The art of storytelling is dying.

We live in an age of soundbites, special effects, snappy

comebacks and the 30-second attention span. It seems that

no one is interested in taking the time to listen to, or

tell a good story.

Yet think back to the last time you were truly moved by a

film or play or TV show. When you last cried in the cinema

or sat on the edge of your seat thoroughly gripped by a

thriller.

Chances are that it wasn't because of the special effects

or any snappy dialogue. It most likely wasn't even due to

great acting - although that can help.

No, the reason you were truly engaged with the film or

play was because of the plot. Because the author hooked

you with an interesting story. And especially, because the

author got you to really care about the characters in

that story

Now think about that example in the context of selling.

Don't you want your prospects to really engage with what

you are saying? Don't you want to grab their emotions

rather than just their rational brain?

Of course, you will never build the same degree of

emotional response in a selling meeting as in a thrilling

drama. But you can certainly do a lot better than the

majority of dry, dull sales presentations made today.

The secret, of course, is to use stories. And the most

powerful stories to use are personal ones. Stories with

real human protagonists rather than faceless corporations.

When you introduce your company, for example, don't tell

your prospects you can save them 10% on their telecoms

costs, or that you've worked with the top 5 car

manufacturers. Get that same message across in a personal

story and it will have so much more power.

Contrast these two different introductions:

"We work with all the leading packaging manufacturers.

Our machines have the fastest changeover times in the

industry, and we should be able to save you an average of

10% on your running costs"

and

"We recently worked with John Smith, the CEO of BigPack.

John's problem was that because of the long changeover

times of his existing machinery, his production was very

inflexible and he couldn't respond quickly to the needs of

some of his best customers. By installing our equipment,

he was able to offer the sort of flexibility his customers

were crying out for - and as an added bonus, he found that

running costs were 10% lower than before."

Admittedly, the second introduction is a few sentences

longer - but those extra sentences - and the way the whole

introduction is worded - make a world of difference.

Think about how you would respond to the introductions as

a CEO of a Packaging company.

The first introduction is OK. The salesman builds some

credibility by highlighting that they work for the top

companies in the industry. And the fast changeover times

and 10% saving on running costs sound OK.

But there's no emotion here. It's cold, hard facts.

Worse, the "we could save you 10%" is almost a challenge.

The natural response of most people is to silently think

"Oh you could, could you? Prove it". After all, what does

the salesman know about my business? How does he know I'm

not already highly efficient?

But by rephrasing into a story as in the second

introduction we get over these problems.

Firstly, the prospect becomes more engaged when he hears

someone's name. You've indicated you work with executives

just like them - perhaps even someone they look up to.

And when you use the word "frustrations" - not just a

business problem, but real frustrations - then they begin

to feel empathy towards that person. Chances are they're

feeling frustrations too - but like many executives, there

are few outlets for them to vent those frustrations. Now,

by talking about someone else's frustrations you've begun

to create an environment where they can safely talk

about their issues.

Additionally, by using an interesting story where you

happened to solve the client's problem and save 10% of

running costs, you're not making a direct claim. You're

not risking a challenge because you're talking about

something that was done for someone else. You're not

claiming you can save the prospect 10% - but they will

begin to make that inference for themselves. So now the

prospect's thinking is "hmmm, I wonder if they can make

those savings for us?" not "well, he claims he can make

those savings, but I'm not sure". Your story has allowed

him to reach a conclusion for himself - and so he is much

more likely to believe it than if you claim it yourself.

In similar vein, when you get a prospect talking and they

tell you about some of the issues and challenges they are

facing; you can use your stories to build credibility and

confidence that you have experience in these areas and

know how to help. But notice that you're not jumping to

providing a solution for the client's problem (where you

run the risk of being wrong) - you're relating a story

about a client in a similar situation and what worked for

them. Again, the prospect thinks for himself: "Maybe this

can work for me. And even if not, they were able to solve

this guy's similar issues - maybe they can find a

different solution for me". As opposed to their thinking

if you try to suggest a solution to their problem: "How

can they know how to solve my problem after 5 minutes?

Do they think I'm some sort of idiot who hasn't thought

about this?..."

Some people are great natural storytellers. They mentally

record their experiences as stories and have no trouble

recalling them in an interesting and entertaining way.

For the rest of us, it takes a little work.

What you need to have in your armoury is a set of

compelling stories - perhaps 6 or 7 - covering a variety

of situations where you, your products or your services

have added significant value. You can then select from the

stories as needed to fit the particular circumstances you

think are going to be relevant and interesting to your

prospect. And you can use the same story as an example as

part of your introduction, your elevator speech, or in an

expanded version when the prospect opens up and talks

about a particular issue they have.

To craft the stories, first think about the typical

problems your product or service solves. Then think of

some recent examples of specific customers where this

has happened.

Next, write a short paragraph summarising the example.

A few guidelines should help here:

Make the story personal. Don't just talk about a company,

talk about a named individual who "owned" the problem

your product & service solved. Your story will feel much

more real - and your prospect will feel much more empathy

towards a person rather than a corporation.

Talk first about the challenges the person faced. Again,

try to describe them in personal terms so that the

prospect builds a connection to your story. Don't belittle

the person - turn them into the hero of the story - they

had a problem which (by working with you) they overcame.

Don't spend a lot of time describing what you or your

product actually did. Although this Stight seem interesting

to you - it's the least interesting aspect to your

prospect. They're much more interested in whether the

problem you solved is similar to theirs, and what value

or benefits did your solution bring.

Close with the benefits your product or service provided

• but underplay this. Almost add it as an afterthought -

as if the tremendous value you brought was just part of

everyday business for you. Avoid boasting or self

aggrandising statements.

Write these examples up using natural, conversational

language and revise them until they sound right. Then

learn and practice their main points so that they don't

sound like a script.

And, of course, make sure you get the permission of

anyone whose name you use.

Armed with your stories you can begin to put them into

action in sales situations. Don't overuse them as you risk

hogging the conversation when you should be listening.

Instead, use them sparingly to spark the curiosity of the

prospect, gain credibility, and provoke a reaction or

question.

Personally I use one story to introduce my company and

what we focus on (selected based on what I think is likely

to be of most relevance). Then I may use further stories

later on to illustrate a point, or to show that I

understand their situation. But I will rarely use more

than a couple in a sales meeting of an hour or less. To do

so runs the risk of dominating the conversation and not

giving the client enough space to open up about their

problems. And if they don't talk about their specific

problems, then I can't begin to show them how I can

help them.

A careful sprinkling of a couple of stories however,

gives just enough credibility and raises enough interest

for them to ask the next questions, or to open up and

share their challenges. And from there, the sale is yours

to win.