Creative Storytelling

There is a well-known dichotomy in academics and the professional world between scientific pursuits, and humanitarian, or social science based, or artistic pursuits. The arts are creative, and the sciences are technical. But where does that leave sellers? More than 10% of people in the United States are in sales or similar roles, and likely many more have sales responsibilities as part of the broader requirements for being successful at their job.

So where does the above leave us sellers and client success individuals? Are we technical or creative? Does it matter? I think it does, and for sellers who are successful, I believe that many fall decidedly on the creative side. They think about their job as a creative pursuit, and they recognize that falling into patterns and ruts can cause diminished success.

But what does it mean that sales is a creative pursuit. I don’t mean it in an abstract or fluffy way. I mean it in a very direct and applicable way. What I mean is that a seller’s job is to constantly craft and frame a story. While there are very technical and precise ways to so this, the realities of the real world, and human interaction mean that the situation and the inputs are constantly changing, and the only way to be relevant, and useful for the buyer in the moment is to be creative about how best to deliver and frame that story.

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Ultimately, real creativity only shines on a foundation of technical excellence. We see this across disciplines. Wonderfully creative soccer or basketball players must have already mastered basic dribbling mechanics and team systems. Delightfully creative musicians and composers must have already mastered basic music fluency and instrumental expertise. And the list goes on. So it is for sellers; in order to be a creative and adaptive storyteller, one must first master the basics and the guidelines of good storytelling.

Beyond mastering the basics of storytelling, there is the simple matter that every company, every seller, every customer success person, must construct a story that can serve as the backbone for every single client interaction. There is a 30-second version of that story for an elevator pitch, a 10-minute version for a short conversation, a slide-based version for presentations, and even a product centric one for demos.

That’s right, even demos are stories. If you find yourself in a demo situation talking through solutions, features, ease of use, you are almost certainly making two mistakes at once; one is talking about too many things, and losing relevance for the customer, and the second is talking about solutions outside of the context of the problem, and therefore not grounding your explanations in usefulness for the client. Both mistakes lead to less engaged clients who are not in touch with their problems and the reasons they need you. Keep in mind that in a 10-minute intro meeting, the problem section will probably take up the majority of the time, while in a demo, the solution and resolution components will take up the lion’s share of the time. It’s not exactly the same story all the time, but it has the same foundation and components.

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Now it’s time to think a bit about how that foundational story looks. There are multiple ways to write a foundational story that can be used across interactions, but I tend to think about it in four parts: introduction, problem, solution, resolution. This is not rocket-science, in fact, these are basic components that have been present in storytelling for centuries. The story has to be simple so that you can be creative and adapt when needed, and so that there is a clear and straight line from the beginning to the end that the client can follow.

What is in the Introduction Section: The introduction section must explain what you do, and why the conversation is taking place, not who you are. The client does not care about your awards and history. This section must explain what category you are in, and if you are better than others at what they need, or foundationally different than what is out there.

Goal of the Introduction Section: Your singular goal in the introduction section is to establish your right to be there. You must establish what you do in a way that tells the client that the rest of the conversation will be worth their time. The introduction is a sale within itself, and if the client buys what you are selling, they are committing to be engaged in the rest of the interaction. Do not move on from the introduction until you believe that the client is committed to do that.

What is in the Problem Section: The problem section must establish the fact that there is a problem that the client needs to solve or at least an opportunity for growth. This section must define the problem and the effects that the problem has on the broader business and the day-to-day interactions of your main decision makers.

Goal of the Problem Section: Your goal in the problem section is to establish and come to an agreement with the client on what the problem is and the effects that problem has on their business. However, more importantly, you must establish that the status quo is not sustainable and that the current solution, or lack of solution is not working. The status quo must be painted as the antagonist so that indecision cannot remain the comfortable fallback position. Do not move on from the problem conversation until you believe that the client is in agreement that the status quo is not a solution.

What is in the Solution Section: The solution section must pose a singular solution (not a list or a menu) to the client as a direct response to an agreed upon problem. This part of the interaction should not be about product or feature details, rather it should be about establishing a high-level understanding that if your solution meets the technical specs after evaluation, that it is conceptually the type of solution that will allow the client to overcome the problem.

Goal of the Solution Section: Your singular goal in the solution section is to establish a high-level understanding of the perceived value of your solution relative to the problem. It is very important that this conversation focuses on value and outcomes. In other words, before you move on, make sure that you and the client agree on the amount of value added to their business if you solution is implemented to solve their problem.

What is in the Resolution Section: The resolution section must cover technical aspects of your solution, ease of use and implementation, and allow the client to understand the costs of switching and costs of implementation in the context of the bigger problem that is being solved. Social proof is very important in this part of the interaction, which can be accomplished through talking about other relevant clients (Not a logo list) that have seen success and excelled through the your partnership with them.

Goal of the Resolution Section: The most important pieces to convey in the resolution section are the talking points and facts that allow your main point of contact to tell your story internally when you are no longer in the room. The resolution section is your support for the rest of the interaction and fills in all the details that were not crucial to the story as you went from introduction to problem to solution.

If you are not thinking about all your client interactions as chances to tell a story, you may be missing an opportunity to be creative and influential with your clients. Being relevant and useful is very important to your interactions, and the creativity needed to excel in those tasks can only be accessed consistently when grounded in the foundation of good storytelling technique.

Creative Storytelling is grounded in the foundation of good storytelling technique.