Stories sell and facts tell

By Elaine Love

Information, information everywhere, but so much of it is such a “yawn” that readers glance and move away. If you want your prospects to become enthused about you and your company, tell them a story. Whether you tell the story orally or in writing, make your message come alive.

Paint a picture

Stories come alive and allow the prospect to see themselves enjoying a better life. Telling a story about when your product or service helped another person solve a similar problem gives them encouragement that your product or service can solve their problem. The more your make the story come alive, the more they see themselves in the successful outcome.

5 Senses

You can say, “You will be able to take that beach vacation you’ve talked about once we solve this problem.” Or you can tell a story.

“Picture yourself relaxed on the pristine warm white sand with the sun’s rays gently caressing your tanning body. Feel the soft ocean breeze on your face and catch the scent of tropical foliage as it drifts by on the breeze. Taste the cool beverage at your side and hear the soothing sound of the waves rolling up on the beach.”

Putting the five senses in your scene allows them to feel the relaxing pleasure and become part of the scene.

Adapt the success story to fit your individual situation. Different people have different learning styles and different triggers which appeal to them.

5 C’s method

Perhaps your particular situation works better with the 5 C’s.

• Characters
• Conflict
• Cure
• Change
• Carry Out Message

Describe the current situation with another client as the main character.

Add the conflict (problem) which the customer was facing and build it up to a “need to fix” situation rather than a “nice to fix” situation.

Detail the cure provided by your product or service. Tell what the product is, what it does and how it is able to solve the problem.

Let the prospect feel how their life will change for the better by solving the problem in this way.

There must be a change in at least one character for the solution to have been a success.

Use a call to action as your carry out message. Create the urgency to act on the solution.

This story method adapts itself very well to selling a product or service in a non-confrontational and pleasing manner.

Now, then and how

You may have been using a portion of this technique without even realizing it. Describe how much better a customer’s life is now that they have used your product or service.

A young man is giving keynote speeches at $10,000 per keynote address and traveling all over the world. His business has expanded from a bankrupt solopreneur to employing twenty full time professional assistants. You may think he was a natural, but not so. He started out as a stand-up comic on open microphone night. His first time on stage, his hand was shaking so badly that he could not read his note cards. The only laugh he received was when he uttered a frustrated comment at the time he blew the punch line on a joke. What made the change from total disaster to successful professional speaker? He hired a professional comedian to coach him. Professional coaching brought him from disaster to success. (This story is used to sell my private speech coaching programs.)

Stories sell and facts tell

Numerous story telling techniques exist. Select the one which works for you. Adapt it to the precise situation for each individual customer.

Stories connect emotionally. You only have to connect with a person emotionally if you want them to remember you and what you said.