“Stop! Don’t Skip this Ad!” is the stereotypical pitch promoting online sales. The personality then flexes their storytelling muscles explaining how they skyrocketed from humble beginnings. Often, sales trainers teach, “People buy with emotion and justify with logic.” In both cases, the delivered marketing message is that their product, service, or point of view must emotionally connect with the marketplace. Furthermore, to communicate with large marketplaces, effective marketers will segment potential customers. Effective storytelling results in sales when messaging reaches segmented niches desiring specific products or services. Consequently, storytelling that strengthens emotional bonds lead to better business results! So, what is the foundation of emotional bonds in business?

Networking
Relationships form in the marketplace to establish like and trust which lead to transactions. Value is the currency. The more value that a seller communicates and exchanges, the stronger the bonds. Once those bonds are strong enough for buyers to share benefits with like-minded professionals, then a network is born. Fundamentally, networking is the platform where like and trust is traded. Whether it is virtual, personal, or reputational, when people and entities are willing to share experiences to either facilitate benefits or avoid costly errors, the network performs as an exchange where value – based transactions happen.

The most amazing aspect of networking is the many ways that information moves. Countless coffee meetings, webinars, lunch dates and happy hours occur specifically to facilitate networking. Groups emerge, dissolve, change missions, dates, locations, and members. Nevertheless, functioning networks have a few simple, common traits. Individuals interact with other individuals. Common values are established so that goals are clearly identified. Trust evolves so that communal beliefs exist that whatever currency is exchanged has value. Essentially, common goals, like, and trust are more important than location, rules, dues, territories, titles, names, or members.

Niches
When exchanging value, it is equally important to understand what the parties will not do, as it is to determine what they will do. Niches reflect the boundaries for what transactions are acceptable in creating value. Beyond interacting with the right individuals, organizations, and entities, establishing identifiably specific targets are necessary to maximize success. Beyond a target industry or territory for a sales force, a niche represents the boundaries where excellence can be demonstrated. With regards to leveraging storytelling to maximize value, the niche represents the environmental language and culture where the story will be most appreciated.

Great sales professionals who can sell ice cream to Eskimos are a myth, in addition to being inappropriate. To establish greater sales, or other business results, the environment where transactions occur must value the delivered goods, services and benefits. The niche represents that environment. Cultivating that environment for individual business benefit is equally important as having great training, product knowledge, or personality. Success requires bringing value where it will be rewarded. Essentially, niches are targets that maximize expectations for success using advantages that individual sales efforts provide.

Takeaways
Storytelling establishes a clear path toward successful business growth. Networking sets foundational connections for groups with common values to grow. Niches identify environments where mutual benefits can be harvested. In coordinating these business success factors, individuals and organizations must maintain focus on the ultimate goal. Achieving specific, measurable business targets is the purpose. Sales drive enterprises. Storytelling is fundamentally an effective tactic leading to success. But, never confuse the journey with the destination. Do what works! Efforts are applauded; results are rewarded! Ultimately, let the story proclaim the results.

By Glenn W Hunter
Managing Director of Hunter And Beyond, LLC