Two “Don’ts” of Storytelling
DON’T…Create a longwinded story that’s hard to follow. If it’s 3
minutes or longer, pare it down to under a minute. Especially if
you’re talking to a person who’s not writing the check, it makes it
easier to share with economic buyers.
DON’T…Tell the wrong story perfectly. For example, a story
about bending the rules on behalf of a customer might be a
good service lesson, but might also lead clients to
think you’ll bend if they bark loud enough.
A Speaker’s Perspective
Whitley notes that some industries
take better advantage of stories than
others—authors, movie producers,
teachers, preachers, and of course, professional speakers. Nonetheless, while
speakers may have their on-stage tales
perfected, the sales process often represents a more daunting challenge.
“These types of stories have incred-
ible power for salespeople,” he says. “As
speakers, we all have a signature story
and a bucketful of other anecdotes. But
before you get to communicate with the
audience, you first have the challenge
of getting the gig. Even if you don’t
like sales, this formula can give you an
easy framework to position yourself as
a valuable resource and then let your
story demonstrate your ability to help.”
Finally, Whitley believes that client
attraction stories remind salespeople
(and professional speakers) of their own
value. He says he envisions himself in a
lifeboat filled with lifejackets, with his
clients splashing around out in the water.
“I’m throwing lifejackets out as fast
as I can,” he says. “Some will take one
and others won’t, but if you don’t take a
lifejacket I don’t feel rejected, I kind of
feel sorry for you. If you want to get in
the lifeboat, and stay in the lifeboat, just
develop one good client attraction story
and share it over and over—every time
you share it, it builds your self-belief
and creates authentic enthusiasm.”
At that point, you’re no longer selling,
you’re just helping. And that, says Whitley,
is the most powerful position in sales.
After hearing Bill Whitley’s tale
about the professor who was
saved from financial ruin by an
umbrella policy, contributing
writer Jake Poinier immedi-
ately contacted his insurance provider. Jake
can be reached at Jake@BoomvangCreative.
com or followed on Twitter @DrFreelance.
THE ANATOMY OF A
CLIENT ATTRACTION
STORY
Whitley provides the following example of a
true client attraction story he developed for
his insurance client, annotated with the five
elements of an effective story.
BACKGROUND/HERO
“You know, one of my clients is a college
professor. Nice guy, smart guy.”
JOURNEY
“One day, he was driving home from work, and
it started to pour rain. He pulled up to a stop
light, and was going to make a right on red. He
looked left, saw no oncoming traffic.”
OBSTACLE
“Just when he made the turn, someone ran
across the intersection to get out of the rain. My
client never saw him and hit him with his car.
$900,000 later, the last medical bill was paid.”
SOLUTION
“Fortunately, one year before the accident,
my client had purchased a $1 million per-
sonal umbrella policy from me.”
RESULTS
“There’s not a time that he sees me that he
doesn’t come up and thank me for selling
him that policy. By the way, had he not
bought that policy, he’d have exhausted all
of his savings, gone into debt, and then into
bankruptcy. But because he had the policy
in place, there was no financial impact at all.”
