Sales Storytelling is on the rise, and it should be, because it's the most compelling way to talk about anything that you wish to sell. But as a sales person, a key question you need to ask yourself before telling sales stories is - Am I telling this story for a sprint or a marathon with my customer? Sprint = Short run sales numbers where there is an immense short-term focus. Marathon = Long-term...

Recently, I had the opportunity to work with a group of lawyers where in a short period of time we had to craft 6 different stories which conveyed a point. Did we manage to craft the stories in the short period of time we had? Yes, of course we did. The group came up with stories that moved the audiences so much that we had claps, cheers, standing ovations and tears. A part of me was thrilled to...

My last post on Pharma Sales Storytelling concluded that Relationship and Features & Benefits Storytelling were 2 key areas of focus for product sales people. In this post I will dig deeper into Relationship Sales Storytelling. Relationship is a meaningful word used loosely in a sales environment. In 2009 I was working as a Director of Sales in Australia and one of the things we did before going...

Recently I gave a talk on Sales Storytelling at a leading Pharmaceutical Company. In preparation for this talk I researched on Pharma sales industry, spoke to a few pharma sales reps and doctors ( key client for pharma sales reps). In this preparation, there are insights I discovered which I think can be of great use to the pharma sales industry and the stories they tell. My previous blogs on...

Remember the last time you went to buy something that is not an everyday purchase like milk, bread etc. Lets say you go to buy a washing machine. Most likely, you will do some research online and then may be talk to a few friends and ask for recommendations. You now have an idea of what you want but you are still not 100% sure. Time to go to the retail store. You walk in Scenario 1 Firstly the...

Some beliefs that we don't question when it comes to sales persons' skills Belief 1 - You have the gift of gab and you can sell ice to Eskimos. You are a great sales person. Belief 2 - Talk is cheap. Its your ability to listen that makes you a great sales person. My belief - It is important to be able to talk and listen well but what you are talking about and what you are listening to will not...