How to tell a story that gets you referrals

Last time we talked about how you should train your BNI to sell on your behalf. Like a good sales manager, you must equip your ‘team’ with the tools they need for the sales process. One technique is to tell a good story.

A good story which helps your team sell on your behalf should be viral in nature. In other words, one they believe is worth repeating – whether it’s at the water-cooler or around the barbeque.

The first element of a good viral story is the passion with which you deliver it. Your delivery must be enthusiastic and passionate because it doesn’t matter how good a story is if nobody is made to listen. If you talk softly, in a monotone or with little enthusiasm, that mood translates to your audience and they probably won’t even tune into most of it – never mind remember it.

So what are the elements of a good story? Well, a joke is a good story… look how often people are want to repeat good jokes. I’m not suggesting you tell jokes, but that you analyse a joke that you like to see how it works and why it works.

Another way is to tick the boxes on these elements of a good story:

* The story should have a hero – usually you or someone in your company;
* The story should have a ‘damsel in distress. It is important that we care about our damsel. Tell us a bit about them. Why he or she is a good person and why we should care about what happens to that person.

* The story should be about a problem – remember a problem is really a situation which is ignored. When that situation is ignored it becomes a problem., and the longer we ignore it the bigger the problem becomes.

* The problem should hold consequences for the person we care about. It’s not something we want them to have to endure, or at least endure further.

* Complication – just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, there’s a complication. Perhaps your customer tries to solve their problem and only ends up making it worse.

* The story should have a challenge. What are the obstacles to solving the problem?

* Finally, the grand finale. How did you solve the problem? How did you overcome the obstacles to get there, and what was the final big problem – the dragon you had to slay?

If we care about the ‘damsel’ then the solution needn’t be dramatic, or funny or carry a great punch line – although it helps.

The most important thing is that we care for the people involved.

And that is how you keep your audience riveted. Oh yes, one final thing – you have 60 seconds; but don’t worry… all the great stories are short and sharp.