Too many businesses focus on selling to their audience. We’re so eager to convert on leads and turn them hot by squeezing dollars out of them. But that’s not the best way to do marketing anymore. What we should be doing more is story telling.
Stories have been around for the longest time. We use it in management, public speaking and teaching. Yet one application to storytelling that too many people miss out on is using it as a sales and marketing tool. If there’s something that all business should be doing is telling stories to their audience.
Social media and videos allow for much better and flawless storytelling today. Anyone can now tell a compelling story through these platforms. But it does still cost time, energy and resources to do so. The linger question for companies now is this: why should we be spending money and effort into telling good stories? Here are three reasons why.
1. Stories connect with people
On so many levels, stories connect. When it’s easy to connect, it’s easier to convert. That’s because connections build trust, which is an essential element to a purchase. No one buys what they don’t trust. And that makes connection such an important piece to the buying process.
So much of storytelling is building a common ground for businesses and their target market. When you tell a story right you become relatable. When you’re relatable, people trust your brand more and will not just purchase but even patronize.
2. Storytelling is more concise than a sales pitch
Telling a story may be a lot of work, but not as much work as building up a sales pitch. On average, sales copies on online sites can be as much as twice as long as story copies. Moreover, storytelling comes much more natural than cold selling which means you spend less time thinking about it too.
Aside from taking more time, selling also takes more effort. That’s because you want a sales pitch to be perfect and flawless. One wrong statement and it’s over. But with stories, you can be candid and informal. Overall storytelling takes lesser time and effort than cold selling.
3. Stories hit emotions and logic
People tend to be emotional buyers, so if you want to convert on a sale, you have to touch the heart and not just fill the brain with information. Purchases are more affected by values than they are details.
When telling a story, you tap into the emotions of audiences. A story, if told right, can invoke inspiration, motivation or urgency. This then makes it easier to jump at the right time and throw a call to action that will turn that impression into a sale.
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