How the secret of storytelling helps you master the art of persuasion.
Persuasion and the secret of story telling.
“Pitching?, nah, not for me. I don’t do sales”
Wait…before you go…
- Have you been asked to present a business case for purchasing new piece of software?
- Want to clearly position your skills and expertise to smash a job interview?
- Need to share an idea with your partner to improve your lives?
We all ‘pitch’ at some point, maybe we just don’t know it.
“Maybe as humans we just need to deliver better, clearly getting our point across, which is where the secret of story telling comes in. “
Sure, we’ve all experienced brilliant sales people trained how to pitch:
Some get us to say ‘Yes’ a lot,
“Do you want to increase your business sales?”
“Yes”
“Have you ever felt frustrated with poor conversion?
“Yes”
Repeat.
Many sales people showcase features and benefits and get straight to asking if we’d like to buy.
No thanks, you’re not solving my need.
There are many good sales people who understand our problem and put themselves in our shoes. They intelligently take the role of the guide, recognising how we’re feeling and how to help us.
Maybe we just don’t like the phrase ‘pitching’: which gets me on the defensive and don’t like I’m being pitched to. Maybe we replace pitching with just needing to get our point across clearer, which is where the secret of story telling comes in.
The easy 3-stage secret of storytelling framework
This easy 3-stage framework has helped me get my point across using the secret of storytelling:
- Curiosity
- Action
- Result
So let’s avoid your CFO daydreaming and pique their ‘Curiosity’ …
let’s position what we need instead:
1. Curiosity
To avoid daydreaming pique their ‘Curiosity’
You’ve got an audience with the Chief Finance Officer (CFO) and your team is backing you to ask for an investment to get a new CRM system.
You’re feeling the pressure. You know those first few minutes in front of the CFO are vital.
Your opening lines should get your CFO curious or they’ll lose the will, stop listening and start daydreaming. They might nod in all the right places, however your CFO is not really listening.
You’ve already lost your audience.
Is daydreaming always bad?
BTW, daydreaming is simply our brains way of conserving energy. We daydream when communication is poorly delivered. When we daydream our brains use this downtime to look ahead. That’s when our CFO will start planning in their head the report they have to write and what tomorrow’s meeting with the bank looks like.
Daydreaming is bad, if you’re the cause.
To avoid daydreaming pique their ‘Curiosity’ and after the initial greetings. Here’s how we position what we need instead:
“We’re losing 5-10 sales conversions a month worth around £10,000. The reason is we’re spending too much time still trying to manage several spreadsheets and documents where we keep our sales contacts and meeting notes.”
Pause.
This opening sentence of our story succinctly describes the current financial loss (we humans hate to lose, more than we love to win). That’s why we must ensure the story alludes to the revenue opportunity and the tangible cause.
Whilst ‘trying to manage multiple spreadsheets and documents’ is the primary problem, you know there are several reasons preventing you and your team from converting more business. Don’t confuse the message.
At this stage stick with one message and focus on one problem. Don’t introduce several issues.
2. Action
Now you have the CFO’s attention, let’s continue the pitch story with the ‘Action’ phase…
“I’ve assessed three CRM’s that remove the need for managing spreadsheets and documents. Bringing in a data-driven CRM enables us to make better informed decisions and free up more time to convert higher-value prospects.
You’ll see how the story focuses on resolving the one key problem, followed by other benefits.
We’ve told this story in just 12-lines.
3. Result
You’ve delivered the what you need perfectly using storytelling.
Right now our CFO is interested. which is why we need to help our CFO figure out the RoI at the ‘Result’ stage:
Tell the story in 12-lines
“Spending more time converting the 5-10 sales we’re losing, would help us win back the £10,000 in lost we’re losing every month. And that’s not all. The CRM would streamline the sales process, helping us track each lead, delivering more timely interactions at key touch points, so we nurture each prospect through the pipeline.
I’ve forecast we could increase our overall sales by a further 15%, which would see a return on our investment in the first year”
And leave it there. You’ve delivered the what you need perfectly using storytelling.
We’ve told this story in just 12-lines. The story is factual and shows you’ve done your homework on three potential CRMs, helping the CFO imagine how a CRM could transform sales.
If you ever find yourself struggling to get your point over, use this simple 3-stage C.A.R. framework. This framework will succinctly help you to persuade using the secret of storytelling.
Secret of storytelling: Questions & Answers
A. The secret of storytelling in persuasion is using a simple 3-stage framework: Curiosity, Action, and Result (C.A.R.). This approach gets your point across clearly and effectively.
The C.A.R. framework works by first piquing curiosity, followed by explaining the action to be taken, and describing the expected result. This structure maintains audience engagement and conveys your message succinctly.
A: Curiosity is essential, preventing your audience from daydreaming and losing interest. A strong opening that highlights a problem or loss can capture attention and make people want to hear more.
A: You can apply storytelling in business by using the C.A.R. framework to present ideas, pitch products, or request resources. Start by highlighting the current problem, propose a solution, and conclude by outlining the expected benefits.
A: To make your story more persuasive, focus on tangible problems and introduce numbers.
A: It is best to focus on one primary problem to avoid confusing your message.
