What are some best practices for using storytelling in your sales pitch?

1 Why storytelling works

Storytelling works because it engages the emotions and the imagination of your listeners. It helps you create rapport, build trust, and show empathy. It also makes your message more memorable, persuasive, and relatable. By telling stories, you can appeal to the needs, wants, and pain points of your prospects, and show them how your solution can help them achieve their goals or solve their problems.

5 How to link your stories to your pitch

Your stories should not be isolated from your pitch. They should support and reinforce your main message and call to action. You should always link your stories to your pitch by using transitions, questions, or summaries. For example, you can use a transition like "This story illustrates how..." or "This is similar to what..." to connect your story to your value proposition or your customer testimonial. You can also use a question like "How does this relate to your situation?" or "What would this mean for you?" to invite your prospect to reflect on your story and apply it to their own context. You can also use a summary like "The key takeaway from this story is..." or "The main benefit of this story is..." to highlight the main point and value of your story.

6 How to measure your storytelling effectiveness

The ultimate goal of storytelling is to influence your prospect's decision and move them closer to a sale. Therefore, you should measure your storytelling effectiveness by the results you achieve. You can use metrics like response rate, engagement rate, conversion rate, retention rate, or referral rate to track how your stories affect your prospect's behavior and actions. You can also use feedback, testimonials, or referrals to gauge how your stories affect your prospect's perception and satisfaction.