Come on, I'll tell you a fairy tale - that is, storytelling

Did you know that supermarket shelves have different prices - which manufacturer will pay more, the goods will be at the customer's eye level? Did you know that TV commercials refer to your feelings - diet pills are supposed to make you happier and good motor oil will generate more success for women? Most people are already familiar with these and other tricks used by marketers - which makes them ineffective. Therefore, advertising is directly replaced with something fundamentally simpler, more primary and - more effective. History. Hear what storytelling is.

Storytelling - come on, let me tell you a fairy tale ...

... but it doesn't have to be long. Telling business stories among professionals is called storytelling. This method of selling is not based on classic advertising, but on telling the customer a business story that is to convince him that a given product or service may not be necessary for him, but it will certainly make his life easier.

When we say "story" we do not mean a fairy tale, a fairy tale or a parable, which is told in order to make the client's time more pleasant and relax him. A business story is a properly selected story that allows the client to imagine what we would like to convey to him. Therefore, when we go to storytelling, we indicate what his life looks like or can look like without using our offer, how the actions taken may turn out to be ineffective and tiring, and how - thanks to a revolutionary solution that we propose - the problem can be solved at a much lower cost.

It would seem that storytelling is no different from stories in TV or radio commercials. This is not quite the case - telling yourself different things is rooted in human nature far more than giving in to someone else's influence. First there were mouth-to-mouth stories, then they began to be captured in the form of drawings, finally of text. According to Carl Gustav Jug's theory, stories, fairy tales and myths mean more to people than they think - they create a collective unconscious. It is a creation that shapes our personality from an early age and influences it through a set of all developed reactions to life situations, culture and science. According to this theory, modern man develops from an early age completely differently than primitive man, and the influence of the primary unconscious is present in symbols, stories, stories and fairy tales.

Hence, listening and telling stories is in a way human nature. However, succumbing to someone else's influence, especially if we know that the other person has his own, completely unselfish purpose in it, is in contradiction with them. To spite my grandmother, I will frostbite my ears, and to spite marketing specialists, I will turn off the TV advertisement and not buy a product that has been pressed by the most fashionable celebrity recently.

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That is why storytelling can be a successor to the classic, somewhat "overrated" advertising. A properly constructed business story can work wonders.

Storytelling - how to build a perfect business story?

A business story will therefore become the key to the customer's heart when it is properly created and told. First of all, it should be remembered that the story is supposed to be liked and directed not to us, but to the client.

Therefore, it can be based on two basic scenarios - either by talking about an event that happened to someone else or by presenting a potential vision of the client's life. In both cases, the point is for the listener to identify with the hero of the story presented to him and become interested in the story. Identification is the first step to engagement that is easiest to arouse through emotions.

Therefore, the next point of storytelling is an indication of how big a problem the hero had or how complicated the customer's life can become without choosing a service or goods. Of course, the problem cannot be unsolvable, and life cannot be tragic like in Werther's, because no one will believe such a fairy tale. It is more about showing that, yes, there are alternatives, but not fully meeting the requirements and expectations on this particular issue. On the other hand, the best solution - which, of course, the imaginary hero has used or to which the client has access - is to contact the sender of the business story, because he has the most optimal solution and virtually no flaws.

Referring to emotions, even if it does not result in an immediate purchase (it is not worth deluding ourselves, especially in the case of larger decisions, such as buying a house or a car), will certainly be remembered by the recipient. He also feels that this particular consultant was really helpful, he presented a solution, but he did not want to push his product hard without paying attention to the real needs of his client.

Storytelling is a quite innovative technique - especially in Poland. It is possible that it will not become a leader in sales techniques, but it can be an excellent alternative to classic methods, especially suited to those who know and like to tell stories. And everyone likes to listen to stories ...