Tell your story right and you don’t have to sell again!

If they are not interested, maybe you are not interesting!

For the last ten years I have been in contact with the customers of various companies I was representing. I learned the hard way all the steps in customer relations and sales. One thing, so simple in reality, made me understand early on that I am telling my story, or my company’s story but the main character in that story has to be the customer. After one of my first sales lessons I understood the importance of a radio station, the radio station your customers listen: WII FM. That is What’s In It For Me! They might listen, sometimes, out of politeness but they will only buy or appreciate the story if they understand how that story helps them.

            When starting to write the story you will need to make it personal, make it about the customers. So before you write the first word you have to gather your info. Know as much about the customer, company or person, as you can, in order to be able to personalize it properly. In the age of information, the age we are living in, access to the information you require is getting easier each day. You can find information on the internet about almost everything these days. So use these tools, find out who your customer is, what the history of his company is and what problems he is confronting with. See who his suppliers are and how you can be a more interesting solution than he already has. After you have all that information, now you can start writing the right story. Focus on what you know and make the story relevant for your customer’s needs. Don’t presume anything, and at some point let the client write some paragraphs too.

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             A great story is usually built following some basics steps. You need to have a hero. The hero starts a perilous journey toward completing his goals. There will be obstacles on that journey, situations that can seem at one point impossible to overcome. The hero finds inspiration and strength to overcome the obstacles and reach his goals. At the end they all live happily ever after. So how do we build a sales story following these steps?

  1.       The hero. In the case of sales and promotion the hero has to be the customer. You might be tempted to speak about yourself, you are writing it, but in that case you have a business with one client, you. The customer only wants to know about him, how you can help him and not the other way around. Start with him in mind, build your story using the info you gathered and make him feel the main character.
  2.       The quest. There is always a reason behind the journey, the quest. At the end of that journey the hero reaches his goals, finds answers, solutions. The quest in this case can be increased profit at the end of the year or maybe creating a better brand on the market. You must make sure you know those goals. And focus on being part of the solution
  3.       Obstacles. Along the way the hero will encounter obstacles. Late deliveries, increase in prices, decrease in quality. All these obstacles make the journey more difficult, sometimes even impossible to finish.
  4.       Overcoming obstacles. All obstacles can be overcome with the right help or inspiration. You have to make sure that what you can do for the hero of the story, your customer, is that inspiration he is looking for. Offer him the solution to his problems in your story, be there along the way and offer your support. Inspire him to go on and he will be your partner for future projects too.
  5.       Happily ever after. Your help makes the hero reach the end of his journey. The customer you helped reaches his goals easier and faster. He ends a great year with more profit, better brand or an increase in efficiency and that is all thanks to your inspiration along the way and to the great solutions you offered. Everyone is happy and the future sounds good.

Your great story will have the ability of making you a reliable partner and not some salesman looking for a quick sale. You have to make it entertaining in order to keep them interested. Also add details, charts, create instant credibility and don’t forget about context, tie the story to them, involve your customers. And remember to believe that story, if you don’t believe what you are telling you will never be convincing in front of someone else. This is not the fairy tale you were told as a child, you don’t want to let the imagination of your customer to fill in the blanks. This has to be clear, concise and also correct. And the advantage, feedback can clarify instantly if you are on the right path.

Telling the right story is not the easiest thing to do but with practice you can improve and reach your goals. A great story will give you powers not even you knew you had, that moment when the client makes the connections and decides to take action is great. My advice will be to never improvise, do your due diligence and gather the information you need to make the story sell, do this and you will never have to sell your products and services again. Make it personal, make it real and stand out of the crowd.

Keep this in mind if nothing else: “One thing hasn’t changed in thousands of years…there’s still no better way to stir emotions than a good story” – Boxer Creative, UK. And emotions sell my friends!

*Mihai Chiratcu is an opportunity creator, trainer and free man. After 10 years experience in sales and businesdevelopment, he is using the knowledge gathered trying to bring a new approach in training and business consultancy. He brings you every Thursday special information and gives advices through the section “Business Opinions”. For more information, you can find Mihai at chiratcumihai@gmail.com.

One Comment

  1. Best Wishes!! Enjoy this website, thus much info that is really exciting and educational!! Definitely glad I found it!!

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