As SaaS marketers, we know that good storytelling is an incredibly valuable component that can strike a chord with your audience and boost your marketing campaigns.
So, why not use that technique in sales, too?
Regardless of what you are selling, incorporating the art of storytelling into your sales discussions allows you to appeal to both logic and emotion and make sure people recall your story.
Storytelling is an art. It takes practice, skill, and creativity to master, but ultimately it’s what sets apart thriving brands with loyal customers from businesses with one-time buyers.
Did you know that storytelling has the ability to activate seven regions of the brain (including language, colors, movement, and sounds)?To put things in perspective, listening to industry-related facts and figures activates merely two regions of your brain – the Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas (or, the areas responsible for language and speech).Conversely, telling a rich story as part of the sales process makes sure that both the right and left sides are engaged and stimulated.
The result? More engaging sales pitches for both you and your prospects, and a wonderful opportunity to get creative with your pitch and let your brand’s personality shine through.
From movement to language processing and comprehension, good stories are fantastic at sparking the imagination, triggering an emotional response, and helping us empathize with the characters and the challenges they’re facing.Creating a killer sales narrative, however, takes time and practice.
Here are some key components that will help you tell better stories that compel prospects to act.
Having a clear purpose is the key to really great storytelling. Before you start crafting your sales narrative, ask yourself:
Why am I telling this story?
What purpose does it serve?
Having a story that you are truly passionate to tell will have a bigger impact on your prospects.
A relatable story leaves a longer-lasting impression than a generic sales presentation.
So, when you’re getting started, think about the kind of sales pitch you’d want to hear.
Do you want a sales demo that rushes straight into product features?Or, do you want a real-life scenario that shows how the product helped make someone’s life easier?
Think about this: landing pages and sales pitches. While the two may seem different, they are crucial components for your sales funnel and you need to get them right. Both, however, often share a very common flaw – keeping the focus on the brand, the product, the features.
Truth is, prospects don’t care about the product; they care about whether it will help them accomplish their personal or business goal.
One way to start crafting a story with a real-world example is to use testimonials and case studies. Past clients’ experiences can be extremely helpful for tailoring the message to your prospect.To make your story even more compelling, don’t forget to include enough details about the characters. This will also ensure it’s easy for the prospect to relate and understand how your product would improve their own lives.
Successful SaaS sales teams know that facts and real data are important for helping prospects make an informed decision and allowing them to be more confident in their choice.
Consider including different facts and key takeaways that you want people to remember. Doing that over the course of the sales demo will ensure that you are not overwhelming your audience with too much information at once.
Great stories have depth and are easy to follow. To achieve that, consider creating a basic outline with a strong beginning, middle, and end.
There are many story plot ideas to choose from. For instance, a popular storyboard used in design storytelling is the Problem, Solution, Success. This story plot lets you directly point out the problem you’re going to solve, follow with a solution, and wrap it up by defining success.
While you don’t need to follow your outline to the letter, there are a few things you may want to cover:
At the end of the day, what people will remember most after a demo call or a sales discussion is the story that you told.
Although it may sound quite intimidating, great storytelling in sales doesn’t have to be complicated.The key is to make your prospect the ‘hero’ and show them how your product or service will help solve their problem and make their life a little better.
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My job is to match talented, motivated marketers with high-growth companies, arm teams for success, and then get out of the way.
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