How do you use stories and testimonials in your pitches?

In my consultation presentations, I have found great success in incorporating multiple stories laced with humor. This approach allows me to establish a genuine connection with prospects as we share laughter and create a more personal atmosphere. By putting their guard down, prospects feel at ease and find it easier to open up. The friendly and approachable nature of these stories leaves a lasting impression, ensuring that individuals remember not only the anecdotes but also myself and the services I provide.

Once upon a time, as all good stories begin, indeed as you have probably learned for all of your life. So as you share insight and experience with the next generation, story tellers need an audience to participate, young and old... Practice your delivery. Engage, enthuse and excite. But most importantly use your skills to embed feelings, which will carry and sustain the learning. To quote Maya Angelou I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

Stories and testimonials serve as powerful tools to bridge the gap between a product or service and its real-world impact. They humanize the offering, making it relatable. In a world saturated with information, personal stories cut through the noise, giving prospects tangible evidence of the value being offered. The human brain is hardwired to remember stories, making them a potent tool for lasting impressions. Testimonials, in particular, add authenticity and credibility.

Stories and testimonials give your prospect or client, not only an opportunity to relate to the situation and the "positive" outcome, but it also help them to learn a lot about YOU. Your excitement, seriousness, poise, humour, logical flow and situation handling in sharing that story, tells another story about your character and personality. And that insight will strongly influence their buy-in, and if they like you or your vibe. In the end, people prefer to do business with people they like and can trust. This is one way of creating and nurturing that ultimate goal.??

What are the top 3 things you use to sell your product (price, quality, etc). You can ask your customers “why do you buy from us”. Make sure you have a story to back up each of those claims. Bonus points if you understand the 3 objections your typically get and have stories to help reduce those concerns.

Stories help leaders make their message stick. Some listeners struggle to retain facts and data, but stories they can recall. Baking your message or teaching into a story helps connect with the people you lead.

Depending on my audience, I live discussing my work with the 49ers, Super Bowl 50, Golden State Warriors and more. If you understand your audience and tell stories that are engaging and impactful, not only will you increase the odds of selling, but having prospects that view you in a favorable manner could result in their willingness to pay more for what you are offering.

Grab testimonials from reviews on Amazon and bloggers, LinkedIn recommendations, and emails or other letters from clients, partners, even vendors. Get permission for specific use(s). Develop them by making it a habit to ask for a testimonial when completing a project, after a compliment, and when creating new collateral or updating a web site. Make it super easy for them to send you something. Use a tool like VideoAsk (there is a free version) for those who might be inclined to do a quick video. Others will prefer an email. Have a podcast? Record a clip separately or in the show. Coach without putting words in their mouths. Ask them to recount their experience. You are looking for a succinct sound bite that needs to ring true for them.

Ask your customers and suppliers for testimonials on what it’s like to work with you, made these reciprocal as that’s all good publicity for you too ?? Don’t underestimate the power of video testimonials as people see real people talking to the brand name/face.

As a real estate agent, I want to find stories and testimonials that can help me convince my prospects to work with me. Here are some tips on how to find them: - The best source of stories and testimonials is your existing customers and clients. You can ask them for feedback, reviews, referrals, or case studies, and use their words and experiences to illustrate your pitch. - You can use stories and testimonials from your own personal or professional background, as long as they are relevant and authentic. - You can also share stories about how you got into your profession, what challenges you faced, what successes you achieved, and what lessons you learned.

In a perfect world, you'll get an amazing case study and a video clip that has a perfect quote to pull out for print. Every author needs to collect several before publication. A note on collecting testimonials: don't be pushy. Use a soft deadline well in advance of projects such as remaking collateral and site redesigns. They are doing you a favor and you want a thoughtful piece, not a rushed job. A deadline, whether hard or soft, helps insure the project doesn't get lost in the ether.

? Here are some tips: Start with a strong hook. This is the first thing your audience will hear, so make sure it's something that will grab their attention and make them want to listen more. Introduce the problem. Next, identify the problem or challenge that your product or service solves. Present your solution. Now it's time to introduce your product or service as the solution to the problem. Explain how it works and what benefits it offers. Include a testimonial. This is where you can let your customers speak for you. End with a call to action. Tell your audience what you want them to do next, whether it's to sign up for a free trial, schedule a demo, or make a purchase.

A good story starts with a character……YOU! You are the reason your product exists so I would start there. Start by explaining why your here; what drove you and then through that articulate how you then got there how it came to be. This will bring you onto where you are. Now this is where the magic happens an entrepreneur is selling a vision of the future so now you need to articulate where you are going next supporting it with well thought out plans to enable those to join you on your never ending journey (well until you exit).

You'll want to structure your stories and testimonials in a way that can capture your prospects’ attention, interest, and desire. A good story or testimonial should have a clear beginning, middle, and end, and follow a simple formula: situation, problem, solution, and outcome. The situation sets the context and introduces the main character or customer. The problem describes the challenge or pain point that they faced. The solution explains how you helped them overcome the problem. The outcome shows the benefits or results that they achieved. Also add a call to action or a question at the end - to invite your prospects to take the next step or to engage with you.

