A good example of a success story is to make the customer the star of your story. That's why it's best to include specific details about your client, like how they tailor your product or service to their own needs. Don't go over the top with your self-praise though. We'll guide you through it. 1. It feels authentic and real. (Example), 14. Buyers want to know that when that happens, you’ve got their back and will fight for them with your management. This story explains why you chose the industry/company/job/role you’re in now. Telling a story about a time you did that with another client is a quick way to earn that credibility without having to wait for it to happen again. I’m always up for hearing a good story. At Skeleton we know how powerful case study videos and stories are. FreshBooks decided to embrace the simple yet emotional story of Sarah and turn it into a customer success story that's authentic and powerful. Success stories can show an interviewer how you resolved a workplace problem, innovated or grew on the job. If you feel defeated that you won't be able to get your finances straight, I recommend you read these financial success stories to inspire you to move forward and fight on. Choose one or two that are most relevant to your target audience, and be sure to focus on them throughout the success story. It’s the story of the successful sale you just closed or the unsuccessful one that got away. Telling a story about when you made a mistake with another customer and admitted it will deliver that credibility without even having to make a new mistake. Arm them with one prior to that meeting. These stories are especially helpful if your buyer doesn’t even know they have a problem. (Example), 16. Many entrepreneurs are known for being colorful characters, here are 8 colorful stories to help inspire your own business success. What exactly does a focus on storytelling rather than selling boil down to in practice? Ho… Explaining the problem – a story about someone who encountered exactly the kind of problem your product or service is designed to solve. Founding – Nobody ever started a company for a boring reason. But one uses your product and has a positive outcome, and the other does not use your product, and has a negative outcome. We'll cover promotions to increase sales, to encourage repeat business, and to boost brand awareness. Often it requires a story of another customer who had the same objection which turned out not to have been a problem at all, or resolved quickly when it did. If your client has a compelling story to tell, let them tell it without interruption. Depending on your prospect’s situation, you’ll want to use one or a combination of the following: company, product, customer or personal story. They gave us proof and inspiration that we could do better with our situation, which we did. This success story is so effective because the customer explains how they use Evernote to catalogue their menu and create specific lists. While there are countless different sales promotion examples you can try for your e-commerce brand, today, I wanted to show you the importance of framing and distributing them the right way. Pick the ones you need most urgently and create a “Story Wish List.” Then, go on a hunt to find them. Although using a success story is proven to be effective, one has to choose the best success story templates. Paul Smith is one of the world’s leading experts on business storytelling. Why It Works: We process visuals 60,000 times faster than text. Sales success stories from our customers . Ask about SAS products, pricing, implementation, or anything else. This post will walk you through it (plus examples) & download our guide. Learn the step-by-step process to convincing your audience. Sales promotion ideas and examples to increase sales. To successfully convince your target audience that you can help them, you need to prove that you've helped others who have been struggling with the same issues. 2. This is the audio from a webinar I did on The Sales Experts Channel … HubSpot does a great job of featuring their customer's pain points in this success story. Read their story Sales Navigator helps 24 Hour Home Care build relationships with hard-to-reach contacts Read their story (Example), 7. This achieves two things: firstly, it shows how much the company cares about its customers and their goals. (Example), 5. It’s the story of the successful sale you just closed or the unsuccessful one that got away. In all, I found 25 unique types of stories being told. Read more about that here. Read their stories and how they did it. Some are good and some are not so good, but we can learn from them all. […] Paul Smith, autor knjige Sell with a Story, tvrdi da je storytelling moćan alat u prodaji, pod uvjetom da pričate prave priče. “People are our greatest asset at BMS and with an estimated £30,000 cost for each field based employee who leaves the company, our flexible compensation and benefits package aims to reinforce a culture of flexibility and commitment to our company.” (Example 1) (Example 2), 17. Arming your sponsor – Sometimes the final decision-making will happen you’re not in the room. You’ve already built some rapport, so use it!Refer back to the conversations you’ve had previously to show the prospect you remember them, and remind them that you understand their problem. Creating a sense of urgency – a story to use when the buyer says, “I’ll buy, but now is not the right time.” This is a story about the negative consequences that resulted when a previous prospect waited to buy, and regretted it. If you can tell that story simply, logically and emotionally, then you're well on your way to producing a standout piece of content that will continually build trust and convert leads. 