Storytelling is one of the most successful techniques of modern corporate communication, especially in digital sales since the majority of customers usually have already made their purchase decision before making the buy.

Whether you're a sales or marketing leader, without good storytelling, you'll be less successful in your sales funnel. The challenge and art is to influence interested parties with compelling stories and relevant content in such a way that they get on the shortlist of the few companies that will ultimately be contacted as possible suppliers.

Storytelling might seem to be old hat but actually is still popular since people are naturally curious and always hunger for great stories. Especially for those that are not based on bare facts and figures, but on unique stories that have never been told (like this) before. Interestingly, our brains hardly differentiate between things that we experience ourselves and things that happen in stories. Stories appear as if what is being told is our own experience and idea, hence, we sympathize, our pulse increases and our heart beats faster.

In business life, communication has, however, only one main function which is to inform and convince people. Therefore, conviction is the fuel of all communicative activities in companies and organizations. But since a good story touches our hearts and brings a clear competitive and sales advantage, we must try telling a compelling one that’s unique and individual.

That way, you simply stand out from the crowd of competitors, in times of products and services becoming increasingly comparable and interchangeable. In other words, it doesn't matter what you're selling, whether it's a product or a service, there is always a story behind the product. And if it's just your own story of how you came up with your product.

Storytelling is the most effective form of communication in the world because the brain remembers stories and influences us, considering that purchasing decisions are not solely made in the brain, since gut feeling is the deciding factor.

The fact is that compelling stories

• are remembered 22 times better than facts, according to Stanford professor Jennifer Aaker, and sell at least twice as well as facts, revealed an experiment, by addressing more areas of the brain than data, facts and figures do;
• arouse our curiosity, offer entertainment, and are more likely to be passed on or shared than plain facts;
• can pack hard facts and complex issues in a more exciting way and convey them more easily in a simplified form;
• address our subconscious, captivate our brain and influence our thoughts and actions

In a nutshell, storytelling is the best way to reach your customers during the customer journey, because every digital sales funnel comes to life with good stories and invites you to continue reading and clicking.

By Daniela La Marca