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Set More Meetings Over the Phone With Stories That Engage Prospects

When you don’t have a physical product to show use stories to improve telephone prospecting outcomes.


Once upon a time . . .

From a very early age on I was fascinated by fairy tales and stories. Story telling is essential in a consultative sales environment. It helps you connect with your prospects and it is a great way to add value rather than pushing a feature.

In a consultative, B2B business services sales we are often selling the invisible. There is no physical product we can showcase. This makes prospecting by phone a challenge when we have mere seconds to connect with a prospect.

This is why the most successful B2B sellers use stories to improve telephone prospecting outcomes. For example, sharing best practices or how you have made another customer happy gives you an opportunity to communicate that is relevant and interesting to your prospect.

Stories Shape Our Thinking

When I was a kid I loved the idea of people gathering in a tent or square and listening to stories. Still to this day I remember the dinner parties best where people were telling stories, sharing, laughing, showing compassion or just simply cracking a joke.

When we are children growing up, it’s fairy tales and stories that shape our thinking, they trigger our imagination and fuel our creativity. As adults it’s not that different, we are always drawn to stories that we can relate to.

When I started out in sales, I had come from a public relations/marketing background with no credentials in sales so I decided to do what I liked best – listening to stories. I researched case studies and told my prospects about the success that other companies had when using our service. It worked!

People Relate to Stories

Because people like to listen to stories, they can relate to them. Business services features are boring to people unless they can use them to their advantage. Nobody wants to listen to you bragging about your company, your service, how good you are, etc. What people are interested in is what your service can do for them and how it will help their business.

If you don’t have something to show, share a story. Use anecdotes to get people interested, especially when you first engage with a prospect. The key question is “What do the clients do with the service you provide?”

What better way to explain then sharing success stories.

It’s Easier to Sell a Story Than a Service

Rather than selling a service, focus on the value it brings to the client and the human experience. Instead of selling a service that is “better,” offer a solution that helps increase efficiencies, for example.

Especially in a consultative sales environment, once we are able to tap into somebody’s emotion, it’s a lot easier to connect. Never forget that it is human beings you are targeting. Although you are trying to sell them something, you are also an advisor, a consultant in the true sense, a resource to help them make the right decision.

When telling stories, it is important that you own them and make them yours. Be personal, just like a dinner conversation. First, listen to your prospects, then choose a case study/story that you think will resonate with their needs and I can assure you that your prospects will listen. Everybody likes stories.


Sales Gravy’s FREE Book of Play gives you the tools and frameworks you need to develop better stories and communicate more effectively. Download the Book of Play HERE

About the author

Monika D'Agostino

I’m Monika D’Agostino, the founder and Chief Sales Officer at Consultative Sales Academy. Born…

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