Page 142 - enLIGHTenment Magazine - January 2017

on the mark

and, more importantly, is willing to – master the story is fashioned well, you (as the guide) have the
skills required to deliver the value of a human-to- map the customer needs, and they will know it.

human interaction. Doing this correctly creates Examples of stories could be the myths about
loyalty for both the salesperson and the store.
LED lamps, lead-time disappointments, or a light-

ing remodel that increased a home’s value. The
new skILLs To acQuIre
material you need for these stories comes from

➠STORYTELLER
your real-life, day-to-day interactions with clients.

When communicating with people in a human-
to-human way, the power of “Storytelling” is ➠D IGITAL SKILLS

valuable. “Stories” are an emotional journey that It might seem odd to include “Digital Skills” as
a ects your customer and are memorable.
part of an article on human-to-human selling, but

The basics are easy to grasp. When creating your the Internet allows customers to check out which

story, four segments must be included: Character company (or person) is the best t for their needs
(Hero or Villain), Con ict, Solution, and Result.
before they ever get into their cars.

The hero is a person who, like the customer, is In my mind, it is no longer a question whether to
facing a similar problem. When your customer can be active in social media or not. The real question is:

relate to the hero’s journey, they mentally go along When will it become an essential part of your sales

for the ride with them and will want the same or a department’s job description? No ma er what a
di erent result (based on the con ict).
sta member’s current digital skill level is, becoming

Your stories must relate the experience the cus- pro cient with social media should be a professional
tomer had or did not have, while only giving a minor development goal for 2017 and beyond.

role to you, your store, and your product. When a
Having a strong command of digital skills

It might seem odd

to include “Digital

Skills” as part of an

article on human-

to-human selling,

but the Internet

allows customers

to check out

which company

(or person) is the

best t for their

needs before they

ever get into

their cars.

140 enLIGHTenment Magazine | january 2017
www.enlightenmentmag.com