The Best Storytelling Framework for Sales Engineers to Engage Customers
A Simple 3-Step Formula to PreSales Storytelling. Learn how to tell better stories that prospects will relate to and that will help lower cycle times.
If you're a Solution Consultant or a Pre-Sales Leader, you’ve probably heard that you need to tell stories to connect with your prospect during meetings and demos. Telling these stories, however, can be nerve-racking when trying to put them together on the spot in front of a prospect. So how can you put together a story that highlights your product's/service's best features? And how do you get your prospect to relate to the company in your story?
Well, we are here to tell you that there is a Simple 3 Step Formula you can use right now to start telling better stories! Watch the video, or read below.
The first part of any good story is the hero. Now many salespeople make the mistake of making their product or service the hero of their story, but to make your story more compelling make your hero a company or individual to which your prospect can relate. This hero should be someone who suffered the same problems as the person you are trying to sell to (your prospect). Not only can your prospect empathize with this hero, they may even aspire to be just like them, effectively making your hero a role model to solving their problem.
Now how do you choose the company or individual that your prospect will be able to relate to the most? Well, that depends on who your prospect is. When talking to an individual, center your story around an individual hero with the same job position as your prospect. Make this hero as tailored and specific as possible, even going as far as to include a first name. If speaking to a committee or mixed audience, however, set your hero to be a company as a whole. This change will not only ensure that your story relates to everyone in the room, but can save you from needing to remember the names and job descriptions of 5 different heroes.
Now that your prospect knows and relates to the hero, have your hero meet its antagonist. Your antagonist can be an individual or it can be a problem or challenge. Whichever it is, you want to choose an antagonist that your prospect is extremely familiar with and, if possible, one they face everyday. The bigger and more painful this problem, the more compelling your story will be and the more likely it is that your prospect will be actively seeking to solve it.
Creating the problem doesn’t have to be hard. Simply identify 1-2 problems that your prospect can relate to and focus on them. Make sure to only pick one or two though, to ensure your story does not become dull or even seem “too good to be true.”
Now that your story is near complete, resist the urge to talk too much about your product/service. Instead, briefly mention your product and then move on to how the hero’s life has improved after solving their problem. Sandwiching your solution between the hero’s problem and the resolution can help bring your prospect to see themselves as the hero, seeing your product as the key to solving their problems. This critical point is where your story sells your prospect, and your product truly becomes a “solution”.
When crafting your resolution, don’t be afraid to also talk about the emotions that your solution provided the hero along with the data and facts. To fully connect with your audience, you need to connect with both their logical and emotional sides. Making this emotional connection can convince your prospect to put a personal stake in your company and keep them fighting to choose your product over competitors.
Now, let’s put these steps together with an example. Assume you’re selling a product called CodeComment. CodeComment automatically comments your code for you so that you don't have to do it.
In this example:
1) Your hero is the developer who writes code (NOT your product).
2) The problem is that commenting code sucks (most developers would agree with this).
3) The resolution is that you no longer have to comment your code because CodeComment did it for you.
Viola!
Try this Simple Storytelling formula in your next meeting, and let us know how this formula works for you!
Unlike traditional presales training that teaches engineers how to give demos, Alpha Presales training teaches engineers how to take ownership of the sale. We’ll help you take your sales engineers to the next level with skill-building workshops that improve their Leadership, Discovery, and Storytelling skills. Book a call with Alpha Presales and help your team get to the next level.
If you're a Solution Consultant or a Pre-Sales Leader, you’ve probably heard that you need to tell stories to connect with your prospect during meetings and demos. Telling these stories, however, can be nerve-racking when trying to put them together on the spot in front of a prospect. So how can you put together a story that highlights your product's/service's best features? And how do you get your prospect to relate to the company in your story?
Well, we are here to tell you that there is a Simple 3 Step Formula you can use right now to start telling better stories! Watch the video, or read below.
The first part of any good story is the hero. Now many salespeople make the mistake of making their product or service the hero of their story, but to make your story more compelling make your hero a company or individual to which your prospect can relate. This hero should be someone who suffered the same problems as the person you are trying to sell to (your prospect). Not only can your prospect empathize with this hero, they may even aspire to be just like them, effectively making your hero a role model to solving their problem.
Now how do you choose the company or individual that your prospect will be able to relate to the most? Well, that depends on who your prospect is. When talking to an individual, center your story around an individual hero with the same job position as your prospect. Make this hero as tailored and specific as possible, even going as far as to include a first name. If speaking to a committee or mixed audience, however, set your hero to be a company as a whole. This change will not only ensure that your story relates to everyone in the room, but can save you from needing to remember the names and job descriptions of 5 different heroes.
Now that your prospect knows and relates to the hero, have your hero meet its antagonist. Your antagonist can be an individual or it can be a problem or challenge. Whichever it is, you want to choose an antagonist that your prospect is extremely familiar with and, if possible, one they face everyday. The bigger and more painful this problem, the more compelling your story will be and the more likely it is that your prospect will be actively seeking to solve it.
Creating the problem doesn’t have to be hard. Simply identify 1-2 problems that your prospect can relate to and focus on them. Make sure to only pick one or two though, to ensure your story does not become dull or even seem “too good to be true.”
Now that your story is near complete, resist the urge to talk too much about your product/service. Instead, briefly mention your product and then move on to how the hero’s life has improved after solving their problem. Sandwiching your solution between the hero’s problem and the resolution can help bring your prospect to see themselves as the hero, seeing your product as the key to solving their problems. This critical point is where your story sells your prospect, and your product truly becomes a “solution”.
When crafting your resolution, don’t be afraid to also talk about the emotions that your solution provided the hero along with the data and facts. To fully connect with your audience, you need to connect with both their logical and emotional sides. Making this emotional connection can convince your prospect to put a personal stake in your company and keep them fighting to choose your product over competitors.
Now, let’s put these steps together with an example. Assume you’re selling a product called CodeComment. CodeComment automatically comments your code for you so that you don't have to do it.
In this example:
1) Your hero is the developer who writes code (NOT your product).
2) The problem is that commenting code sucks (most developers would agree with this).
3) The resolution is that you no longer have to comment your code because CodeComment did it for you.
Viola!
Try this Simple Storytelling formula in your next meeting, and let us know how this formula works for you!
Unlike traditional presales training that teaches engineers how to give demos, Alpha Presales training teaches engineers how to take ownership of the sale. We’ll help you take your sales engineers to the next level with skill-building workshops that improve their Leadership, Discovery, and Storytelling skills. Book a call with Alpha Presales and help your team get to the next level.
Tired of people complaining that you don't tell enough stories? It's never too late to start. Use this simple 3 step formula to get started without having to memorize pages of information.
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