Sales Narratives That Drive Results: Strategies for Leading Clients and Closing Deals

Mastering the right sales narrative can be the key to unlocking consistent success in your sales process. Let’s be clear, most salespeople are out there winging it, throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. But the truth is, only a well-crafted narrative will have your clients eating out of your hand.

Most sales organizations use a narrative that we can call the “why us” narrative. This narrative is supposed to cause buyers, decision-makers, and other stakeholders to buy from the salesperson and their company. Unfortunately, this narrative is better shared at the later part of the sales conversation, where it makes better sense to the buyer. You don’t want to start with "why us" because it feels like you are pitching before you create value, a sure way to kill the sale before it starts.

There are better and more helpful narratives that create value for the task force engaging in the sales process. If you want to improve your sales results, a handful of narratives will point you in the right direction. The list of narratives can prepare you to lead your client while providing them with a better buying experience. Your narrative should be so compelling that it has your client dancing to your drumbeat.

1. The Case for Change: “Why Change” Narrative

This narrative requires you to use a set of insights capable of telling a story that helps the client to recognize the need to change. It is important to use data and citations that provide the credibility necessary for the client to believe the narrative is true. Without proof, your narrative may fail. This narrative should be front and center. No one will give you time or consider your solution if there is no reason to change. You can’t sell something to a person who doesn’t see a reason to buy.

2. Managing the Transition: The Change Management Narrative

There are a number of narratives that include an element of risk mitigation. The change management narrative is one you use to address the challenges of change and a new solution. You will need to share how you will support the client through the transition, ensuring the implementation and any required integration are considered. In my view, this can make it easier for your sales champion and their team to engage in the buying process with less fear. If you aren’t addressing the fear, you’re creating greater fear in your client.

3. Demonstrating Expertise: The Expertise Narrative

Your clients want you to assure them that you have deep industry knowledge and experience to build trust, credibility, and thought leadership. Now more than ever, clients want you to have the same knowledge and experience in their industry. This dual narrative will position you as both an expert and an authority. You must know that if you are not an expert, your client will seek a salesperson who is an expert. If you are not here, I implore you to make this your most important development initiative. If you’re not the expert, you’re just another commodity.

4. Establishing Partnership: The Partner Narrative

This narrative, while being important, defines you as a strategic partner. This narrative will differentiate you from your transactional competitors, who fail to prove that they can be a partner and consultant. Your narrative should present you as proactive and capable of creating new value over time. Your competitors will come to hate you for stealing their clients and beating them in competitive pursuits. You want to discourage your competitors while leaving your clients elated. Make your competitors envy your success while your clients sing your praises.

5. Staying Ahead: The Future-Ready Narrative

We have two outcomes for this narrative. First, you emphasize how your company is continually developing in a changing business environment. Second, articulate your plan to help your client stay aware of future challenges and opportunities, helping them change before it becomes necessary. You always want to be in front of your clients. They will come to believe that you can see around corners and have an amazing intuition. If you’re not leading your clients to the future, you’re a history lesson.

6. Leading with Innovation: The Innovation Narrative

You may work for a company that innovates. By using a narrative that highlights how your company is on the cutting edge and keeps you ahead of your competitors with the latest or most advanced solutions or options, you position yourself as the clear choice. This narrative will cause your client to prefer you over competitors who haven’t made any progress since the second Clinton Administration. If you’re not innovating, you’re dying.

7. Differentiating Your Approach: The Model Narrative

This is one of my favorite narratives. The strategy with this narrative is called triangulation, as it allows you to differentiate your delivery model from all other models. By counseling your contacts about the concessions of your competitors' models, you remove your competitors completely. The right model can make you the only choice in a crowded market. (At some point in the future, we will release a very short course on this strategy.

8. Mitigating Risks: The Risk-Mitigation Narrative

In the third decade of the 21st century, this narrative is a must-have, and it should be your first priority. This narrative will have you talking about reducing risks. You may have to deal with operational, financial, and compliance issues, making you the safest choice. There are a lot of ideas about de-risking the deal. Long-time readers will know we believe that buyers are making a rare decision they must get right on the first attempt. If you’re not addressing risk, you’re likely creating it.

9. Showcasing Success: The Customer-Success Narrative

This narrative will share success stories, case studies, and the significant results you’ve achieved for your clients. Testimonials can help you to fuel your customer-success narrative. This can give your clients the confidence and certainty they need to buy from you and your company. This is better delivered later in the sales conversations. To get this right, add the right stories. Success stories are powerful proof—but use them wisely.

Gaining Mastery: How to Practice and Implement Sales Narratives Effectively

You may not have experience selling using these powerful narratives, so you may have to study them. Start by writing one that will cause your client to find you helpful while also ensuring you have the right narrative for what they need to be able to move forward. Kennedy would say that practice doesn’t make perfect—perfect practice makes perfect. So, you’d better get it right.

If you have an enablement function, you may be able to acquire a set of narratives that have been tested over time. If you have never used a narrative, you would do well to practice on your peers, and if that isn’t possible, use the narrative on a client who will give you feedback and suggestions to improve. Work until your narrative is bulletproof.

All you and I have to win deals is a conversation, even though too few salespeople spend enough time working on the narratives needed to sell as effectively as possible. If you are a salesperson, work on a script that you memorize, allowing you to master the narratives. As Kennedy would say, a script isn’t a crutch—it’s a weapon.

If you are a sales leader, provide your sales teams with well-designed narratives, train them on the content, and practice until your team can handle any challenge by applying the right narrative to overcome any resistance. This is where B2B selling and B2B sales training are going. As Kennedy would wrap up, if you’re not training, you’re falling behind.

As always, do good work, and I’ll see you here tomorrow.

P.S. If you find this interesting, you will love Elite Sales Strategies: A Guide to Being One-Up, Creating Value, and Becoming Truly Consultative.