Sales is changing and value-based storytelling is the path to future success. Sales have changed over the years. In the early part of the last century, marketers launched a product. In recent years we have seen the movement to challenge the client with new ways of looking at their situation. You hear the buzzwords selling insight and driving ideas. Buyers are now more informed than in the past. They can find information about products and companies on the Internet. They can even find reviews from others in your industry. So they now see insights into the results and business impacts specific to their organization.
The changing role of the seller
As a result of this evolutionary change in sales, the role of the salesperson has changed. They must look for opportunities, develop strong relationships, help customers discover needs, and work with them to develop solutions. They will also need to be skilled negotiators and help customers manage change as they implement the product or service.
Telling stories is the essential skill of the future
Storytelling is the most flexible and powerful skill available to succeed in this role. Why? Storytelling can help you spark interest and engage shoppers to keep your wallet full. Relationships are built on the trust that develops from getting to know you better. Narration builds that trust by including emotional words that soothe customers’ fears and doubts as they release the hormone of security and trust, oxytocin. You can tell different kinds of stories at various points in the sales cycle. The trust built through these stories convinces customers to work with you to discover needs and develop solutions.
Stories help customers make decisions
Stories put things in context, making it easier for customers to digest complex information and make a decision. As CEO and producer Peter Guber relates in his book say to win, stories use “state of the art” technology to attract and gain customer engagement. The stories change negotiations from a tug-of-war of wills to participatory debates. They make customers active participants, and they want to deal the day the solution is implemented, and the sooner the better.
Once they make a decision, stories can help customers manage change. Stories of successful change in other organizations and stories with visions of “What’s in it for me” help employees support change. People want to feel part of the action. Stories help them experience these emotions by making them laugh, cry, get excited, and take advantage of new opportunities. It’s critical that you become a good storyteller so that your audience can challenge old beliefs, get their questions answered, and then take ownership of your solution or service and act on it.
Approved Experts
Experts like Steve Jobs of Apple, Paul Smith of Proctor and Gamble, and Peter Guber of Sony Pictures and other entertainment groups, and many other successful people have discovered that well-told stories are the most powerful way to connect, persuade, and win business now. . and in the future
Learning sales storytelling skills can help you achieve fantastic success in 2020 and beyond. Start now.