I guess I should start by stating that if you didn’t grow up in the South you are probably squinting and holding your head to one side while saying; “what the heck is a yarn?” …So let’s start right there.
YARN: An adventurous and/or humorous story that may even be a tall tale.
Photo credit-pinterest.com
Most sales prospects and buyers aren’t very excited to sit in front of a “Sgt. Joe Friday” salesperson. If you are young or don’t get MeTV on cable, Friday (Jack Webb) was the lead character in Dragnet, which originally aired during the 50’s and 60’s. He is famous for regularly saying, “Just the facts, ma’am,” as he and Officer Bill Gannon (Harry Morgan) performed criminal investigations for the LAPD.
Storytelling makes the world go round…well not really. But it does make the world more pleasant as it rotates. Here’s an example of what I mean. I was invited to speak to a statewide organization outside the southern US, where I live. I knew a little about the group and that most of the other speakers would be talking about technical topics, meaning Power Point presentations on steroids. I purposely crafted a talk for that group that did not include an electronic presentation in any form or fashion.
My opening statement was something like, “Did you notice I don’t have a clicker in my hand?” I stood there for a few seconds until it hit them, and then the applause began. That was comical as at that point I had only spoken 11 words. When the applause stopped I went on to say that I planned on spending my hour sharing some yarns and stories with them about some of the selling mistakes I had made over the years and I hoped our time together would be enjoyable to them. We all had a great time and considering the amount of books and training material they lined up to purchase afterward, my storytelling must have really resonated.
As you work to include storytelling into your selling conversations, here are a few tips to help you effectively cobble together a great narrative:
+ Make it all about them – Ensure that you sprinkle familiar people and circumstances into your story so that your prospect can see themselves in the picture.
+ Don’t shoot from the hip – Making it up as you go is not cool. Plan your stories with an identifiable beginning, middle, and ending, which should always solve a problem and remove some pain.
+ There’s a time for everything – Inject your story when the point you are making is important. You never want your prospect thinking, “why is he telling me that?”
+ Fill in the blanks – Make sure your prospect can connect the dots and understands the relationship between your story and everything else you are discussing.
+ The clock is ticking – Don’t waste time or words. Keep everything high and tight, and, oh yea, throw in a little humor.
As an example let’s say I am explaining some good reasons why a sales manager should hire me to conduct a Questions Are Your Best Friend workshop. This conversation would occur in response to a request for sales folks to become more conversational, consultative, and surgical during the discovery portion of their sales calls. So to make my point in a humorous manner I might tell this short yarn:
‘I remember a fellow who sold for a company similar to yours who was canvassing in a middle-class neighborhood one day, when he saw a young boy sitting on the porch stoop with his head in his hands, as if he were bored to tears. The man asked the boy if his mom was home, to which the boy answered, “yes.” So the fellow knocked on the door, but nobody answered. He knocked again…same result. He looked down at the boy and said, “I thought you said you mom was home.” Without looking up the boy responded, “She is, but this isn’t where I live.”’
I would then attempt to close my appeal by reminding the sales manager that after attending my questioning strategies workshop, embarrassing mistakes like I recounted in my yarn would no longer happen to her outside sellers.
Photo credit-flickrhivemind.net
Salespeople that learn to share relevant stories that resonate with customers will make a more compelling connection between their solution and the prospects’ needs. It is acceptable to lay out why a customer should do business with you; but it is exceptional when you are able to relate a past success story that brings the value of what you are selling to life. It is not necessarily easy to do, but it’s always worth it and makes a big difference in your results and your commission check.
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