Why telemarketers should tell stories, according to science

As a sales strategy, storytelling allows brands to create a common ground with customers.

Brands are able to humanize themselves through storytelling. By relaying captivating anecdotes to customers, they effortlessly build a magnetic personality that pulls customers in.

Not surprisingly, stories have become essential elements in all forms of business pitches. Almost every brand embeds narratives into their marketing strategies in order to connect with customers on a personal level. This creates a common ground between sellers and buyers, allowing each to understand the other better.

However, although storytelling has found its rightful niche in content marketing, many enterprises still don’t realize how powerful it can be in the area of telemarketing. As telemarketers pride themselves as great communicators, shouldn’t storytelling be their core sales strategy?

The science behind storytelling

Narratives are one of the very few universal features powerful enough to cut through time, cultures, and places. They are omnipresent and influential, and as such, they’ve become a popular subject among social scientists.

Plenty of studies have long established that stories activate the brain by allowing us to experience other people’s circumstances. So whether we’re aware of it or not, stories shape the way we think and act.

Thus, brands only have to be resourceful enough to devise effective ways to use it as a sales strategy. If done right, meaningful narratives can boost conversion and lead generation.

Stories appeal both to logic and emotions.

Stories sell because they’re an all-in package that targets both logic and emotion. When telemarketers fail to stimulate one of these two (or both) during product pitching, customers are unlikely to make that purchase.

So to encourage customers to convert, brands must use messages that, as much as possible, fully encapsulate the entire product experience. This includes how the product was built, how it works, and how it benefits users. All these can be told effectively using stories.

They make your brand memorable.

Information retention only becomes difficult when the details we try to remember don’t really mean anything to us. That’s why bombarding customers with facts and figures to illustrate a product’s value often doesn’t work.

Rather, sales reps have to present a convincing case of why the products they sell matter. Their messages must be relatable, quickly digestible, and above all, interesting. Storytelling is one of the few strategies that will allow you to catch and then hold people’s attention.

They help customers visualize a product.

One of the limitations of telemarketing is that it doesn’t allow the sales rep and the customer to communicate face-to-face. In most cases, customers cannot see the product being endorsed, so telemarketers must be highly creative in describing the product’s physical features and its functions.

Storytelling bridges this gap. Even hypothetical, situational narratives help customers visualize and understand a product. Once they have an accurate mental image of the item being pitched, they’re one step closer to making a purchase.

Most importantly, stories trigger actions.

The right stories, told at the right time, influence the purchase decision. Focusing on the customer, using imagery to illustrate scenarios, and making witty or funny remarks will work to your favor.