In today’s digitally connected world, selling isn’t easy. Buyers have all the information they need at the click of a button, and therefore, they are in control. So as a seller, how can you accelerate your sales success?
We’ve spoken a lot about the importance of highlighting your customers’ success stories. Whether it’s in the form of testimonials, case studies, written or video stories, customer quotes, etc. - you need this type of material to support your sales and marketing efforts.
Selling is just the art of conversation and storytelling. People are more likely to remember a story than a bunch of numbers or statistics. Stories work because they make your solution more memorable and help your customer visualize how you would help them achieve their goals.
Here are some reasons why you should start using customer success stories to positively influence your sales results:
1. Identify the Common Business Challenge
First, your buyer needs to identify the issue or challenge they are experiencing. Once they come to terms with their problem, they are ready to start researching how to fix it. This is where your educational content is going to be critical. Do you work with a variety of industries that have slightly different pain points? Make sure you have a story or example to share for each industry and buyer you are targeting. Creating valuable content to show your understanding of their business challenge will help create awareness of your product, service, or company. Again, the content should be focused on your buyer’s pain points — not your product or brand.
2. Show How Your Solution Delivers Results
Now that your prospective buyer has identified the problem and some possible solutions, what will make your product or service, and company stand out from the competition? Your buyer needs to be convinced they are making the right decision, which is why you need to work on establishing trust early in the process.
This may require a more detailed story that outlines:
- the key pain points and challenges
- the proposed and implemented solution
- the obstacles encountered
- the key results
3. Influence Credibility
When a prospect is considering your solution, they want to be reassured you are credible and have worked with companies like theirs before. There’s no better way to do this than to share a similar client story to establish your expertise. The better you can tell the story of who, what, why, and how you had success with other similar companies, the more effectively you’ll be able to communicate the benefits of your solution.
Using stories at every step of the sales process will help your prospects more easily identify their pain points, understand the solutions, and establish your credibility, which makes it more memorable for your buyer.