This one’s easy, deliver it your way. To many people line people up ready to present, but when Alan Turing wanted his machine to work did he act different? No, he did it his way. An entrepreneurs focus is to to deliver on there goals and that means delivering with there unique method, but be sure to be confident, whoever your selling too whether it’s equity or product or whomever following you into the roller coaster that is entrepreneurship needs to feel safe.

You need to practice sharing your stories so you are consistent with any data you share, but you have to do it in an organic way. You also need to sell to your audience, so stay aware of the room you are in and the visual signs given off by your audience. If they look bored or uninterested, it’s ok to stop and pose a question and redirect if needed.

I have often touted the power of stories. There is something about a story that conveys information more effectively than any pitch, power point presentation, or chart ever could. I find, however, that a story is most effective when it is organic. If storytelling doesn't come naturally to you and it helps you to find some stories, script them out, and practice telling them, that's fine. However you don't want to insert them into your sales pitch just for the sake of checking off a box. Keep it natural and don't be afraid to go "off book" from your prepared script when it seems appropriate.

Look to gather testimonials that address various problems that you solve. That way you can use them in different venues; maybe even different industries. Showcase your clients. Let the voices of the testimonials provide all the subjectivity. Create a page on your web site for testimonials. Use them on your home page. Add them as a playlist on YouTube, to emailings, sales letters, email signatures and newsletters. Incorporate in slide presentations, webinars, courses, front matter of books, reports and white papers. Sprinkle in social media.

You'll want to deliver your stories and testimonials in a way that can impress your prospects and persuade them to work with you. Use a confident, enthusiastic, and conversational tone, and avoid sounding scripted, boring, or salesy. Sound like you are having a friendly chat with your prospects, not like you are reading from a script or giving a lecture. Also, use words and phrases that show your passion, excitement, and sincerity, such as “I love”, “I’m thrilled”, or “I’m so happy”. In addition, use sensory language, emotions, and gestures, to make your stories and testimonials more vivid and compelling. Use words and phrases that appeal to the five senses, such as “bright”, “warm”, “soft”, “loud”, or “delicious”.

You have to be mindful of communcation rule Number 1 Know your audience. Off of the top I my head these are some areas when people err. 1. Using irrelevant or outdated references 2. Making it too complex or too simple simplistic. 3. Using internal jargon, that the client is not familiar with without explaining 4 Not adapting stories for different cultures 5 Telling stories that client cannot relate to 6 Failure to read body language and calibrate accordingly. 7 Unfocused stories that are hard to follow 8. Boring stories

Many fail when they go in and just rattle off story after story. The great sales professionals will ask great questions and use stories to enhance a position or negate a concern. Whole stories can be a powerful tool, they can easily become overused and create the opposite effect.

A rambling testimonial won't feature your client well. In just a couple of minutes, a preliminary chat helps them remember and focus on what was important about your work together. You'll get a better result that makes you both shine. Wouldn't it be fun if they got a piece of business because of the testimonial? If you email a request for a testimonial, you might prompt and remind them of a compliment they made or a key solution or result.

The story must make sense to the person you are telling it to- thus it is important that you know your audience first. The closer the main character of your story is to the demographic of your audience, the more effective it will be. Otherwise, it will simply sound like a sales pitch.

You'll want to use stories and testimonials to enhance your pitch, not to ruin it. Avoid using stories and testimonials that are too long, too vague, too generic, or too unbelievable. Keep your stories and testimonials concise, clear, specific, and realistic. Also, use details, data, and emotions that can support your message and show your value. Use stories and testimonials that match your audience, your purpose, and your offer. In addition, use stories and testimonials that are aligned with your brand, your values, and your reputation.

From a sales perspective, this appears to me that is not viable to measure objectively. You can from a marketing perspective What you can do is measure subjectively. Ask your self what was the outcome you wanted for the story/testimonial and how often did you achieve it?

Measuring results on testimonials? Even incurring the cost of a focus group only gets qualitative responses. Put the testimonials out to people whose opinion you respect. When chatting up prospects and new clients, ask them if there were testimonials they saw that resonated with them.

Some of the biggest deals in my career have come as a result of closing deals with a great story. “I think I understand your concern and with company A, they had the same one. We were able to XYZ and that led to lower cost, higher turnaround time, etc, etc. Timing is important. Tone and confidence are important. Honesty is also important: put those all together with a good story and you’ll improve your odds of closing.

The artful incorporation of stories and testimonials into your pitches is a powerful strategy. Firstly, it establishes credibility and trust by sharing personal anecdotes or real client experiences, reinforcing the authenticity and reliability of your leadership. Secondly, these narratives vividly illustrate the value of your proposals or vision by using real-life examples to demonstrate their concrete benefits for your team or organization. Thirdly, success stories emphasize the impact of your leadership, lending substantial weight to your ideas and objectives. Finally, by concluding your pitches with a compelling call to action tied to these stories, you inspire your team or stakeholders to wholeheartedly embrace your vision.