how your products will in some meaningful ways make their lives better.

Another benefit of story telling is sales is that they can demonstrate how you solve customer's problems. They have challenges, you have solutions.

Show them that you are on their side by being a good listener. Really tune into what's really bothering them. What are they not saying? Listen between the lines. Watch their facial expressions and body language. Above all, ask a lot of smart questions and even more follow ups. Their answers will help you to formulate a sales prevention that will connect with them.

Your sales stories should not always about solving a problem. It could also be about delighting customers. Yes, clothing is a necessity, but we buy with our emotions. Our choices involve style, creativity, color, and image.

Stories can also demonstrate how you are better than your competitors. A customer comes to you and says they went to a store like yours and here's what they offered. Can you do better? Yes is your answer, followed by narratives that back up your claim.

What's your story? What made you decide to be a sales rep for your product: Maybe you started out as a customer and were so satisfied that you took the step to start selling for the company.

This course will help you tell the right story to the right person--someone who wants to buy from you.