Sell like a consultant and close deals!

I do not consider myself a salesperson, but for over twenty years I have closed (and successfully delivered) many large deals by building confidence in the validity of my solutions and inspiring action. This requires me to present compelling stories that I ground in Aristotle's modes of persuasion. A powerful story creates awareness and feelings, as well as a call to action.

To convince his audience, Aristotle articulated great rhetorical arguments around three modes of persuasion—ethos, logos, and pathos. Ethos is about establishing credibility to speak with authority on a subject, logos is the logical argument and the information that support the point of view presented, and pathos reaches the audience emotionally.

Before addressing what constitutes a compelling story, it goes without saying that you have to know the topic and have an opinion on it. Clients will not give you a second chance if you waste their time.

The key components of a compelling story are:

Mindset—to quote Zig Ziglar, "Stop selling, start helping." You must shift your mindset, show empathy and a genuine willingness to support your client. However, remain credible. Clients are savvy and know that you are here for business. They can see through a sales pitch but will value help.

Credibility—being able to show that you have solved similar issues in the past certainly establishes credibility (ethos), which is why consultants can be phenomenal salespersons. However, showing "the scars of the last five battles" is not enough. You have to build rapport by relating to the client and demonstrating keen insight into their industry and their own firm, presenting emerging game changers like industry and technology trends, social considerations, etc. This implies that you know your audience, their challenges, predispositions, expectations, and interests. Without that grounding, you are setting yourself up for failure.

Tantalizing vision—while the traditional approach (reviewing the current state – presenting a future state – exploring how to bridge the gap) is valid, your ability to think from the future as opposed to about the future determines success or irrelevance. Forget about the present, forget about predictions—project your client in the future, create confidence by painting a compelling picture of what success will look like, and generate excitement around a new but plausible reality and new possibilities. Make the story about them, not about you, and tell stories that relate to them, stories about return on investment (ROI); community engagement; Net Promoter Score (NPS); Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG); or diversity and inclusion. This will create in your client an emotional journey (pathos) when they envision themselves achieving these results.

The need for change—the tantalizing vision has already created the desire to change, to be in a better place. Now it is time to create the "why," the need and urgency for change, by establishing that the current state is not good enough and why a "do nothing" attitude will result in adverse impacts. "Why" is a powerful word, and unless the audience feels its depth, they will not understand the need for change! Therefore, once again, tell stories about things they will relate to like slipping market share, project failures, or languishing share price. Presenting a logical argument supported by clear evidence (logos) will reinforce their emotional state and desire to change.

Create hope—a convincing story is an emotional roller coaster and, at this point in time, the client must feel trapped in the Pit of Despair, understanding that the current state is not an enviable place. It is time to rally and show them there is hope, another emotion, and reinforce their desire for success. I have found it much more persuasive to go back and forth between the current state and the enticing vision, amplifying their desire for success and the negative emotions associated with the undesirable current state. ?

Set the path—the next step is to present a breakthrough, the "what" needs to be done to climb out of the pit—the details of the "how" are not important at this stage. Starting with showing the pitfalls and describing approaches that have failed will position yourself as a frank and forthright person, not a dream seller. Your client will understand that others have been in a similar situation and have failed to address the issues.

Only then can you show them a credible path to success. Reinforce your credibility by projecting confidence and presenting past experience when you have successfully helped clients in similar situations. The audience will see you, your firm, your offering as a differentiated solution to move them from their current undesirable place to a new reality.

Do it with them, not to them—"Strategy without action is hallucination," and the path to success should also be supported by action. Showing a genuine willingness to co-create and collaborate will increase the likelihood of closing a deal and build trust that is key in developing business relationships. According to Dr. Yoram Solomon, founder of the Trust Building Institute and author of many books on developing trust in organizations, a trustworthy salesperson can sell the same thing for a 29.6% higher price while an untrustworthy salesperson would have to discount by 22.8%.?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

In summary, establish your credibility and act like a consultant who wants to help, not sell. Then create awareness of a desirable and plausible future and remind your client that the current state is not sustainable. Demonstrate the need for change by appealing to the audience's feelings and emotions. Close by presenting a path to successfully bridge the gap between the current state and the tantalizing vision, supported by collaborative action.

Now, deliver on your promises!