The link between storytelling and dealmaking
Advisor Relations
Every once in a while, you experience a workshop that really grabs your attention. I recently participated in a workshop like this—about storytelling—and it was so impactful I wanted to share some of my notes, insights, and learnings.
Storytelling isn’t something I always consider. When I’m called on to speak, I tend to think more about what (the message) I want to convey than how (what communication skills I can use) to convey it—but I’ve learned you need both to be an effective storyteller.
ISG Research data shows a strong correlation between your ability to share your stories in a way that is meaningful and memorable, with an ISG advisor’s ability to recognize the types of deals that are right for your firm:
| Providers told their story in a manner I am likely to remember | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ability to recognize the right types of deals for consideration | Excellent | Good | Average | Fair | Poor |
| Improved significantly | 53% | 21% | 7% | 2% | 0% |
| Improved slightly | 34% | 56% | 43% | 32% | 0% |
| Stayed about the same | 12% | 23% | 49% | 66% | 45% |
| Has decreased | 1% | 0% | 1% | 0% | 55% |
Effective storytelling can make all the difference between being memorable or not, and that can be the difference between moving from a longlist to a shortlist or being eliminated from consideration. When I look at data from the Advisor Experience Research and from our Post-Briefing Research, I see that nearly every provider has some low and some high ratings for their storytelling. In other words, there is a lot of variability in the quality of the storytellers at every provider. Many providers could benefit from better—or at least more consistent—storytelling.
Our workshop, led by ISG’s Randy Vetter, offered some great advice for providers interested in reexamining how they tell their client reference stories. The session included an exercise where provider participants shared their client success stories and a panel of peers and ISG advisors evaluated and scored their storytelling content and presentation skills. Randy helped us judge these stories through the lens of the five key elements of impactful storytelling. Participants tended to do very well representing the first three elements in their tales:
- Goal – What did they want to achieve?
- Obstacles/Challenges – What got in their way?
- Resolution – How did they get through it?
However, most provider client reference stories missed the last two key elements, which Randy identified as those which make stories more relevant and bring the human element directly to the mind of the listener:
- Character – having a character that is real, relatable and creates a human connection with the listener. Most providers speak to the company they did the work for vs. the people they came alongside to help them achieve their goals.
- Emotion – emotion is an important component of a story because it speaks to the underlying drama that is part of every deal. It’s been said, if you want the listener to do something, you need to make them feel something. This emotion must be authentic.
Randy talks very strongly about the inclusion of a character in every story: “In most case studies, the listener can’t imagine themselves as the hero of the story. If you make yourself the hero, the listener can’t relate.” All too often, provider participants made themselves the hero of the story versus making the client reference character the hero. The point is: You are not the hero of the story; the client reference character is the hero of their story. As Randy shared, you need to come alongside them and join them in their story.
The following quote stands out in my mind:
“If the listener can’t imagine themselves as the hero of your story, they won’t be able to imagine you in their success story.”
I was impressed with the workshop and how seriously the provider participants engaged. Telling memorable stories is critical for the providers in our market but, unfortunately, there is a wide range of storytelling skills. It is more important than ever to be able to tell effective client reference stories so your message is memorable and your differentiation stands out in today’s very crowded market.
As ever, let’s keep this conversation going by sharing some of your storytelling tips, triumphs or missteps. I would also like to promote an opportunity to share stories of your success from the past year through our Case Study Research Program. This project collects case studies detailing the best examples of provider-client work. It includes opportunities for recognition for your organization, and helps our analysts study new trends in provider spaces.