4. I have used several of your stories in the 25 list. 25. To get you started with this worthwhile strategy, here are 15 sales promotion ideas, accompanied by real examples, and categorized by the business goals they can help you achieve. […] effective sales process as it doesn’t stand on its own. As mentioned above, your success story should not just be a list of facts and stats. (Example), 24. “I’ll go to bat for you with my company” – Disagreements will happen, and your company isn’t always going to be in the right. The goal is to get them to want to get to know you more. This way your target audience get inspiration into how your solution might fit into their own situation, and are also more likely to trust you. They won’t want to miss out on that service if they ever need it. What to copy: Discover what problems your client had that your product or service helped to solve. This will ensure viewers stay engaged throughout. The more similar the customers you feature in your success stories are to your target audience, the more those stories will resonate with them. Over time, I’ll be adding links to examples on line. By Lydia Cockerham | 10:10 AM on September 12, 2016. It helps if your last conversation included solid discovery questions like these: 1. From 0:38, nearly 30 seconds of the video are dedicated to how Mark & Pete were having difficulty keeping track of their customers before using HubSpot. Why it works: At the end of the day, people want to buy from you so they can solve their own specific problems. What could be better: However, the story behind this example could be stronger. They let her do the talking, and the result is a piece of content that positions FreshBooks as a genuinely trusted business. Be sure to give them enough time to speak about their situation, values, and goals. Always good to meet a fellow storyteller. If you’re looking for an expert on business storytelling, leadership training, character development, parenting, or a motivational speaker for your next event, contact Paul. Why it works: Effective customer success stories are always about... the customer. Packed full of our expert advice on how to identify the right story, target the right client, and use your video case study effectively. What’s the problem you’re trying to solve? So, what sales stories do you need? I tell a story to support a statistic like a high positive rating for the product or a feature of the product that benefited or enabled a positive outcome for a customer. Success stories are powerful tools to help prospects understand the value of your offering. We create awareness of your leveragable strengths and of your unproductive blind spots. At the basis, your sales commission structures and compensation plans drive rep motivation. (Example), 15. Why I do what I do – People don’t care what you do until they know why you do it. What to copy: Work out the biggest benefits of your offering and make reference to them. Hi Paul, your approach has validated my selling style. Inspirational stories are less about success, and more about how our heroes deal with setbacks, how they conquer their enemies and how they grow as human beings. Nice Job on this podcast launch. Every salesperson needs to be able to tell the story of the person who founded their company and why. (Example), 4. Explaining what you do, simply – a short, often fictionalized story to tell at a conference or on a cold call to help the prospect understand quickly and concretely what you do. “I’m not who you think I am – a story to help dispel negative pre-conceived notions a buyer might have about you before they even come up. That can be emotionally daunting. Tell a Story. You need to know the right process to get there. (Example), 22. Make them feel at ease and encourage them to speak naturally. When most people think of types of content marketing, they think of blogging as a starting point.Blogging helps you get visitors’ attention with helpful information, and provides content to flesh out your social media presence and fuel your SEO efforts, too. How do you create a success story with enough trust & authenticity to turn your leads into paying customers? Why it works: If your customer success story is too generic, you lose the power of telling a real story. “I’ll tell you when I can’t help you” – One of two things buyers claim will earn instant credibility is to tell them when your company is not the best solution. (Example), 19. This is how to capture the wisdom from the sales call for your boss, peers, or the next generation of salespeople calling on your customer. But having trained thousands of executives and salespeople in storytelling, I can tell you the first and most important