There are three key skills that define a great salesperson: ability to ask great questions, ability to listen actively, and ability to tell great stories. According to Tom Searcy; you’ve probably spent a lot of time thinking about the first two; but– what do you know about storytelling? Stories have become increasingly important in the world of selling. They can be a powerful tool for getting the attention of prospective customers, because they’re memorable and allow you to easily differentiate yourself; they help people understand and connect with what you do.
According to Michael Bosworth; for most of 190,000 years that humans have been alive on this earth, they’ve learned their most important information, including; survival skills, culture, religion… through stories. The human brain, in fact, is wired specifically; so that stories, and storytelling, have a much stronger emotional impact than information that’s presented quantitatively or according to some other emotionless structure. Stories appeal immediately to the right side of the brain. As soon as somebody hears ‘once upon a time…’ or, ‘I’d like to tell you a story about the time…’ the listener relaxes and goes along for the ride. The connection during the story can remain between the two people long after the story is over, leaving the top sales reps with a connection that others can’t achieve.
Effective storytelling captures the hearts and minds of the target audience… and is a critical skill in the business world: At Nike, senior executives are called ‘corporate storytellers’. The 3M company banned bullet points and replaced them with writing ‘strategic narratives’. Procter & Gamble hired Hollywood directors to teach their executives storytelling techniques. Business schools have storytelling courses to their curriculum. According to Paul Smith; the difference in business success is storytelling… great leaders do it well… mediocre ones don’t. Here are few pointers:
Via Gregg Morris
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