How To Use Storytelling In Your Elevator Pitch

Back in the day, the smartest, savviest entrepreneurs told jokes and stats. Today, they’re telling stories. Why? Because stories stick. ‣ They're easy to remember. ‣ They make an emotional connection. ‣ They inspire. Think about it: ‣ Nike doesn't sell shoes. It sells heroes. ‣ Apple doesn't sell tech. It sells creativity. ‣ Tesla doesn't sell cars. It sells innovation. All through the power of storytelling. And listen, you don't need to have a heroic adventure to tell a good story. ✅ Tell your why. ✅ Tell your struggles to make it your business. ✅ Tell your successes that came after from many defeats. I saw the impact of this in real time during a recent networking event. I was on a panel and gave a brief introduction of myself. The attendees were somewhat interested, but I wouldn’t say they truly cared. They had no reason to root for me. Then, I was asked about my role as a keynote speaker. I told them about my most popular keynote, The Resilience Roadmap. I shared how it was based on various challenges I’ve experienced over the past 10 years which include battling alcohol addiction, unemployment and losing my son. That’s when the attendees really took notice, and that's when they began rooting for me. I wasn’t just the guy who did a bunch of stuff, I was the guy who highlighted the transformative power of resilience. It’s been three days since that event and people are still messaging me about it. And, oddly enough, they’re also asking me to remind them what I do again. So don’t make the same mistake I did, whether it be in person or online. Don’t just share what you do, share the journey you’ve been on as well. People will remember your story, it forms a connection. And people give you opportunities when they feel connected to you. So, are you ready to share your story?

The most powerful storytelling technique I use sounds like this: "That's the thing about..." There's a difference between a good storyteller and an effective storyteller. Good storytellers might grip us, but effective storytellers can move us. A good storyteller might be your friend, talking about their vacation. You're paying attention (which, if you look at marketers today, you'd think was the ENTIRE aim of our job... but it's not). You're paying attention, but you're not really moved to act. You aren't changing your perspective on anything, nor are you going to take concrete steps in your work or life. There's no before and after moment thanks to that story. It's good... but it's not effective. To be effective means you affect people. You move them. First, you move the story -- from the action to its meaning. Then, arriving at meaning, the audience connects emotionally to you. Your words resonate. Because you resonate, they might act. (Resonance: the urge to act we feel when a message or moment aligns so closely with our own beliefs and experiences, we feel amplified.) No resonance, no action. No action, no results. You're not effective. So, remember the phrase "that's the thing about..." It runs like this: 1. This happened... (a moment or memory) 2. Which made me realize... (an idea sparked by that moment or memory) 3. That's the thing about [the topic they want to know about + the lesson they need to hear from you] Ira Glass might tell a quick story about a man on a subway, nervously glancing at a stranger who keeps looking at him. After some intrigue of who the man is and what he's thinking, Glass would conclude, "That's the thing about strangers: we care about their opinion because they have some instantaneous insight into who we really are when we're not trying to impress our friends or the people we work with. Today on the show... strangers..." Or I might say (sticking to the formula above): "The other day, I was making espresso in my kitchen. I thought back to the literal years of my life when I refused to make it in my own home. I was so embarrassed -- I'm Italian! But I'd ask my wife (not Italian), or I'd do research on making good espresso, following coffee influencers and taking courses... but never actually doing it! What was WRONG with me?! But today I make it daily. And what changed? I made it. Once. "Which made me realize, Oh, wow, I was silly to agonize over this. I was silly to outsource it or research it or NOT do it. It's not so scary, not so hard, and even if I messed up, it was easy to fix OR I could research in a much more focused, productive way." "That's the thing about trying new things. We're not usually afraid of the task itself, but rather the unknown. Stop agonizing and try the thing. Once. If we're really afraid of the unknown, then we need to move more quickly to make the unknown KNOWN." That's the thing about stories: the action can make it good, but the insight makes it effective.

