Storytelling in Business, Triples your Win-Rate

Mary was ready for a meeting with senior stakeholders when her eyes caught the cover of a “Storytelling in Business” book. It was just lying there on top of the coffee table, between some company magazines and a newspaper from yesterday.

Although storytelling was one of the skills she wanted to know more about, there was no time to get distracted. Her numbers were down this quarter. Winning the coming deal would help a lot. Focus, Mary!  she told herself.

In her mind, she went through the slides she prepared last night. Her solution was by far superior to the competitors.

“Miss…Miss…!! Mary heard her name while rehearsing the opening slide. She was told that the meeting ran overtime and her appointment needed another fifteen minutes.

She immediately picked up the book and flipped through the pages from the back to front…

“What we want to say is always the wrong starting point”.

That sentence stopped her. “Hold on, she thought. I just thought about what I am going to say – before the receptionist interrupted my prep”.

Am I taking the wrong approach? 

The book continued: Business stakeholders are not interested in what you have to say; they have selective hearing and only listen to what’s in it for them. They are not interested in you or your solutions but in themselves and outcomes.

Mary continued reading: “Your story should be valuable to the audience, like changing their perspective”. Hey, she recognised this from The Sales Advice blogs...She flipped a bit more to the front, gulping up information new to her:

• What do you want to happen after your communication?
• What do you want your stakeholders to do after they have listened to your story?

I have also learned that from Selling with the Buyer’s Perspective, Mary thought.

She read the following sentence slowly. “This will determine what information you will offer that will move them from where they are now to where you want them to be”.

She was on the first page now, which revealed that, according to numerous studies, storytelling (following the principles of this book) could triple your win rates.

Oops, she thought, I should have started here. Motivated by what she knew from Selling with the Buyer’s Perspective and these storytelling tips, she flipped her message for her audience..

Mary had the perfect story for the stakeholders who were now ready to meet with her.

And, she won the deal.

P.S.: The book I am referring to is “Best Story Wins – Storytelling for Business Success, by Mark Edwards. Thanks for your insights, Mark.

Are you ready to flip your script?

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