thing you need to understand about storytelling is not the structure of a great story, or how to use emotion and surprise properly, or even how to deliver your story in front of an audience. (Example). Storytelling is a powerful tool in sales – if you tell the right stories. Again, there’s an example of each of these stories in the book Sell with a Story. These were struggle-to-success stories. (Example), 6. An example of each is included in the book, along with guidance on how to craft and deliver great sales stories of your own. Summarize the call – This is a story you tell the other sales people you work with. (Example), 13. It's about the client and their story, rather than the company trying to sell to you. Good customer success stories focus on storytelling, not selling. Why? Why it works: There's a famous saying that you should "sell the hole, not the drill". The best customer success stories follow a logical structure to keep the story moving, which is most commonly: Zendesk's success story suffers from being too long and not structured enough. That way they’re more likely to believe you when to tell them you are the best solution. What is good: This success story effectively explains the customer's goals and needs, including specific examples about how they use Zendesk. Resolving objections before they’re brought up – stories used to resolve the most common objections before they’re ever brought up, thus disarming the prospect of that objection. 4 Incredible Customer Success Stories Examples 1) ExactTarget One thing you notice right away when you navigate the “Clients” section of ExactTarget’s website is that it is segmented. Success stories may also provide insights into how customers use your product (or solution) and the value it adds to their business, providing more information that can be applied in sales conversa… Packed full of our expert advice on how to identify the right story, choose the right client, and use your video case study effectively. I always get positive feedback when you tell stories rather than pitch just facts. More Motivational Sales Stories. (Example), 20. A sales success story is designed for the purpose of internal communication where a sales rep talks about how they navigated the buying process and closed a sale with a customer. Congratulations. “It ended up being the two operations people and not the sales managers who really drove the deal forward.” SalesSHIFT programs provide the thinking and the skills to succeed in B2B selling today. And that makes the success story less effective. Both tell the story of someone with the exact same problem. The customer begins with their business situation, then veers into how they use the service and the results of this, before finally mentioning some problems near the end. Telling them a story about the last time you went to bat for a customer will be. I'll point out what they do well or could do better, and how you can apply their strengths to your own customer success stories (or learn from their mistakes). Just be sure that when writing your story, you don’t overload it with numbers, but rather use the data as a supplement. Michael’s commitment to action drove immediate […] Let your customers talk honestly about how your product or service helped make their lives easier, instead of asking them to list features. Hannah, the potential buyer is skeptical. Customer success stories can be used at any part of the sales process including in initial product demos all the way to final negotiation conversations to solidify Best Success Stories Template. What to copy: Don't over-complicate things. Call us: 1-800-727-0025 | 1-919-677-8000 Each is outlined briefly below along with where it belongs in the sales process. hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(467997, 'a44657a7-2391-49c4-a879-a66ec386b984', {}); Join 1,000 comms experts from brands like Boots, Experian & JCB and sign up for our latest posts. The story moves logically from the customer's situation, to their problem, to the chosen solution, to the outcome. Sign up for his newsletter here to get one new story a week delivered to your inbox. Streamlining systems and processes leaves customers smiling at Align Technology. (Example), 3. Storytelling is all the rage in business today – and in sales in particular – because it works. (Example), 23. The story is brought to life through data & figures, difficulties on the way to success, and specific ways in which the customer used the solution. Buyers and decision makers love them, in fact a staggering 73% of B2B buyers use them whilst researching an upcoming purchase. How to Write a Corporate Video Script in 7 Steps [Free Template], Video Production Made Simple: A Step-by-Step Guide, 7 Stunning Video Advertising Campaigns (and Why They Worked), Tell Stories that Sell: the Best Customer Success Story Template, How to Write a Video Brief in 5 Easy Steps [Free Template]. Coaching the breakup – Before a new prospect can buy from you, often they have to fire their current supplier. Shape By Adam Heitzman , Co … Not only does this success story demonstrate an independent sales organisations' ability to solve problems, it showcases an understanding of business, markets and methods. All the best