Storyteller Tactics Review: Recipe cards
Storyteller Tactics Review: Stories that Sell
Selling Sushi to Strangers
Menu
- I love Japan, except for one thing…
- Sell with style
- Sell with a story
- Here’s a recipe book
- Let’s cook up a story that sells!
- Audience Profile
- Simple Sales Stories
- Social Proof
- Rags to Riches
- Pitch Perfect
- Get it right
- It worked for me
I love Japan, except for one thing…
Japan is pretty close to my idea of the perfect land. The people are friendly, the food is awesome, the landscapes are dramatic, public transport is plentiful and efficient.
And it’s kind of fun and weird, like walking into a science fiction movie.
Love it.
I remember one morning in Osaka, I visited the castle there and it was a visual feast. Old stone walls set in elegant gardens, water features, carvings, fluttering banners…
And some sort of market or fair in a nearby plaza, spruiked by young Japanese people selected for their ability to shout at top volume through megaphones. When one began to flag, they would hand over to the next iron-lunged speaker, and restore themselves with a technicoloured elixir until it was their turn again.
God, but it was irritating.
That aspect of Japan, I don’t like. Hard sell, high-intensity advertising.
Sell with style
Everyone has something to sell. An old piece of furniture, a political opinion, yourself at a job interview, a new way of organising the tea roster, your section’s next project.
If I were interviewing for a job, I’d start with a nice perfume and a smart top. I wouldn’t grab a megaphone and yell out slogans.
I’m betting your target audience will appreciate you presenting your case in a more nuanced, subtle fashion.
Seduce them. Works for me.
Sell with a story
I once went with a girlfriend to help her buy a car. We found one we liked — a nice little Audi — and asked if we could take it for a drive. “Sure,” the guy said. “Just make sure it’s back by two thirty; someone’s booked a test drive.”
It wasn’t until a couple of days later, when they put a big pink bow on it and handed her the keys, that I thought, “Hang on, we may have been told a story.”
Selling, at heart, is all about stories. It helps if you have a good one.
Here’s a recipe book
The Storyteller Tactics cards put out by Pip Decks has seven “Recipe” cards:
- Stories that Sell
- Stories that Motivate
- Stories that Convince
- Stories that Connect
- Stories that Explain
- Stories that Lead
- Stories that Impress
Right out of the box you can identify your immediate task and select the five storyteller tactics (out of the 47 other cards in the deck) that will best tell that particular story.
It is no random chance that these seven cards are the first — after the Pick a Card, any Card, and Storyteller Tactics System cards — in the deck. Steve Rawling, who designed the system, wants you to hit the ground running and provides seven recipe cards listing the ingredients you need and some brief instructions.
Simply identify the task, flip over the card to find which five ingredients you need, and select those cards.
Bingo! You are in business. You are cooking up a story a few seconds after opening the box!
Let’s cook up a story that sells!
Our Stories that Sell recipe has five ingredients. In order:
- Audience Profile (Organise)
- Simple Sales Stories (Function)
- Social Proof (Explore)
- Rags to Riches (Structure)
- Pitch Perfect (Function)
Now, this isn’t the only recipe for a story that sells. A good salesman has a million of them but if we’re starting from scratch, this is a proven recipe.
Audience Profile
This is an Organise card, one of only three in the deck. Organise cards are all about planning. What story do you tell to what people?
Knowing your audience is key. It influences what story you tell and the way you tell it.
- Are you selling your product to people counting every penny or those with disposable income?
- What are their priorities? Are they pressed for time or do they want to enjoy the experience? Are the technical details of the engine important or do they want a car to match their eye colour?
- What scenarios are in their minds — or you can put in them? A sunny holiday in winter. A security product for young women. A planner tool for the unorganised.
Research is your friend here. Get the numbers. Watch and listen to individuals in your target audience.
When you know the buttons to push, results are certain.
Simple Sales Stories
Four Function cards are in the deck, and this is one of them.
