Sell The Story Not The Feature
This will improve your sales velocity DRAMATICALLY.
Hi Team, we’ve been thinking recently about the small changes that can make large differences in your sales cycle. The thing is, too many new sales reps focus on the wrong things. They spout off features and specs, trying to impress their prospects. But the truth is, nobody cares about your product. They care about how it will solve their problems. Today, we’ll teach you how to sell with customer stories. This is useful for SDRs, AEs, and, honestly, all other roles in a business.
Using customer stories to sell is a powerful technique that can help B2B sales professionals to build trust and establish credibility with their prospects and implant ideas in their prospect’s heads, bypassing the normal barriers they get when they feel like they’re being sold to.
This approach focuses on the outcomes that customers have achieved by using the product or solution rather than on its features. By highlighting the benefits that your customers have realized, you can give concrete evidence that your solution works and that it’s a good fit for your prospects' needs.
SDRs, use these stories when you’re on a cold call and get a customer to give a need that they have; rather than saying you can do it, give an example of a customer who already has. AEs the same thing, but you need something more concrete, but also lace them in during your demo as you go through certain features and tie it back to customers who have seen success.
To get started with using customer stories in your sales process, here are a few tips:
Identify the right customer stories: Start by identifying the customers who have had the most success with your software/solution. Look for customers who have seen significant improvements in key metrics like revenue, productivity, or customer satisfaction. These customers are the best candidates for sharing their stories with prospects. You need a mental dictionary of customer stories that covers all of the major selling points your product has so that you can pull them out at a moment’s notice.
Make the story relatable: When presenting customer stories, make them relatable to your prospects. Focus on the challenges that the customer faced before they used your solution and how they overcame those challenges with your product. Highlight the specific benefits they realized, such as increased revenue, improved productivity, or higher customer satisfaction.
Personalize the story: Personalizing the customer story can help make it more impactful for the prospect. For example, if your prospect is in a similar industry as the customer you are highlighting, mention this and draw parallels between the two companies. If your prospect is facing similar challenges as the customer, highlight this and show how your solution helped the customer overcome those challenges. One caveat, NEVER say that the company is similar; everyone thinks they are unique. Just highlight how it was used similarly.
Show the proof: To further build trust and credibility, include proof points in your customer stories. This can include statistics, charts, and testimonials from the customer. Showing that the customer has seen tangible results from using your solution can help to build confidence in your prospects.
Use storytelling techniques: Finally, use storytelling techniques when presenting customer stories. This can include setting the scene, building suspense, and emotionally connecting with the prospect. By telling the story engagingly and memorably, you can increase the chances that the prospect will remember the story and be more likely to take action.
In conclusion, using customer stories in your sales process can help you to build trust and establish credibility with prospects. By highlighting the outcomes customers have achieved with your solution, you can provide concrete evidence of its effectiveness and make a stronger case for why your solution is the best fit for the prospect's needs. So next time you're in a sales meeting, consider using a customer story to sell rather than just discussing features.
Examples:
*Replace one of our customers with a specific name.
**This is all very vague; you need to be specific about the pain and solution. These are only framework examples.
Prospect: "I'm not sure our budget can accommodate this solution." AE: "I understand budgets can be tight. Can you tell me more about what specifically is causing the budget concern?" Prospect: "Well, we just invested in another project and don't have the funds for this right now." AE: "I see. Well, one of our customers, a similar sized company as yours, faced the same issue. They found that implementing our solution allowed them to streamline processes and save money in the long run. What do you think would be the benefits for your company if you could find a way to streamline processes and save money?"
Prospect: "I don't think this solution would work for our unique needs." AE: "I understand that every company has their own specific needs. Can you tell me more about what makes your needs different?" Prospect: "We have a very complex system and need a solution to integrate it." AE: "That's a good point. We have had a customer with a similar issue. They were able to successfully integrate our solution with their complex system and saw a significant increase in efficiency. What do you think the impact on your business would be if you could increase efficiency?"
Prospect: "We already have a solution in place. Why should we switch?" AE: "I understand that change can be difficult. Can you tell me more about what specifically isn't working with your current solution?" Prospect: "It's just not efficient and takes too much time to complete tasks." AE: "I see. One of our customers had the same problem with their previous solution. After switching to our solution, they saw a drastic reduction in the amount of time it takes to complete tasks. What do you think the impact would be on your business if you were able to save time?"