Customized Talks That Amplify Sales Success Through Storytelling
Many sales professionals get that storytelling is a powerful ally.
But they often go wrong when it comes to delivering their stories to create connections, a critical pathway to getting conversions.
The members of your organization or association may have built archives of stories they can plug into a multitude of situations, from relating their entity's origin story to talking up their customer service record to closing deals.
But those who normally get tongue-tied speaking in public, or feel inhibited entertaining audiences, will find it challenging to arouse prospects emotionally with their storytelling skills.
EMOTIONALLY COLD
And that will prevent prospects from feeling inclined to reciprocate by sharing narratives of their own.
They might oblige your members with a brief reminiscence on request; but they won't be emotionally ready to open up by talking about their biggest worries or how they'd gladly pay for a solution to a vexing problem if the right vendor came along - critical revelations for sales professionals.
Those struggling storytellers put themselves in danger of coming across as too eager to befriend the prospect, or too pushy. They also risk getting dragged down by differences in communication styles and age groups when their stories fail to resonate with prospects as heartfelt.
CHARISMA, CAPTIVATION AND CLOUT
When Michael speaks to your association or organization, he customizes his talks expertly to your industry.
He applies his helpful insights and advice to the problems and challenges that are vexing the members of your association or organization RIGHT NOW, aided by his expertise as a communication researcher and holder of a Master of Communication and Information Studies degree from Rutgers University as well as authorship of two acclaimed communication-related books and more than 300 articles in The Wall Street Journal, many of which have been cited in academic journals.
A key goal of his talks is empowering attendees who struggle to speak confidently in public to deliver their stories with charisma, captivation and clout so they don't run into connection-crippling roadblocks.
Some things he covers in his highly interactive breakouts:
- If you're a sales professional, there is absolutely NO reason for the other person to open up to you if you start out firing cold questions at them like, “So, what's your business goal for the year ahead?”
- You need to know how to use small talk and storytelling to CONNECT and warm the climate first
- You've got to arouse the prospect emotionally through all your interaction to compel them to even consider talking to you about your product or service
AUDIENCE AWARENESS
In Michael's view, every word that a sales professional utters, whether it's in a meeting, presentation, webinar, or negotiation, must be filtered through the central question of “how is this going to affect my target audience? How is this going to make my listener feel and think?”
That's the first step in paving the way for a meaningful dialogue.
The second is learning how to apply small talk strategically to prepare the prospect to hear a story, involving the application of psychology, empathy and listening skills.
Next is fitting the story to the purpose, whether it's to build trust or land a deal, followed by telling stories with life and excitement; because if you don't believe your story is exciting, don't expect the listener to, either.