From the course: Selling with Stories, Part 2: Stories Great Sales People Tell

Personal motivation story

From the course: Selling with Stories, Part 2: Stories Great Sales People Tell

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Personal motivation story

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- One of the most important conversations you'll ever have as a salesperson isn't with the customer. It's with yourself. Studies show that how salespeople think about their purpose can significantly influence their job performance. In fact, one study had sales associates start reading stories each day before their shifts started. Half of them read stories about how much their job was gonna help them prepare for their future careers, but the second half read stories about how much their jobs were helping the customer in some way. Well, the first group didn't show any significant change in sales during the study, but for the second group, sales actually doubled. It turns out, people aren't as selfish as you might think. You know, we're far more motivated by the thought of being able to help other people than ourselves. And that's why sales coaches will often tell you to not even think of yourself as a salesperson. Think of yourself as the assistant buyer. Your job isn't to sell things. It's to the help the customer find what they need and want. And if you work towards that goal, it turns out, you'll sell more too. In the book, Selling with Noble Purpose, sales consultant, Lisa McLeod shares a great example from a sales rep at a major biotech company. Now, Lisa asks the rep, you know, "What do you think about when you go on a sales call? "What's going through your head?" Well, the sales rep just looked at her kinda sheepishly and then said, "You know, when I go on a sales call, "I always think about this particular patient "who came up to me one day when I was on a call "at a doctor's office and I was just standing in the hallway "talking to one of the doctors, "but I was wearing my company name badge so I stood out, "and then all of a sudden, this woman taps me on the shoulder and she says, "Excuse me, Miss, are you from the company "that makes Drug X? "Yes, Ma'am, I am. "I just wanted to thank you, she said, "before my doctor prescribed your drug, "I barely had enough energy to leave the house, "but now I can visit my grandkids. "I can get down on the floor and play with them. "I can travel, so thank you. "You really gave me my life back." The sales rep said, "I think about that woman every day. "If it's 4:30 on a rainy Friday afternoon, "other sales reps go home, I don't. "I make the extra sales call "because I know I'm not just pitching a product. "I'm saving people's lives. "That grandmother is my higher purpose." So, if you don't already have one of your own, you need your own personal motivation story like this one. You know, one that can remind you that you're actually doing your clients a great service. Here's how to get started. First, think about a time when you made a real difference for one of your customers. A time you went above and beyond what was expected of you. Now, recall that situation. Everything that surrounded it. What problem did the customer come to you with? What was your first reaction? Your second reaction? How did you solve the problem for them? What did they say to you when you delivered the solution? How'd it make them feel? Then think about the moment when you realized what you had done had made an extraordinary difference to the customer. Was it the words that they said to you? Was it, then, the tone of their voice? The sincere look in their eyes? The complementary note that they wrote your boss or the Supplier of the Year Award that was handed to you on stage? Or was it something else? And how did it make you feel at that moment? Close your eyes and think about that moment. That moment is the climax of the story that you're gonna create. Write down all of the events leading up to that moment and how it felt to know in that instant how important you were to that customer. That is your personal motivation story.

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