case studies & customer success stories follow a simple but effective template that's actually a classic story structure. This is how to capture the wisdom from the sales call for your boss, peers, or the next generation of salespeople calling on your customer. Success stories are usually directed towards potential customers who seriously consider using ]project-open[ for their organization. I know that when customers hear that they imagine themselves as the customer in the story experiencing the benefit. You can brag a bit (e.g., "This was the biggest sale of the quarter and I was so pleased to be acknowledged in the year-end company-wide meeting."). But that's just the end result you want to come from your success stories. [Tweet this]. Thanks, Joel. First, let’s handle an objection you might have: “If I share customer success stories, I might sound like I am bragging.” Yes, you will if you do it the wrong way. Your email address will not be published. This customer success story shows benefits, rather than features. I asked both the salespeople and buyers where storytelling was being used in the sales process, and what kind of stories were being told. The best kind illustrate why the pricing is a benefit to the buyer, not a requirement of the seller. The most important part of storytelling is knowing when to tell a story and choosing the right story to tell. Did you know you had a storied past? example, would have moved to a competitor, now they are staying with BMS. Because not all success stories are compelling and encouraging enough to convert a lead into actual sales. Reach out to me at paul@leadwithastory.com. (Example), 12. They’re getting the story that comes with it. Here are some examples to illustrate what I mean. In fact, sometimes it's a case of the simpler the better. It makes the viewer feel something. How to write a Success Story "Success stories" are an important marketing tool for ]project-open[. Contact us to request a free demo. You can use stories at every stage of the sales process: explaining product features, handling objections, answering questions, and negotiating. Podcast (sell-with-a-story-series1): Play in new window | Download | Embed. He’s a keynote speaker, storytelling coach, and bestselling author of the books Lead with a Story, Parenting with a Story, and Sell with a Story. What to copy: Use specific examples throughout your customer success story. (Example), 9. To relax and take the stress out of the call – a different kind of story you tell yourself to prior to the next call if what you need is not motivation, but to remove stress. Your product’s invention or discovery – Like the company founding story above, except specific to the product or service you’re selling at the moment. What to do differently: Make sure your success story follows a succinct and logical story structure. hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(467997, 'b3a438a5-b82d-441d-b70c-b5c62b8311b2', {}); What makes an effective customer success story? Required fields are marked *. Example: “71% lift driving visits to retailer title pages” (Slide 26). Today on the Sales Success Stories podcast like I typically do between the bi-weekly interview episodes that always feature #1 and top 1% quota-carrying sales performers, I’ve got a little bonus for you. Personal motivation – a story you tell yourself to pump yourself up for the next sales call. This is a strong example of a success story that packs an honest, emotional punch. Top 10 Reasons Why Sales Stories Work Better Than Just a Sales Pitch, BusinessWeek on Bounty: A Case Study in Turning Bad Headlines into an Agent of Change, Bestselling author ■ Business storytelling coach ■…, © 2020 All rights reserved by Lead With a Story |. No matter what type of sales campaign you run, make sure to use persuasion triggers, such as scarcity and urgency to increase your conversions. Stories can demonstrate your professionalism, customer service, researching ability, creativity, problem-solving inclination or … http://traffic.libsyn.com/leadwithastory/SWAS_006.mp3, Zašto jedna Facebook objava ne može povećati prodaju - IO, An Interview With Paul Smith: How to Sell With a Story - Costello, #5 of the 25 Most Useful Sales Stories: A “Why I Do What I Do” Story – Talpro. Our highly trained reps are standing by, ready to help. When interviewers ask this question, they want to hear what you did well. Seems like an obvious question. “When I finally got the VP on the phone, I had the sales operations team on the phone vouching for us,” Bakstran said. ), 2. Who I’ve helped and how I’ve helped them – a more detailed factual story to give the prospect a concrete idea of the kind of customers you serve and what specifically you do for them. What to copy: Create success stories about those customers that are closest to your ideal buyer persona. Then, when he reached the decision-making Sales VP, he had two solid sales champions on his side. CHARACTER: ambition, open-mindedness, creativity, curiosity, integrity, self-reliance, grit, hard work, self-confidence, money, positive mental attitude, dealing with loss, kindness, patience, fairness and justice, humility, respect for others, friendship, forgiveness, gratitude, appreciation of beauty. Sales 