Show someone whose needs are met by your product. Someone like your target customer, or someone they like. Simple and effective; your customer can relate to the story being told.
A young woman whose perfume turns heads; all she has to do is smile and that hunky young man is her slave.
A toddler entranced by a colourful toy. Young mothers will go nuts for something that amuses their kids.
A working mother needing healthy food in a hurry. Give them a food delivery app and a button to press and when they are running late, short of time, they will press that button.
Everyone wants happiness. Show your audience someone being happy and satisfied. It’s a no-brainer.
Social Proof
One of seven Explore cards, this card follows on naturally from the previous two.
If you are selling something new, give your audience proof that it works for others like them.
A testimonial. A case study. An early adopter.
You aren’t making up a story now, this is real life, real numbers, real people.
When your audience sees that out in the real world others are buying the product, doing the thing, making the move, then what was fantasy becomes reality and your audience will feel secure about taking the step.
Rags to Riches
Ten Structure cards in the deck, each showing a different story arc.
How does your story rise and fall? Where does it start and end? What’s in the middle?
You can’t sell a story that is a flat line. There must be action, conflict, movement.
The Rags to Riches story takes a character from a place where they don’t have something to a place where they do. They are better off. They have made progress in life. Their investment in time, money, or attitude has paid off, and how!
Pitch Perfect
Another of the four Function cards, this one brings it all home.
This is where you actually tell the story.
You must think about every word, every image, every subtle message.
You know how some people can tell a story really well and everyone laughs, while others stumble, fumble the timing, mangle the punchline?
Getting the pitch perfect is about having your audience listen to you, see what you show them and nothing else, follow your thoughts clearly.
You don’t want to bore them, allow them to be distracted, get confused.
You know what story you want to tell. Now you have to think about how to tell it.
It could be a slogan, it could be a thirty second elevator pitch, it could be a blog post. You want your audience taking in every atom of the story.
Get it right
People really aren’t that complicated. Push the right buttons at the right time, they will respond.
It’s all in the preparation and delivery. You will generally have a lot more time and ability to prepare your pitch than you will have to deliver it.
You don’t need to blast your audience with a megaphone. Be subtle rather than strident.
Stories that Sell is a storyteller tactic that gives you a map of things to do that will result in a sale. Your customer buys the car, they take you out to dinner, they vote for your candidate, they subscribe to your newsletter.
You offer someone an advantage, a shortcut to satisfaction. It’s all about giving someone what they want, and selling it as a need.
It worked for me
I’ve always loved stories. Listening to them, reading them, telling them. When I was a little girl I’d tell my schoolfriends stories about dragons, princesses, and pirates. One day I looked up to find the teacher supervising the playground looking on.
“No, don’t stop, Britni,” she said. “I want to know what comes next!”
Storyteller Tactics is what comes next in my storytelling adventure. I can see new ways of putting stories together. More effective, more entertaining, more exciting.
I’ve got my cards. I read them, I think about ways to combine them, new paths to take, ways to tell the tales I’ve had simmering away in the back of my brain for years. I can see pieces falling into place, paths opening up.
I made two thousand dollars out of one story. I’d like to do that again. And again. I could give up my day job and be that little girl once more, just telling stories to my friends online, doing what I love.
I think what I love most of all is knowing that people are hearing my story, hanging on my next words, anxious to know what comes next. That lifts me up.
Britni
Use my discount code BRITNIPEPPER to get 15% off. I get a few dollars in return. The bold links above are affiliates, same deal. Or just go to the website, no strings attached, look around, discover the system for yourself.
My review series is free. I explore the cards, the systems, the tactics, link to independent reviews, and even show you how to get every word, every diagram, every dot point on every card for free, without paying a cent, with the blessing of the firm.
I believe in these cards. They are the wisdom of storytellers, passed on from ages past. The tactics work. They are a secret guide in the palm of your hand, and while they are expensive, they come with a money-back guarantee.
Britni
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