Benchmark Business Group

Why People Buy

February 4, 2020

Looking for ways to quickly improve your sales skills? We already know people buy on emotion and not as much on logic. You can make this work for you by drawing out your prospect's emotion in your sales process.

A great way to bring emotion into your sales process is through storytelling. When you’re able to tell a captivating story, your listeners connect to the emotion of the story and don’t get lost in the details of the product.

To effectively implement stories into your sales process, follow these tips:

  • Look for stories in your local or even national news. The stories you use don’t have to involve people you know, but experiences that can be referenced to help draw out the emotion of a product or need a prospect may have.
     
  • Create training opportunities to share stories. Take the first 10 minutes of a team meeting and have a round robin where everyone tells a story that happened with a client, in the community, or in the world. This helps keep the stories top of mind and gets your team in the practice of telling the story.
     
    • Pro-tip: Have one person document the stories and keep them in a file based on topic or even product. This allows anyone, especially people new to your team, to access them easily when needed.
       
  • Ask clients for permission to use their stories. We understand the need for confidentiality. It is vital, but it doesn’t need to prevent you from telling stories. You can always change names to protect confidentiality, but a better option is to simply ask your clients if you can use their stories. People usually will give you permission, especially if their story might help someone else.
     
  • Practice. The ability to tell a compelling story takes practice! The key word is “compelling.” Anyone can tell a story, but those that use stories as part of their sales process need stories that are relatable and highlight the emotion. Storytelling isn’t an art, it’s a skill that can be developed. Things to consider when you are practicing:
     
    • Your tone of voice. When the story is exciting do you sound excited? When it’s sad do you relay the sadness? Match the tone of your voice to the emotion you want your listener to experience.
       
    • Use pauses and ask questions. Telling a story doesn’t need to be one sided. The most important piece of the puzzle is your audience. When you want them to think or get involved in the story use a pause or even a question to make sure they are interacting with the story.
       
    • The realness of the story. The most dramatic stories do not always make the best stories. Some situations happen so rarely that it’s easy for people to write them off. Those events are unlikely to be repeated. Or are they? In telling your story make sure you address the fact that the characters in the story never expected this either. Denial is a strong emotion so don’t leave it unaddressed. People are likely to think, “well I wouldn’t make that mistake” or “the chances of that happening to me is pretty rare.” So, make sure you address this as a part of your story.

Remember, the use of stories is to bring emotion into your sales process. Stories help your clients truly connect to the end result of why they need to make this purchase. It helps if you are confident in telling the story and believe in the message it is designed to sha

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