The second installment in a two-part book review of Paul Smith’s Sell With a Story: How to Capture Attention, Build Trust, and Close the Sale.
August 30, 2023
By Rachel Smith
As part of the messaging assessments we do at Maestro, we conduct lengthy interviews with people from across the client’s organization. My favorite question that we ask is some version of, “If your grandmother asked what your company does, how would you answer?”
It’s a difficult question. Interviewees often include terminology unique to their field and phrases that have deep meaning for them but would furrow the brow of anyone outside of their organization, not to mention their grandmothers.
That’s why in Sell With a Story, Paul Smith’s first story topic is the “explain what I do simply” story. It’s one of the first stories you have to tell prospects and how most social relationships begin as well. And it’s really hard to do.
I remember sharing with my grandmother what I planned on studying in graduate school. I tried to avoid the terms in the program title like “natural resources” and “environmental education,” and she came away with a clear understanding of what I planned on doing with my life. We’ll hear more from Grandma Eunice later.
In last week’s blog, Sandra claimed that Smith’s practical checklist of 25 stories you need is worth the price of the book alone. I agree, and further, think the book pays for itself with all the techniques Smith shares for getting others to tell their own stories.
Being able to elicit stories from others is just as important as being able to tell your own. Smith reminds the reader that the first objective of any sales call is to get the prospect to share stories, not the other way around. He then discloses that one of the worst ways to try to get a prospect’s story is by explicitly asking for one.
People don’t think about their day-to-day experiences as stories. They are just things that have happened to them. Smith explains that you have to ask questions that require a story for an answer. He brings open-ended questions to a whole different level. In fact, his definition of “open-ended” is different than ours at Maestro.
Take the example of, “What is your number-one problem area right now?” I would call that an open-ended question. The answer is not a simple yes or no, and a list of potential choices have not been provided. According to Smith, however, it’s a closed-ended question. Why? Because the response could be just a couple of words, and Smith is looking for a story. What if, instead of the question above, you asked a prospect, “When did you know for sure that you had a real problem on your hands?” That requires an answer of more than a few words. That requires the description of an event. That requires a story!
Asking “story-ended questions” isn’t just helpful when trying to elicit stories from your prospects. These questions are also great for getting stories out of both your sales team and current or past clients. Smith suggests making story sharing a standing agenda item for staff meetings. He even proposes requiring them from employees—it’s the end of the month, please send me your timesheet, expense report, and stories.
The stories that sales professionals need in their arsenal vary in purpose, but they are similar in their length—short. Don’t confuse these sales stories with novellas or even case studies. The stories you use in sales should be compendious, but they should never include words like “compendious” because you could say pithy or succinct and it would mean the same thing and be easier to understand.
The stories that Smith collected for this book had an average of 280 words. Given that most adults speak at about 150 words per minute, that means they take only one to three minutes to tell. They give the listener everything they need to understand the situation and feel the emotions you want them to feel, and nothing more.
Even though you will likely share your stories verbally, it helps to think of them the same way you do written communication. Type up your story, observing how you would actually say it out loud, and test it for readability. B2B sales communication should have a grade-level score in the middle-school range. Smith is even more prescriptive, suggesting targets of:
We’ve written before about the science behind why storytelling is such an important tool in sales. Stories get people engaged, are easier to remember, cause buyers to attach more value to a product, and even make it less likely for buyers to come up with counter-arguments. Smith adds even more science in support of storytelling.
Research on decision-making has revealed that humans often make emotional and even subconscious decisions in one part of their brain and then justify those decisions rationally and logically in a different area of the brain. Most of us think of decision-making as weighing facts, but there is a lot more emotion involved than most of us care to admit.
Scientists have also studied how memories get formed in the first place, and the results tell us why some stories are more memorable than others. Memories don’t instantly and automatically form. There is a process our brain goes through called memory consolidation in which short-term memories are converted into long-term memories.
Research on memory consolidation has shown that a mild stimulant after something happens—in the case of the research, a rat given caffeine after running through a maze—makes it more likely the short-term memories will be consolidated and stored. I suppose you could provide coffee at the very end of your story, but another way to stimulate the listener’s brain is through surprise.
Smith suggests several ways a storyteller can use the element of surprise. If you’re meeting with a prospect, chances are they just came from another meeting. They are likely still thinking about it, or maybe they are distracted by all the emails piling up in their inbox. A surprise at the beginning of your story will make your audience forget all of that and pay attention. A surprise in the middle of your story can get your audience to focus and think seriously about what you are sharing. But if you really want your audience to remember your story, Smith suggests waiting until the end to deliver your surprise.
When the listener is surprised by something in your story, it causes adrenaline to be released in the brain. Adrenaline acts as a stimulant, making it more likely the story will be remembered. The more unexpected the information, the more time is given to processing it. A surprise at the end of your story is like a shot of espresso to the brain priming the listener to commit your story to their long-term memories just as you’re wrapping up.
And now back to Grandma. Not only did she seem to understand my graduate school plans—I think she was rather surprised by them. Does this mean she remembered the conversation for many years? I’ll never know, but I won’t ever forget that, after I excitedly shared my plans, my grandmother, with a slight look of disgust on her face, looked me dead in the eyes and said, “You’re not one of those tree huggers, are you?”
Just to be clear, we can help you explain what you do in a way your grandmother will understand, but we cannot promise she will approve of your chosen profession or life choices.
Stories can be powerful tools for sales professionals. Even better? Short stories sharing only the essentials. Even better than that? Short stories sharing only the essentials plus a surprise! That, and never let them know you’re a tree hugger. Now you’re unstoppable.
Are you looking for some storytelling help? Reach out to us at mastery@maestrogroup.co.
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