| Using Stories To Sell Professional Services |
| Invention Development Advice - Marketing | |||
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The art of storytelling is dying.
The art of storytelling is dying. In an age of soundbites, special effects, snappy comebacks and the 30-second attention span. It seems that no one today has the time to listen to, or tell a good story. But think of the last time you were truly gripped by a thriller on TV or were moved to tears by a poignant film. Was it because of the special effects, snappy dialogue or even great acting? Probably not. No, the reason you were truly engaged with the film or play was because of the plot. Because the author hooked you with an interesting story. And especially, because the author got you to really care about the characters in that story Using Stories in Business Development Now think about that example, and how we can apply the principles for selling professional services. Wouldn't you like your potential clients to really engage emotionally with what you are saying? Of course, you will never build the same degree of emotional response in a sales meeting or pitch as in a thrilling drama. But you can certainly do a lot better than the majority of dry, dull sales presentations made today. What's the secret to getting that emotional response. It's to use stories. And best, most impactful stories are those with real human protagonists rather than faceless corporations. For example, when you're introducing your company in a sales meeting, don't just tell your potential clients how much you can save them or who you've worked with. Get the same message across in a personal story featuring the real people you've worked with and the real savings you've realised and it will be much more powerful. Contrast these two different introductions: "We work with all the top retailers. By using our six-sigma and lean manufacturing services you can save at least 10% of your supply chain costs and cut 20% off lead times" and "We recently worked with Jim Gregory, Managing Director of QualPack. Jim faced a critical challenge. Because of long changeover times, his manufacturing was very inflexible and he couldn't respond to the demands of his biggest customers. He was losing market share rapidly. We worked with Jim and his team to implement our lean manufacturing and six sigma processes, so he was able to deliver the sort of flexibility his customers needed. As an added bonus, he managed to cut running costs by over 10%." Admittedly, the second introduction is a few sentences longer - but those extra sentences - and the way the whole introduction is worded - make a world of difference. How you would respond to these introductions if you were the MD of a Packaging company? The first introduction isn't a disaster. By using it, a professional would build credibility from the generic description of the clients they've worked and the benefits they've delivered. But it doesn't grab the emotions. There's no real human side to it. And there's a risk too. By saying "we could save you 10%" they're almost challenging the person they're speaking to. The reaction of most people to this is often to silently think "Oh right. You could, could you? Then prove it". After all, it's just an initial meeting: what does the professional really know about my business? How presumptuous of him to assume I'm not already highly efficient? But by rephrasing into a story as in the second introduction we get over these problems. Firstly, on hearing a name, the potential client becomes more engaged. You've shown you work with executives similar to them - perhaps even someone they admire and respect. And by using the word "frustrations" or "challenges" - not just dry business problems, but real frustrations - then they begin to feel empathy towards that person. Most likely they're feeling frustrations too - but like many executives, they have few outlets for them to share and discuss those frustrations. By talking about someone else's frustrations the professional has begun to create an environment where they can safely talk about their issues. Also, because you're using a story where you "just happened" to cut lead time and costs you're not making a direct claim. You're not introducing a challenge because you're talking about a different situation. You're not saying "I can save you 10%" - but they will begin to make that inference for themselves. So instead of thinking "he claims he can make those savings, but I'm not so sure" they've reached that conclusion themselves. So they're much more likely to believe it. And when you get a potential client talking and they bring up some of the issues and challenges they face, it works similarly. You can use your bank of stories to build your perceived credibility and the confidence that you have valuable experience in these areas. But again, you're not jumping in and tryign to solve the client's problem straight away - you're telling a story about a similar situation for a different client and what worked for them. Again, they think for themselves: "maybe this could work for me. And maybe if not, they could find somethign that worked for me". In contrast, if you try to suggest a solution to their problem, their thinking is more like: "how can they know how to solve my problem after just 5 minutes? Do they think I'm some sort of idiot who hasn't put any thought into this?..." Crafting a Compelling Story Some people are great natural storytellers. They mentally record their experiences as stories and have no trouble recalling them in an interesting and entertaining way. The rest of us though, have to put rather more work into it. What you need to have in your armoury is a set of compelling stories - perhaps 6 or 7 - covering a variety of situations where you, your products or your services have added significant value. You can then select from the stories as needed to fit the particular circumstances you think are going to be relevant and interesting to your prospect. And you can use the same story as an example as part of your introduction, your elevator speech, or in an expanded version when the prospect opens up and talks about a particular issue they have. To create those stories, start with the typical problems your services address for your clients. Then identify some very specific recent examples of engagements that have addressed these problems. Next, summarise each example in a short paragraph. Here are a few guidelines to help: Personalize the story. Don't make it about a faceless organization. Make it about the person who "owned" the problem. This will make the story feel much more real and generate much more empathy. Talk about the frustrations and problems that individual faced - and again, describe them in personal terms so that your potential client empathizes with them. Make them not you the hero of the story. Don't waste time describing the details of what you did. What your potential clients will be interested in is whether the issues were similar, and what they achieved. Close with the benefits your product or service provided - but underplay this. Almost add it as an afterthought - as if the tremendous value you brought was just part of everyday business for you. Avoid boasting or self aggrandising statements. Write these examples up using natural, conversational language and revise them until they sound right. Then learn and practice their main points so that they don't sound like a script. And, of course, make sure you get the permission of anyone whose name you use. Making the Stories Work for You Now you can begin to use the stories to win business. Don't overuse them - use them sparingly when you need to gain credibility. In my case, I use one story to introduce myself and what I do. Later I may use further stories to illustrate a point or to answer a question. But I don't dominate the conversation - I use stories to get them talking. Because it's only when they talk that i can find out about what they need. More information: Ian Brodie helps lawyers, accountants, consultants and other professional service firms Find Clients and win more business. To get a free copy of Ian's ebook: How to Get More Referrals, sign-up for the Outside In Newsletter.
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