At Missing Link we are big on storytelling. Almost every executive’s script that we work on will include them. Stories are fantastic tools for creating emotion. And emotions create… well, everything else really.

Sales are no different, well, not quite no different… to quote one of our shareholders Don Packett, “There are two stories in sales, yours and those that matter.” The one story that your salespeople shouldn’t be relying on is ironically your own – however, it can play a small part as you will see. So here are three stories that your sales team can use today.

Sales story #1: The origin story

Entrepreneurs exist to do one of two things, we fix problems or we fill gaps. One of the only stories I tell about Missing Link is what pissed me enough to start it in the first place 25 years ago when I was just 22 (lots of really, really shit presentations is the short answer but if we ever have a call I’ll give you the longer fun version).

This story is good, as all we are trying to do is create resonance and connection. If can get you to nod in agreement when I explain a 22-year-old’s frustration, then we have a common place – we agree that there is a problem worth solving. In bigger products, this could be the origin story of a product or even just a feature.

Sales story #2: The dragon’s story

Everyone talks a lot about the hero’s journey, and sure your customer is the hero. But let’s be honest for a second, the hero’s story only becomes interesting once the dragon appears. That’s what calls them to adventure. This is the basis of the StorySeller Framework we sell and that I outline in Here Be Dragons. Here’s the deal. You have to SELL your customer a NEW story in which there is a very big dragon that ONLY YOU can help them slay. In a future post, we will explain the UPS (Unique Problem only you can Solve) in more detail. For now though, we have to get the customer to rethink the world they live in as one in which they now NEED something that they may not have known existed a day before. Don’t believe me? Just think about that last shiny toy you just had to have. First, they sold you a story about how much you’d use it, then you sold yourself a story that you couldn’t live without it until you caved and bought it*

Sales story #3: The success story

The most convincing of all sales stories is the humble case study. The problem is most people are afraid to ask for them and don’t deliver them well enough. A customer case study needs to follow a simple journey:

• • this is where we were
  • this is the problem we were facing
  • this is what was at stake
  • this is why we decided on {your company}
  • this is the current reality

The best thing about these is that you are not telling your story, you are simply explaining a problem that you have solved for a similar person. The closer the story feels, the higher the resonance. Please believe me though, whether they are full videos or simply stories you tell as part of your pitch – case studies are money makers as they provide proof and remove objections.

So there you have it, three stories that you can work on tomorrow. Need help? That’s what we’re here for, heck, we can even help your sales team deliver them better.

Now off you go and sell some stories…!

*It’s now sitting in a drawer gathering dust, it’s okay, we all have that drawer 🙂