231: Selling Through Telling Micro Stories

<p>Is selling telling or is it asking questions?  Actually, it is both.  The point though is to know what stories to tell, when to tell them and how to tell them.  We uncover the opportunity through asking the buyer questions about what they need.  Once we know what they need, we mentally scan our solution data base to find a match.  This is when the stories become important, as we explain why our solution will work for them.  What we don’t want is having to scrabble together stories on the spot and then make a dog’s breakfast of relating the details.</p> <p> </p> <p>These stories have one purpose and that is to give credibility to our solution.  The content should have elements of the context of the solution and evidence of where this has worked for others.  Buyers may not be familiar with your company in detail, so the background of the company told in two to three minutes is a micro story we need ready to go.  Longevity or fresh innovation are the two spectrums.  Either we have stood the test of time and you can trust us or we have come up with something new, that will be a game changer and you need it.</p> <p> </p> <p>Often though salespeople don’t know the detail of the company or even if they do, they have never spent any time weaving this into a brief narrative for the buyer.  This requires practice to ensure the micro story is kept tight and packed with credibility.  We cannot go on and on about our own company or the buyer will switch off with disinterest.  They are only going to listen if the background of the company has some strong relevancy for them.  This is why we have to craft that story specifically for them, before we talk to them</p> <p> </p> <p>Our systems, products or services all need explanation about how they will help the buyer.  Just leafing through the five kilo, tome like product catalogue is not enough.  Pitch salespeople will do this.  They will go through the catalogue hoping to snag some buyer interest by using this shotgun pitch approach.  When I had my first sales job selling Enc