Sales is a noble profession. People just don't like that some salespeople waste their time. This is how I teach Salespeople and Sales Engineers to solve their client's problems as quickly as possible and not waste their time. --- Context: I mainly train enterprise sales teams. Enterprise sales cycles are long. They typically go like this: 1. Intro Call 2. Discovery Call 3. One or more Demos 4. More discovery, more technical discussions, more POCs/POVs, more follow-up meetings, etc. 5. Closing activities I like to use stories when selling because they speed up the decision making process for clients. When I teach storytelling, there are 3 primary story types I am talking about: 1. Prospect Stories 2. Customer Stories 3. Why Us Stories You can use stories in all stages of the sales cycle, but the stories change based on the stage. 1. Early on, I use Prospect Stories because they build enormous rapport when you do them right. One of my trainees used one in meeting with a Microsoft and a woman interrupted him and said, "Oh My God, I feel so heard right now!" To tell a good Prospect Story tell a day-in-the-life of your prospect. Nail this, and you'll build credibility. Don't nail it, and the prospect will start telling you why they're different. Now they're talking, and you're learning. That's good. 2. After Prospect Stories, I tell Customer Stories. I always focus on the customer's PROBLEMS because most people are afraid to talk about their problems. They're embarrassed. But a funny thing happens after you tell them other people's problems - they're more open to sharing their own. You can help people more the more they open up to you. More stories = more discovery = more help. 3. After there's trust and value, I layer on the Why Us Story. This is essentially your "closing" story. The Why Us Story is important because your prospect is going to be selling FOR you when you're not in the room. They're going to have to go to their boss and pitch you. Their boss is going to say, "Great, but can't we do this with a cheaper solution?" That's why they need your "Why Us" story to be tight. If it's not, it adds a ton of work for them. It also leaves you in a pricing war, heavily discounting your offer. It's a lose-lose situation. When I was selling enterprise tech, I never discounted. This is partly why. --- I firmly believe that how you sell is just as important as what you sell. I like selling with stories because they help clients make decisions faster. Your turn - how do you like to sell? P.S. If you want your AEs and SEs to be better storytellers, I offer 1-hour, 4-hour, and 8-hour storytelling workshops for SKOs. I also offer 1-3 day workshops virtually or in person.

How I Closed More Deals After 30 Nights of Pain A few years ago, I was drowning in migraines. I’m talking every night at 1:30 a.m. like clockwork. I’d tried it all. Acupuncture, chiropractors, brain scans, veganism. Nothing worked. Worse? The meds that helped me function during the day were causing the migraines at night. And this was while I was running a business, parenting, and flying around the world to speak on stage. I felt like I had two choices: Poison myself to get through the day…or fall apart completely. Then I found Aimovig. One injection. No migraine that night. Or the next. Or the next. We stress tested it with wine, cheese, chocolate, and sushi. (Don’t judge.) And I got my life back. In fact, Aimovig asked me to do a video testimonial where I shared this story. And when I shared it publicly, people cried. They shared it. They didn’t remember facts I shared with the video. That 18% of American women suffer from migraines. Or that 90% of migraine sufferers have a family history. They remembered a story. My story. And here’s what that moment reminds me every time I teach StorySelling: 1. You need a character, not a product. People don’t connect to dashboards or data points. They connect to people like them facing real pressure. If your story doesn’t center a relatable human, it’s not a story. It’s a product demo. 2. You need a struggle that mirrors theirs. A good story doesn’t just entertain. It surfaces the same doubt, pressure, or chaos your buyer is feeling, but hasn’t said out loud. That’s what creates urgency. That’s what makes them lean in. 3. You need structure or you’ll lose them. Great stories aren’t long. They’re tight. And they follow a 5-part arc: → Setup (Who, what, where, when) → Beginning (Action kicks off) → Middle (Things get hard) → End (A choice is made) → Punchline (The takeaway that sticks) Miss one of these and you’ll ramble, repeat yourself, or talk right past the close. Hit all five and your story becomes a tool your buyer can retell inside their org, which is how deals actually move forward. #sales #salesstrategy #salesenablement #storytelling #storyselling #bemoresellmore -- Big news. I’m opening up a limited number of strategy calls this month for sales and enablement leaders who want to: → Build a story bank their sales teams actually use throughout the sales process → Use AI to tighten messaging without losing the human spark → Coach consultative conversations, not canned scripts Feel like you? Drop “Story” below or send me a DM and let’s tighten things up before Q3 hits. And if you’re a solo seller or in the early stages of building your team, I'd still love to help! Send me a message and I’ll hook you up with some great StorySelling resources.