THE POWER OF STORYTELLING

We’ve all experienced a story that someone has told us and probably remember that you were able to visualize the pictures or feel the emotion as the person was telling you the story. Well now that we are in a very noisy world with all kinds of information being received and processed, what does a story do to help us remember the communication?

Storytelling is a way to deliver your message to your prospect that stays with them because they are visualizing the story and seeing a picture or feeling an emotion.  To evoke that emotion you must have some elements: Setting, in which your prospect can relate. Characters, in what was the position, role and background of your prospect. Event, that will grab your prospects attention. The Action or Consequence of your involvement and this is the key to your story. Climax, where your involvement led to a result and supports your work. With all the technology that we have in today’s business world and the day to day of a Salespersons life, one thing has not been displaced – A story well told. A story can go where nothing else can gain access – our heart and remains in our memory, fires our imagination and stirs our soul.

Think about all the information your prospect receives during a typical day and you are trying to differentiate yourself from all the noise going on. By relating a story to your prospect that demonstrates your ability to solve a problem, address a situation, or develop a solution, you will stand out. Your story and the success you delivered will be retained by your prospect after you leave the conversation. When people hear stories, they visualize the situation and can relate to the situation and it tends to stay with them longer than the typical litany of your products features and benefits. You should use storytelling sparingly but in the critical moments when you are communicating with your prospect face to face so the emotion and visualization is much more effective. Take the time to recall those business situations where there is a story to tell and document the story based on the elements shared earlier in this post. Storytelling can position you in a very different light in your sales career and try it, you might like it. If you would like to discuss this subject further, please contact me at robert@getinthegamese.com or call me on my cell at 904.472.3706.