One of the most persuasive sales tools ever

by Art Sobczak

The sales rep was $500 short of quota for the month, with just one day left to reach it. It would be the third month in a row he did not meet his numbers. He pulled up a prospect he had sent a proposal to, but had a bad call with last time. He trembled as he picked up the phone and began to dial. But, he summoned the courage by...

Did that get your attention?

Stories and examples have always been effective as sales tools. Especially when the listeners have some connection to them. And the stories can be even more gripping if the examples paint the picture of a similar person or organization that experienced a spectacular problem. The astute salesperson, of course, weaves into the story how he or she helped them avoid, solve, or recover from the problem. Which, not coincidentally, is the same problem or situation the listener wants to avoid.

When we weave stories into our calls—whether they be one sentence or a few paragraphs—we’re bridging the visual gap on the telephone. Customers place themselves in the picture or mind movie you create. They experience, in advance, the emotions they’ll get when they own and use your product or service. And that’s why they buy.

Here are specifics you can use in making your presentations more visual, emotional, and memorable, and your offers more desirable.

Stories where others experienced problems
Your goal, after all, is to get them to take action. And fear is a powerful motivator. Some sales reps prefer to use subtle fear as opposed to bashing them over the head with it. One way is to tell stories where someone else experiences the danger.

Customers will put themselves in the story so you won’t have to.

“I know of one shop that was sued for a million dollars by a guy who was trespassing after-hours and fell in a hole, in a fenced off area! And they didn’t have coverage. They thought it couldn’t happen to them because they were so small.”

Self-deprecating stories and humor
People take a liking to those who can poke fun at themselves and admit their shortcomings, mistakes, and problems. Plus it helps to drive home memorable points. I often mention the fact that I’m “mechanically challenged” when describing my handyman aptitude. Consider this illustration:

“I’m so inept when it comes to tools or anything mechanical, that I don’t know which end of the hammer is supposed to be plugged in. But even I was able to find the right spot on computer and slip the memory card in the slot. It’s that easy.”

Use third-party similar situation examples
Think about the effect this has on you personally when I say, “I saw someone who looked and sounded just like you, and they…” You were probably curious and interested, right? You can do the same with your products/services and prospects/customers.

“I was talking to another contractor last week who told me he was experiencing exactly the same thing with his work crew. Let me tell you what he did.”

Put them in the story
Help them visualize owning or using your product or service, or experiencing the problem you can solve:

“Let’s assume you did get the other system. It’s two years from now, the warranty is up, the motor goes out, you’d likely have to open your checkbook again. Now, with our system, you wouldn’t pull out your wallet, you’d just pick up your phone...”

Listeners tend to apply stories to their own lives, which helps them gain a firmer grasp of the message. You can make a suggestion in a story (or have a person in the story make the implication) that you wouldn’t dare attempt yourself. Stories also tend to relax people. They don’t feel like they’re being pressured or pitched when you employ a story or anecdote.

Action step
As salespeople, we can present the boring features and benefits. Or, we can arouse, electrify, and sometimes poke at tender emotions with stories, metaphors, and analogies.

To create some of your own sales stories and examples, look at the examples above. Come up with at least two brief stories or examples for each and relate them to your products, your prospects and customers, and you. They don’t need to be long, and shouldn’t be. A few sentences will do. Create more images with stories, and you will create more sales as well.

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