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Are You Telling Another Story?

Are You Telling Another Story?

If you're telling stories, I'm thrilled for you!   

Now before you call your mother and tell her that I'm encouraging you to lie, let me explain.

Stories get attention and telling an interesting story is one of the best ways of getting your sales message across.   Just consider this scenario...

You're at a networking event and you meet a man who mentions that he's in need of someone to complete his taxes.  You're a tax preparer, so this is music to your ears.  Now, take a look at the following two ways you might respond:  

Response #1:  "I've been doing taxes for years and I'm very good at it.  I used to work at the IRS so I know what can and can't be done, and I know how to get to the most current rules and regulations.  I love what I do, have lots of happy clients and, quite frankly, you won't find a tax preparer who is more thorough than I am.  Would you like to schedule an appointment to see me next week?"

Response #2:  "Funny you should mention taxes because I just got a thank you note on yesterday from a woman whose taxes I did earlier this year.  She had come to me in a panic because she feared that she would owe money this year.  Thankfully, I was able to pull from my years of experience, including my work with the IRS, and when I was finished she didn't owe the government a penny!  In her note she thanked me over and over and said that I was the best tax preparer she'd worked with.  That really made my day.  Would you like to schedule an appointment to see me next week?"

Which response would you prefer to call your own?

Not only would the story told in the second response be more interesting to hear, but it also allows you to get your point across without sounding like the boastful salesman in response #1.  In essence, you let your customer toot your horn and do the selling for you.   Smooth move!

Here are 3 tips for finding and telling a good story...

  1. Testimonials are great story-telling tools.  Don't be shy about asking your happy clients for them and use their testimonials as often as you can.
  2. I love and appreciate email as much as the next guy, but good stories are often uncovered in "real-life" conversations - the kind where you can hear the joy, fear, or stress in a person's voice and where how you say things matters as much as what you say.  Toward that end, call and/or visit with your customers occasionally just to check in and to determine if there is anything you can do to help them.  During such casual conversations, you'll often identify great fodder you can use for your next story.
  3. When telling your story, leave out intricate details that aren't key and get quickly to your point.  It would be a shame to allow the delivery to ruin a good story.

Some experts say that even your "elevator speech" should include a short story.   If you decide to do so, be sure that the story is consistent with your brand.  Don't make a promise in your elevator pitch story that isn't consistent with the promises made in your other marketing materials. 

Storytelling has been a part of life since the beginning of time and there's no reason you shouldn't be using them in your business.  The big guys are telling stories, and so should you.





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Leanne Hoagland-Smith
Are your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website

Linda Richardson
Linda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website


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