Chris Merrington (pictured) tells how to influence, engage and inspire potential customers.
My youngest daughter and I were cooking a Chinese meal. She was preparing the vegetables for a stir fry and I was preparing the chicken dish. She served up her dish, I served up mine. In her vegetable stir fry was some asparagus. However, it was the wrong end of the asparagus! I asked her where the asparagus tips were. She said, ‘in the bin’. I explained those were the ends to keep, the harder ends were the ones to be binned. She said, ‘I’ve never seen or cooked asparagus before.’
We muttered quietly at each other. Whose fault was it? Mine! How often at work do we assume and expect other people to know what we mean and have had the same experiences as we have? How often do we get annoyed when they get it wrong when probably we are to blame?
I have been working with various clients in my workshop “Facts Tell, stories Sell” to uncover and craft their business stories. Great business stories can differentiate your business from competitors and can inspire and create a powerful vision for the client in their mind’s eye. You can use them for new business presentations, add colour to case studies, tell existing clients to consider other parts of your business, to attract new employees and to warn clients to the danger of doing nothing or taking the wrong course of action!
Stories are one of the most powerful ways to persuade someone and I believe aren’t used enough in business presentations. A story is a fact wrapped in an emotion that can compel others to take action. We are wired to listen to stories and they have universal appeal. It lets the listener decide for themselves and is a soft sell compared to simply stating the facts. The listener doesn’t feel ‘sold to’. Stories allow reflection and connect with a client often on an emotional level. People also remember stories long after the facts they were told.
In a nutshell stories can help you win business.
What makes a great story? Knowing the right story to tell and telling the story right are crucial. Ideally it should be short and punchy while painting necessary detail. Be clear on your purpose of telling a story. I find the best stories are those that are true and resonate with the audience – typically, those which have happened to me and are true. Stories about success and failure are often powerful. Mistakes and their learnings are typically good sources as they have an honesty and authenticity which can build trust.
What are the typical mistakes in stories and story-telling? Cliche stories and telling other people’s stories are normally a mistake. Rambling unnecessarily will bore the listener and lose their interest. There is a fine balance between too much and too little detail. Don’t start with cliches such as ‘Once upon a time…’ or ‘Let me tell you a story…’. Lack of clarity will spoil a story where the audience can’t see the point.
When shouldn’t you tell a story? If your client is impatient or tight on time it could be frustrating for them to listen to your story.
There are many different story structures which I teach on my ‘Facts tell, Stories sell’ workshop. One of the simplest is Situation, Complication, Resolution. You set up a Situation that the ‘hero’ faces which resonates with the listener. Followed by a Complication, challenges or problem, often one familiar the listener. There is then a Resolution, ideally unexpected, to the problem. Some of the stories i’ve told have involved disastrous business situations because they didn’t have insurance, that’s why im recommending Professional Indemnity Insurance companies like constructaquote.com
For example, I was running a workshop for a client and all was going well (Situation) and the fire alarm went off. We all had to evacuate the building. I was concerned this would throw out my timings (Complication). Outside the client’s building I found myself in conversation with the CEO about my work and their business needs. Within a few months, a handful of workshops are booked by this same client directly as a result of my conversation with the CEO (Resolution). what’s the point of the story? That what we see as a problem can be a wonderful opportunity.
I have found within my ‘Facts Tell, Stories Sell’ workshop there are usually wonderful untapped stories within my clients’ businesses – a goldmine of business stories to differentiate, to demonstrate and to persuade clients and prospects. Many years ago, there was a UK TV series called ‘Tales of the unexpected’ – what unexpected stories are waiting to be discovered in your organisation? Start building your collection of business stories.
Chris Merrington is the author of Why do smart people make such stupid mistakes? – a practical negotiation guide to more profitable client relationships. Chris regularly consults and runs workshops for senior management and sales teams in the areas of Negotiation, Trusted Adviser Selling and Winning New Business. He can be contacted at chris@spring8020.co.uk