Some of you are old enough to remember when selling was pretty easy. I know I do. I remember one job I had where the reps would wait, fingers poised over their phone (cell phones were still “car phones” and hard wired to your car battery) for the announcement to come over the PA system “Sales, Line 1.” No really, it’s true. One guy sat at his desk, the lower file drawer pulled out as a foot rest, reading trade rags, waiting for calls. As I recall, he made his quota every quarter for several years. Amazing!
Well, boys and girls, it ain’t like that anymore. Not by a long shot. Today every sale is difficult, every potential customer demanding demonstrable value, and, it seems, everyone hyper risk averse. So, what do the successful sales professionals do different. Turns out, lots of things. One of those is they are master story tellers. They are able to tell stories that move their customers and prospects to action.
Forrester talked to executive buyers and found the 74% of them gave their business to the company that helped them create the buying vision. The company that inspired them to change. The one that convinced them to do something different. The one that helped them see their status quo was no longer safe. In short, the best story teller.
What makes up a good sales story? There are many books written on this topic. When you whittle it down, there are just a few highlights. Think about the Forrester research. Buyers buy from someone that paints a picture of the value of change vs. not changing. What those master story tellers are effectively doing is defeating Status Quo Bias. Search “status quo bias” and you’ll find a variety of definitions, all saying essentially the same thing:
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At our core, we have a preference for the current state of affairs, even if we didn’t originally choose it. We are biased to avoid risks generated by change.
My friend David Marlow with Northwestern Mutual recently posted the following on LinkedIn:
“Two biggest workplace complaints:
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The way things are
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Change”
Funny, we complain about the way things are, but fight change tooth and nail. Makes it tough to sell in such an environment. Therefore, a good sales story has to address Status Quo Bias. It has to paint a picture that shows the risk of staying the same, and the benefits of changing. There is a wonderful YouTube video from September of 2016 featuring Tim Riesterer, Chief Strategy and Research Officer from Corporate Visions on this topic. It’s worth 58 minutes of your time. When you’re done listening you’ll want to become a master story teller.