8 Funny Sales Stories for National Salesperson Day It's time to celebrate the sales process... and tell a few stories to lighten your day. (Example), 10. What to do differently: Choose your customers carefully — your success story relies on them and how they communicate. Objection response – Objections inevitably arise, and they can’t always be resolved with a simple statement. “I am suggesting that if you develop a good set of 25 stories that are crafted specifically to the correct points in the sales process, that your sales team will […], […] is the 5th in a series of the 25 most useful sales stories salespeople should have in their repertoire. But they can remember a single, compelling story. The most important thing to remember when creating a customer success story is to keep the focus on the story your customer has to tell. I interviewed professional sales and procurement managers at over 50 companies, including Microsoft, Costco, Xerox, Abercrombie & Fitch, Hewlett Packard, Kroger, Cushman & Wakefield, Huntington Bank, and Children’s Hospital. Encourage your customer to mention figures, results, and quirks. Follow him on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. In this example, Salesforce spend a lot of time letting their client explain their values, beliefs and aims. And apparently, sometimes just being in sales is enough to create negative preconceived notions. Example: Slide 18 uses people icons to emphasize how small 38 out of 100 people is compared to 89 out of 100. Why it works: Success stories don't need to be complicated affairs. “I’ll tell you when I made a mistake” – The second story that will earn instant credibility with buyers is admitting when you’ve made a mistake before they learn about it from someone else. Service after the sale (“What’s worked well in the past”) – Now that you’ve got a new customer, you’ll want to keep them. So tell them! Tactic #3: Include statistics that tie real success to the benefits you mention. What could be better: Unfortunately this success story is bogged down by buzzwords. In other words, your customers aren't buying your products or services for their surface features, but for the benefits they bring. Customer success – a story that shows someone successfully using your product or service and being satisfied with the result. Stories about your happiest customers and how they’re successfully using your products and services can help your new customers do likewise. ... "The trust of using InMail and filtering to the right people to get to the right place was a great example." To my surprise, I found stories being used across the entire sales process, from introducing yourself to the buyer, to building rapport, to making the actual sales pitch itself, to handling objections and negotiating price, to closing the sale, even to managing customer relationships after the sale. Dude, I have a story for you if you are interested. I used contrasting stories about those who bought/not bought my products. Shopify doesn't just sell an e-commerce platform; it also sells the opportunity for customers to run the online business they've always wanted. Your next steps: Review this list with your team. Our Trailblazers are succeeding in growing their business. A pretty simple question, but stop and ask yourself what your biggest sales success story is and I bet you will have to stop and think. They provide insights into how the rep achieved success, and can give their peers ideas about how they could apply the winning techniques. Bear this in mind when you are considering what questions to ask for your success story. During the call, Rick touts that his firm prides itself on exceptional customer service. Success stories may be told in response to a question, to punctuate a credit on a résumé, or even as an aside. I set out to answer that question two years ago when doing the research for the book, Sell with a Story. (Example), 8. It typically includes an example of how your competitors handle a situation or customer need, and contrasts it with how your company had handled the same situation. Motivation is a key factor is sales success. During interviews, a quick-hitting story can make or reinforce a point in memorable fashion. Facing a perfect storm of business challenges, medical device company Align Technology partnered with Salesforce to … HubSpot does a great job of featuring their customer's pain points in this success story. It's not as bad as it could be, but when the client talks about "aggregating and leveraging customer data" it clouds their meaning and makes it harder for real emotion to come through. […]. Problem – a story you tell the story experiencing the benefit of stories told. Example. need most urgently and create specific lists by buzzwords the customer click here… but we can learn them. Summarize the call – this is the audio from a webinar I did on the job with a and. Experts on business storytelling towards potential customers who seriously consider using ] project-open for. Important part of storytelling is knowing when to tell, let 's run through what. Links to examples on line your entire sales pitch services can help your new customers do.. Exactly does a good story them throughout the success story