SellingSkills
By Charles D. Brennan, Jr.
Storytelling is a powerful tool for communication. Creating vivid, relatable stories helps convey messages clearly and fosters a strong connection with the audience.
A recent Wall Street Journal article noted that “storytelling” has now become a sought-after skill in corporate America, playing a key role in customer acquisition and long-term growth. According to the article, storytelling is essential for driving customer engagement and long-term growth.
Interestingly, the article observed that professional storytellers often do not identify as such — indicating a shift where more people aspire to use storytelling in their work.
Through training, conferences and national sales meetings, many of us have had the opportunity to listen, experience and observe some of the most effective communicators in business. One top presenter said that “every story has an element of truth.”
Understandable. A professional speaker on a stage may take some liberties to make a good story entertaining. A sales professional, speaking to a potential or existing customer, needs a story to be accurate, authentic and credible.
A strong story must be built around facts, situation or circumstances the customer can recognize and relate to. According to the Wall Street Journal article, the story also must be authentic, human and relatable. That’s why humor and storytelling are successful. They describe a circumstance that they know their audience has experienced, which allows people to instantly connect to the situation.
In sales and training, the premises are the same. The key is how you deliver the story. If you tell the story well, it will resonate. If you tell it poorly, it will be perceived as contrived. Position your story as a question and it is more likely to be received, processed and answered. That is where the key lies.
Reps should be trained and coached so that a sales story is framed properly and contains facts, situations or circumstances that can’t be challenged as inaccurate.
Equally important is finding the right balance of information and length. The story can’t be too long or complex or the listener disengages. The story must have substance for the listener to be able to receive the information to make an assessment or judgement.
Once the story is told, the next step is to invite feedback. The most effective way to accomplish this is to create a safe environment that allows the client to feel comfortable and open to responding with their true thoughts without filters. If you can accurately describe situations or circumstances that resonate with the person you are speaking to, you have given yourself the chance to connect with others. In addition, if done well, you could be considered as insightful, business savvy and knowing what the other person is experiencing.
One final tip: train reps to limit each interaction to one or two stories. Too many can feel overwhelming and artificial.
With practice and training, storytelling becomes a highly effective way to communicate — both in and out of the workplace.
Charles D. Brennan, Jr. is president of Brennan Sales Institute and author of Take Your Sales to the Next Level. Email Charlie at cbrennan@brennantraining.com or connect through linkedin.com/in/charliebrennanjr.
