How To Leverage Storytelling in Sales To Hook New Prospects

For many sales people, the words 'sales storytelling' are anathema. Cue big sighs and protestations; 'But I'm terrible at storytelling,' 'my prospects feel lied to,' 'storytelling in sales is useless,' etcetera, etcetera. But the truth is, those people are thinking about storytelling in sales all wrong.

Crafting a compelling story isn't just about sitting your prospect down and saying 'once upon a time'. If you start to think about storytelling as a set of skills and techniques you can use to build rapport, establish an emotional connection, and boil down complex concepts, then it suddenly begins to look like an powerful tool for swaying the prospect's mind in your favor.

So to give you the best chance of building deeper connections with your prospects and closing more deals, we sat down with Ravi Rajani; Ravi's a hugely influential podcast host and sales storytelling coach making waves in some of the U.S.'s biggest tech companies. His mission is to help sales professionals 'ditch feature selling' and start raking in paying customers through the power of compelling narrative. And we're all about it.

Why are compelling stories so important in sales?

We've all been there: stuck on mind-numbing sales calls with a bored sales rep reading a tired sales pitch. And we probably all respond to that situation in the same way: 'no thanks'.

Aside from simply updating your sales pitch and upping your energy, as a sales professional, incorporating storytelling into your sales process is a great way of establish an emotional connection with your prospect.

Storytelling in sales can help you:

• Stand out from the crowd
• Build a personal connection
• Advertise previous successes (without explicitly doing so)
• Establish credibility
• Build trust

And all of these things add up to, you guessed it, more sales.

This isn't just theory, either. Sales stories actually have a measurable impact on success. For example,  consumers are 22 times more likely to remember a story than a pitch, 92% explicitly say they prefer ads that incorporate storytelling, and 68% say a sales story makes them more likely to buy from a company.

In fact, it's been suggested that the value of a product or service increases by a whopping 2,706% when associated with a story.

With those kinds of numbers, we, as sales professionals, would be foolish to ignore storytelling techniques as a key asset in our toolbox.

How can salespeople craft a compelling story?

One of the biggest problems in a salesperson's storytelling journey isn't that they don't understand the value of storytelling, but that they simply don't know how to do it. And to be fair, it can be pretty nerve-wracking.

You're on a Zoom call with a top CEO and you're expected to launch into some garbled personal anecdotes about your last holiday in Mexico? Yeah, no thanks.

But a great storyteller doesn't simply tell meaningless stories. Effective storytellers spark an emotional response by painting a vivid picture and exploring key elements of their pitch through the power of well-chosen stories.

Let's take a look at some of Ravi's top tips for crafting stories that resonate.

Identify the million-dollar problem

One of the fundamental elements of great storytelling in sales is identifying what Ravi calls 'the million-dollar problem'. But what exactly do we mean by that?

The million-dollar problem is the central issue at the heart of your ideal customer's pain points. In addressing this, it's important to distinguish between the core problem and the symptoms and to demonstrate how your solution can overcome the former.

Ravi gave us an example: he was recently suffering back pain, so he went to see his physiotherapist. He was surprised when she told him that his back wasn't the issue; the reason he was consistently having back problems was actually because of his flat feet. In order to solve his back issues, he had to address the problems in how he was walking.

So the question you need to ask before telling stories to a prospect is 'what is their flat foot?'

Then, by wrapping your stories around that focus, you'll be able to address the prospect's problem on a deeper level and demonstrate your expertise.

Choose the right story

Your prospect doesn't need to hear about your faux-pas at last night's dinner party - unless, of course, it relates back to a great sales story.

You story has to relate to you prospect's pain points and demonstrate how you can overcome them. But this isn't just waiting for you prospect to raise an issue and saying 'we had another client with the same problem, and this is how we solved it'. Knowing the difference between a customer success story and a case study (or a lazy one-line pivot) is essential if you want to stand out to potential customers in today's competitive marketplace.

Your personality is a valuable tool

If you're part of a sales team using the same stories around a central theme, one of the questions which may come up is 'how can I make this story mine?'

Because it's absolutely true that potential buyers can spot dishonesty a mile away. So letting your unique personality bring life to the story is crucial.

One of the best ways to make a sales story yours is to analyze the story for variables. In other words, consider which parts of the story can be adjusted to make you the main character in an honest and believable way. It's important to note that we're talking about finding aspects of a great story that chime with your own experience, not lying!

Your delivery is also an effective tool for differentiating your great storytelling from that of other sales reps. Just like reading a sales script, you should avoid bland, monotone vocabulary and intonation, and instead opt for colorful, distinctive language that identifies you as an individual.

One of the best ways to make a story really pop is to be descriptive. A good story is packed with vivid imagery and sensory details. Take Ravi's example: instead of saying 'this reminds me of a time we worked with Cisco,' say 'John Smith, the SVP of Global Sales at Cisco, who lives with his four kids in San Diego and loves to run...'

Work on your body language

Good storytellers don't just rely on their words. They also leverage powerful body language tricks to engage the audience's attention and emphasize their key points.

Ravi gave the example of eye contact. During in-person sales meetings or sales presentations, the importance of eye contact is obvious, but what about during virtual meetings? With over 90% of salespeople now remote or hybrid, this is an important point.

Well, Ravi suggest looking into the lens during a meeting. This can be strange, even difficult, for a sales rep, but trust us, the difference is immeasurable.

Hone your skills

Lots of salespeople will watch a video or two on storytelling in sales and call it a day. But the truth is, if you want to stand out and really build meaningful connections that grab your audience, you need to work on your storytelling skills.

Why not start with Ravi's 10-day video challenge? With a colleague, commit to making one 60-second story video every day for ten days (on a variety of topics) to sharpen your instincts. Analyze the videos to see what works and consider even getting third-party feedback (if you're feeling brave!)

Build an emotional connection with a great sales story

Whoever your target audience and whatever sales strategy you have, the evidence is clear: storytelling in sales is a key factor in securing better long-term relationships and closing more deals. There is no end of financial incentives for sales professionals to work on this powerful tool.

As always, we're extremely grateful for Ravi's expert help and look forward to hearing from him again soon! If you're interested in learning more about how you can leverage storytelling to up your sales game, why not check out Ravi on LinkedIn? Or, find him on his website.

Expert B2B sales development teams like those at Leadium know what they're talking about when it comes to great storytelling in sales - that's how we've managed to boost revenue and close big deals for companies nationwide. If you're a business looking to fill your pipeline with qualified leads and build better business relationships, reach out today.