Anytime we get the chance to turn data or information into a personalized story, we should do so. Stories light up the buyer’s imagination and the emotional part of his mind where the buying decision is made. Litigators understand this turbo-power and are trained to be master storytellers, including lots of detail and dramatic pauses, because they know that juries relate much more to stories than just plain case presentation. Most good stories have three parts . . . a compelling opening to grab attention, a solid middle with lots of detail and a climatic ending that solves the problem and leaves the listener satisfied.
In the context of selling, stories can be even more riveting when they involve the buyer himself as the successful protagonist. Describing the successful outcome of the transaction in story form can add tremendous power to the sales conversation.
Ronald Reagan was a great storyteller as was Will Rogers. One of the best contemporary storytellers is Bill Cosby, particularly some of his earlier work which is easy to see on YouTube. You may want to take a minute over the holiday to tune into one of his stories. Obviously his stories are too long for a sales call, but they can teach us a lot about the fine art of communicating on an emotional level and they are just plain fun.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
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