Every Purchase Has a Story

There are 3 Rules to Modern Marketing. The primary being, YOU ARE NOT THE HERO, THE CLIENT IS. Once you understand this concept, then it is not a far jump to get to the next axiom. EVERY PURCHASE HAS A STORY. This story is a vital element in an understanding your client’s Unique Buying Strategy. In this session we want to look at how story impacts a prospect’s Unique Buyer Strategy.

For the past 2 decades I have been studying story and the power it has on the actions we take every day. The reason the homeless people I worked with finally broke the cycle or the business leaders transformed their business is the same, they changed the story they were living out of. Thousands of transformed lives have taught me one thing, it all comes down to story. This made me think, how much does story effect the sales process?

Look around you, right now. Just pick something random. 

· What was the story around that purchase? 

· Did you buy it out of necessity, was it an impulse buy? 

· Was this something you planned out or was it thrust upon you? 

There is always a story. This is because WE ARE SHAPED FOR STORY, SO THAT WE CAN BE SHAPED BY STORY. Everything you choose to purchase has a story behind it.

There is a lot of evolution going on in the marketing world. Whether you are talking about story-based marketing like Don Miller’s Storybrand, customer experience, customer journey mapping or the buyer’s journey, the changes are pushing us to develop more effective ways to develop resonance with the customer. Once they come through your door, sales should do the same. Developing a Unique Buying Strategy gives you the framework you need to insure you are aligned with your clients journey. Knowing their story is a vital element in the Buyer Strategy. There will come a time when Story Based Selling is basic level sales. Right now, it is the cutting edge to understanding where your client is in their journey and how to guide them to a solution.

When we drill in the online The Construct Key: Unlocking the Architecture of Awareness, we drill specific questions that become automatic for you to identify. The first step in any strategic engagement is insight. These deeper level questions allow for better insight into why they are buying, when they will buy, and how you can support them in making the right decision and finally acting. Here are a couple of questions you will need to answer to uncover their Unique Buying Strategy.

• When did this become important to them? This is a powerful question because it drills down to      the plot the prospect is living out of. Have they had this problem for a      while? (We discuss this question in more depth in the training.) Because      they must have a reason to change. When either the pain of staying the      same is more than the pain of change… or the solution becomes greater than      the problem could ever be, the prospect will change.
• What is the philosophical hurdle they must overcome? Every hero has a philosophical challenge they are      trying to solve. Maybe it’s not being good enough. Maybe it’s not trusting      the problem will go away. There is always a challenge that is more mental      than logical. Understanding the philosophical challenge gives you deeper      insight into the nature of the problem and the prospect.
• What is pushing this desire to change? You want to understand what your customer’s plot is.      By getting the plot you build more than just rapport. You build resonance.

The next time you hang up the phone with a prospect, ask yourself, how well can you answer those questions? Understanding the customer’s story will give you the framework you need to build out your prospect’s Unique Buying Strategy.

If you are really wanting to guide your customers more masterfully, download our app and get started on the online The Construct Key: Unlocking the Architecture of Awareness. 

Mastery is not a function of genius or talent. It is a function of time and intense focus applied to a particular field of knowledge. -Robert Greene