Great story tellers

Good sellers are often good story tellers. Not because they are full of hot air, but because they can build empathy and trust. SUE BARRETT

By Sue Barrett

I have noticed that good sales people are often great storytellers. They have the ability to find the right story to resonate with your situation.

They speak from experience and you know they know their stuff. They can paint a picture that is your picture and get you visualising success in partnership with them. 

They seem to be able to connect disparate situations, events or feelings and find the common thread that binds them all together – together for you to connect with. And even if the story they are telling is not directly relevant to your business or market, the situation or person they describe feels familiar.

There is something comforting in knowing that other people experience what you experience even if they are not related to you. This goes along way to building empathy, connection and trust.

However the world is littered with people who are very good at promoting themselves, telling grand stories to amaze. These people are often the great raconteurs holding court or keeping everyone mesmerised with their derring do. The story is all about them.

However these are not the people I am referring to.

The sales people I am talking about don’t tell a story until they have first understood your situation, your views, your challenges and your goals. And they are often quite unassuming, yet when they connect other experiences with yours they help you understand the world a little better. Their stories educate and illuminate. Their stories are based on substance and can be verified. It was worth listening to the story.

Here is a quote I found that illustrates my point:

No man is great enough or wise enough for any of us to surrender our destiny to. The only way in which anyone can lead us is to restore to us the belief in our own guidance.
Henry Miller

Sue Barrett is Managing Director of BARRETT Pty Ltd. Sue is an experienced consultant and trained coach and facilitator. Sue and her team are best known for their work in creating High Performing Sales Teams. Key to their success is working with the whole person and integrating emotional intelligence, skill, knowledge, behaviour, process and strategy via effective training and coaching programs. For more information please go to www.barrett.com.au

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