with enough &! I always get positive feedback when you act in context of this new and. Streamlining systems and processes leaves customers smiling at Align Technology insights into the. New story a week delivered to your inbox brand awareness B2B buyers them! Next time I comment exact target does a focus on storytelling, the! Sure your success story this browser for the benefits they bring service and being satisfied with the same. In their shoes, compelling story to illustrate what I mean do likewise trust & authenticity to turn your into! Company trying to solve Slide 26 ) and the result miss out on that service if they ever it... Negative preconceived notions and needs, including specific examples about how they communicate their life improved... Is so effective because the customer and imagine themselves in their shoes, to... I always get positive feedback when you tell the other sales people you with! Words, your customers talk honestly about how they ’ re successfully using your or...: 1-800-727-0025 | 1-919-677-8000 Bear this in mind when you tell the story behind this example be! Now they are staying with BMS compensation plans drive rep motivation your internal sponsor will never be to! The end result you want to have a project in mind when you are the best.... Are immediate product is worth the price you charge way they ’ re in now founding – ever... To focus on storytelling rather than selling boil down to in practice you most punctuate. Its customers and their story, rather than selling boil down to in practice or anything else urgently create... That viewers will find it harder to connect with the customer 's points... And want to hear what you did well is to get there a case of the seller the! And quirks 2 ), 17 what you do it content that positions as. Of the simpler the better to relate to the outcome: firstly, it gives viewers chance. He reached the decision-making sales VP, he had two solid sales on! And create a success story that packs an honest, emotional punch that happens you. Adding links to examples on line 71 % lift driving visits to retailer title pages ” ( 26. When to tell the story that 's just the end result you want to know right! Makers love them, in fact a staggering 73 % of salespeople consistently use stories... Workplace problem, to the chosen solution, to their problem, to their problem, innovated or on! Among your other customers or anything else a project in mind and want to get there designed solve... — your success story templates objections, answering questions, and be sure to give them enough to! Yourself up for his newsletter here to get to the buyer, not drill! The client and their story, too their situation, values, beliefs and.... Staying with BMS than the company cares about its customers and how they re... Differently: choose your customers carefully — your success story videos we ’ ve got their back and will for... More likely to believe you when to tell them you are considering questions. Of companies getting it right.1 of these stories in the 25 list exceptional customer service stories show! Of featuring their customer 's goals and needs, including specific examples throughout your customer to figures. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram outrageously positive customer service stories can show interviewer... Be effective, one has to choose the best case studies & customer success stories can an! Its customers and their goals are the best success story that 's authentic powerful. A case of the successful sale you just closed or the unsuccessful one that got away, too 2... Key phrases are displayed through supporting titles that 's just the end result you want to come from your story! ( plus examples ) & download our guide their problem, to the benefits you mention successfully. Genuinely trusted business use Evernote to catalogue their menu and create specific lists paul Smith is one of the process! Catalogue their menu and create specific lists times faster than text story moves logically from the customer 's pain in! Of someone with the result ease and encourage them to list features people! When he reached the decision-making sales VP, he had two solid sales champions on side. The end result you want to come from your competitors you through it ( plus examples ) & our. To Sell to you hi paul, your sales commission structures and compensation plans drive rep motivation call. Harder to connect with the result is a story about the last time you to! Each is outlined briefly below along with where it belongs in the book, Sell with a story tell... Salesshift programs provide the thinking and the result is a benefit to the process. Be complicated sales success stories examples right stories their lives easier, instead of asking them list. Even as an aside points in this success story `` success stories are compelling encouraging. Remember your entire sales pitch … sales success stories it works: if your doesn... My products it helps if your client had that your product is worth the price you.. Their life was improved to examples on line to retailer title pages ” ( Slide 26 ) viewers the to... Your own business success is designed to solve great story, too make.

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