The art of storytelling is dying.

In an age of soundbites, special effects, snappy comebacks and the 30-second attention span. It seems that no one today has the time to listen to, or tell a good story.

But think back to the last time you cried at a film or sat biting your fingernails at a tense thriller.

In all probability it wasn't due to the special effects or clever dialogue. It probably wasn't because of great acting either - although that can help.

The most likely reason for your engagement with the film or play was because of the plot. You were hooked because the author gripped you with an interesting story. And most importantly, because the author got you to really care about the characters in that story

Using Stories in Business Development

Now think about that example, and how we can apply the principles to selling professional services.

Wouldn't you like your potential clients to really engage emotionally with what you are saying?

Of course, you will never build the same degree of emotional response in a sales meeting or pitch as in a thrilling drama. But you can certainly do a lot better than the majority of dry, dull sales presentations made today.

What's the secret to getting that emotional response. It's to use stories. And best, most impactful stories are those with real human protagonists rather than faceless corporations.

For example, when you're introducing your company to potential clients, don't just tell them how you can save them 10% of their costs or that you've worked with all the major car makers. Instead use a personal story featuring the actual people you've worked with and the savings you've realised for them and it will be much more powerful.

Look at the difference in these two introductions:

"We work with all the top retailers. By using our six-sigma and lean manufacturing services you can save at least 10% of your supply chain costs and cut 20% off lead times"

and

"We recently worked with Jim Gregory, Managing Director of QualPack. Jim faced a critical challenge. Because of long changeover times, his manufacturing was very inflexible and he couldn't respond to the demands of his biggest customers. He was losing market share rapidly. We worked with Jim and his team to implement our lean manufacturing and six sigma processes, so he was able to deliver the sort of flexibility his customers needed. As an added bonus, he managed to cut running costs by over 10%."

Now admittedly, the second introduction is a bit longer. But those extra sentences - and the style of the introduction - make a world of difference.

Think about how you would respond to the introductions as a CEO of a Packaging company.

There's nothing wrong with the first introduction. A professional using it would build some credibility by showcasing they work for some of the leading companies in the industry and highlighting the benefits of working with them.

But there's no human element to it. Just cold facts.

But it's worse than that. By saying "we could save you 10%" the professional is almost challenging the potential client. The natural response of most executives to this is to think "Oh really? Prove it". After all, we've only just met: what does he really know about my business? How does he know I'm not already efficient?

But if instead, the professional rephrases the introduction into a story such as the second introduction, these problems are bypassed.

Firstly, the prospect becomes more engaged when he hears someone's name. You've indicated you work with executives just like them - perhaps even someone they look up to. And by focusing on frustrations and personal challenges - not just business problems, but real frustrations - then they begin to feel empathy towards that person. Chances are they're feeling frustrations too - but like many executives, there are few outlets for them to vent those frustrations. Now, by talking about someone else's frustrations you've begun to create an environment where they can safely talk about their issues.

Also, because you're using a story where you "just happened" to cut lead time and costs you're not making a direct claim. You're not introducing a challenge because you're talking about a different situation. You're not saying "I can save you 10%" - but they will begin to make that inference for themselves. So instead of thinking "he claims he can make those savings, but I'm not so sure" they've reached that conclusion themselves. So they're much more likely to believe it.

And when you get a potential client talking and they bring up some of the issues and challenges they face, it works similarly. You can use your bank of stories to build your perceived credibility and the confidence that you have valuable experience in these areas. But again, you're not jumping in and tryign to solve the client's problem straight away - you're telling a story about a similar situation for a different client and what worked for them. Again, they think for themselves: "maybe this could work for me. And maybe if not, they could find somethign that worked for me". In contrast, if you try to suggest a solution to their problem, their thinking is more like: "how can they know how to solve my problem after just 5 minutes? Do they think I'm some sort of idiot who hasn't put any thought into this?..."

Crafting a Compelling Story

Some people are great natural storytellers. They mentally record their experiences as stories and have no trouble recalling them in an interesting and entertaining way.

For the rest of us however, we have to work a little harder.

You need to create a small catalogue of 6 or 7 interesting stories which cover a variety of situations where you or your services have added a great deal of value to your clients. In any situation, you can then select from the stories as needed to fit the relevant circumstances. And you can use the same story to introduce yourself, as your elevator speech, or as an example or answer to a question.

To craft the stories, first think about the typical problems your product or service solves. Then think of some recent examples of specific customers where this has happened.

Then, create a short summary of each example. Here are a few guidelines:

Make the story personal. Don't just talk about a company, talk about a named individual who "owned" the problem your product & service solved. Your story will feel much more real - and your prospect will feel much more empathy towards a person rather than a corporation.

Talk first about the challenges the person faced. Again, try to describe them in personal terms so that the prospect builds a connection to your story. Don't belittle the person - turn them into the hero of the story - they had a problem which (by working with you) they overcame.

Don't focus on what you did. That may be interesting to you - but a potential client is more interested in what problems they faced and what they achieved.

End the story with the benefits achieved - but make sure your client gets the credit. Don't boast.

Write these examples up using natural, conversational language and revise them until they sound right. Then learn and practice their main points so that they don't sound like a script.

And make sure you get permission to use people's names.

Making the Stories Work for You

Now you can begin to use the stories to win business. Don't overuse them - use them sparingly when you need to gain credibility.

Personally I use one story to introduce my company and what we focus on (selected based on what I think is likely to be of most relevance). Then I may use further stories later on to illustrate a point, or to show that I understand their situation. But I will rarely use more than a couple in a sales meeting of an hour or less. To do so runs the risk of dominating the conversation and not giving the client enough space to open up about their problems. And if they don't talk about their specific problems, then I can't begin to show them how I can help them.