It’s time to let the cat out of the bag or as my husband would say, release the genie out of the bottle…
I am like so many of you out there – I want to make an impact and I’m ready for another professional growth spurt.
It’s kind of like… ‘Go Big or Go Home!’ and having moved from Australia to the best state in the USA (Colorado) with six suitcases and two backpacks a few months ago (and loving it!), when I say ‘Go Big or Go Home!‘ it has a definite semi-literal meaning to it.
So, my GO BIG is to bring something fresh, different and new to the sales conversation – and not just rehash solution selling, or provide new hacks for getting appointments, or for it to be ‘same girl, different dress’ (hang on, let me rephrase that in case it is perceived as UnPC – same horse, different jockey!)
But I do have a fear… and that is that many sales leaders who say they want their teams to do something different are still feeding them stuff that is old, or god forbid! not giving them anything at all. And because these sales managers are not doing anything to stretch their own thinking as leaders, they’re not doing anything to help the sales team stretch their thinking.
And if the sales team can’t stretch their thinking then how will they help the buyer stretch theirs?
So, I am fine-tuning my BIG IDEA on StorySelling (not just storytelling) as we speak, and before I put it out into the market, I want to run my ideology past you, because I trust your thinking.
StorySelling is a portmanteau – in other words, a new word created by joining two existing words together, kind of like smog (from smoke and fog) or brunch (from breakfast and lunch). And each of the two words Story and Selling, when executed well, are both extremely transformational in their own right. When the concepts, not just the words, are merged, your message to market is amplified exponentially.
To give StorySelling added oomph, I have leaned in on my expertise in enterprise sales, emotional psychology, and executive coaching – the critical elements for a businessperson who sells to achieve their objectives of connecting, conversing and converting more commercial opportunities. It makes sense because these are three strengths I have in spades and where I have seen the most transformational results with my clients business growth.
Business Growth Acceleration is steeped in the philosophy of StorySelling, I believe. And it represents the three major thought processes behind a successful, or unsuccessful sale.
Thought processes that leverage stories.
Stories that sellers, leaders and business owners use to either sabotage their incomes or succeed at their outcomes.
Those three distinct story categories therefore, include:
Your Internal Stories
These are the stories you tell yourself about the buyer – stories that relate to the three modes of Congruence, Authority and Money – if you want to qualify that pipeline in a way that is aligned to your values, meet those ‘C Level’ Decision Makers with conviction and lose the fear of selling at top dollar or the inclination to discount, then you need to revisit these stories.
Our External Stories
These are the stories we must show and tell our buyer to be more strategic – stories that relate to the modes of Tension, Progression and Integration – if we want to position ourselves as more than a solution seller (which, let’s face it, doesn’t differentiate you as it did back in the 80’s), then we need to know how to strategically articulate what it is our buyer wants, why that journey is important enough for them to want to change and how they are going to practically achieve their outcome. [Spoiler alert! Story is not just verbal and not just about you!]
Their Essential Stories
These are the stories you must elicit from your buyer, and not enough sellers practice this category – stories driven by Leverage, Perspective and Decision – if you want to expand the conversation, understand what moves your buyer (emotionally and personally) and identify the story behind the story that determines their decision (and no, it is not about asking their decision making process), then you need to know how to elegantly elicit these stories at a meta level to guarantee you more business.
I guess, in my experience of identifying the behavioural, ideation and questioning patterns missing in sellers that prevent buyers from connecting fully with them, I have used the past few months to share my philosophy around business growth leveraging the philosophy of StorySelling (not just storytelling), with some key leaders in Enterprise, SMB and Start-Up worlds environments.
The result was an overwhelming ‘It’s time we shifted the stereotypical sales narrative. This is what sales teams need not just to bridge the competitive gap, but create the competitive gap with one leaders saying, ‘why didn’t I think of this approach myself’?’
StorySelling is a philosophy consisting of three seller personas and nine story modes. It is a proven path, that when applied, positively impacts the economy, business cultures and individual growth.
The StorySelling Philosophy will transform your view of selling to be one that is more commercial, shift your approach to one that is more abundant, and create change in and around you.
If you want to be the recipient of my ideas around this new and deeper view of business growth – StorySelling (not just storytelling) – then please ring the bell on my profile 🔔, subscribe to this newsletter or contact me directly here, as we take the sales profession down this exciting new lane, together.
Stay Bold, Brave and Brilliant,
EVENT ORGANISERS (Video below) – My programs help your clients, whether they be corporate sales teams or Association members, to be more effective at connecting, conversing and converting more profitable and purposeful opportunities.
