So you’re a whiz using CRM, you’re a cold calling machine and you don’t take no for an answer.  All of these are the traits of a successful salesperson. I’ve built many sales training programs and the ones that have the biggest impact were those that emphasized the soft skills: public speaking, building relationships and telling stories. 

Tools, programs, processes and training are certainly important but the goal is to enhance what’s already there – the sales person’s ability to connect with a customer and sell. In this article, I’ll share two techniques for tuning up your #1 sales tool – yourself.

1. Polish Your Presentation Skills

To become a polished presenter, practice makes perfect. Start by following the golden rule “we learn by doing.”  It takes guts to stand in front of a room and deliver a message in a meaningful way, minus the nervous sweating and odd physical ticks. Follow these strategies to improve your delivery:

•  Volunteer to facilitate team meetings or lead a discussion with the group, but don’t be an armchair quarterback.  Instead, tell the group that you’re working on your presentation skills and you’d like to lead from the front of the room.  
• Simply stand up and present your idea or topic.  As your confidence improves, increase your presence in the room: walk around, use first names, and make eye contact.
• Before the meeting, ask one or two of your peers to evaluate and take notes on your presentation style, for example, body language, voice tone and volume, and connection with the audience.  

Take action! If you’re really serious about improving, ask someone to record your presentation on video so you can watch it later and evaluate yourself in an objective manner. 

For a fantastic resource devoted to improving your public speaking and sales skills, check out Changingtools.com.

2. Become a Storyteller

Stories have a unique way of building trust, creating empathy and connecting us to others.  Nothing will help you forge a deeper connection with others better than storytelling.  Don’t just tell a story about how a customer was successful using your products or services – share a story about why they were successful.  For an excellent introduction to the power of why, take a look at Simon Sinek’s  “Start with Why” video on YouTube.

Storytelling is in our DNA and if you can tap into the power of storytelling it will do more for you than just increase your deal size. One of the most transformative sales training programs I’ve participated in, and highly recommend, is Ben Zoldan’s, Storyleaders™ workshop.  Storyleaders™ introduces the concept of vulnerability as a means to connect with others and build trust – which is essential to closing any deal. 

Take action!  Start by practicing your “Who Am I” story.  This story should reflect a period of transformation or change in your life.  As Ben Zoldan puts it, this story should describe an event where you came out of the experience as a different person – it solidified who you are today.  Ask for permission to share your story the next time you’re with a customer and watch how it unlocks the door to a whole new relationship.

In 20 years, I’ve never heard a customer say we’re happy being in 2^nd place or we don’t want to grow our business.  Solving a customer’s current pain is one way to close a deal but if you want them around for a long time you need to up your game.   You will build a stronger foundation of trust when you flex your new storytelling skills and share how others have overcome similar challenges and gone on to see incredible success .   We call these stories of transformation.  When you combine emotional and quantitative elements to your transformation stories I’m confident that you’ll be on your way to capturing not only their wallets but their hearts and minds as well.

If you’re interested in learning new tips and techniques to become an effective presenter, I’d recommend the free whitepaper “Presentation Effectiveness:  Speak More Effectively Guide” by Dale Carnegie. 

Happy Selling!

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