Latest / What is Business Development? / Episode 64: BD-BOK...Chapter 11 The Power of Story in Prospecting Success

Transcript

Episode 64: BD-BOK...Chapter 11 The Power of Story in Prospecting Success · What is Business Development?

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Welcome to the deep dive. We're here to break down
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  Speaker 1: complex research and make it useful for you the learner
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: right away. Today we're shifting gears a bit. We're not
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  Speaker 1: just talking sales artistry. We're looking at sales to the
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  Speaker 1: lens of well biology, specifically, how to drive prospect conversion
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  Speaker 1: using science exactly.
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  Speaker 2: And here's something that might surprise you, especially if you
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  Speaker 2: rely heavily on just data facts and figures alone. They
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  Speaker 2: only light up a couple of spots in the brain
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  Speaker 2: language processing mostly.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, So what's the alternative?
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  Speaker 2: A story? A good story engages the whole.
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  Speaker 1: Brain, the whole brain. How does that work?
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  Speaker 2: It activates areas that process emotions, senses. It lets the
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  Speaker 2: audience feel the story, which means better memory. Sure, but
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  Speaker 2: there's a chemical reaction too. Stories produce oxytocin.
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  Speaker 1: Oxytocin that's the trust hormone.
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  Speaker 2: Right.
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  Speaker 1: Why is that important for say a business developer.
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  Speaker 2: Because trust isn't optional for conversion. Oxytocin builds that fundamental trust,
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  Speaker 2: that affiliation without it generating real intent is well incredibly difficult.
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  Speaker 1: So if you want growth, if you want conversion, you
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  Speaker 1: need to master storytelling, not just as a technique, but
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  Speaker 1: as a neurological necessity.
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  Speaker 2: Precisely, it's a prerequisite.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, that's a pretty high bar, So our mission today
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  Speaker 1: is pretty ambitious. Then we're blending ancient Greek ideas Aristotle
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  Speaker 1: no less, with modern behavioral science things like the Fog behavior.
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  Speaker 2: Model, and we're pulling it all together into one framework,
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  Speaker 2: the nurture Intent, Cycles of Engagement or NICE for short.
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  Speaker 1: Nice I like it. So we're unpacking what three main things?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, three core components you need to guide prospects. First,
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  Speaker 2: that essential story arc. Second, the bedrock of trust what
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  Speaker 2: actually built it. And third the mechanics, the triggers that
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  Speaker 2: make the NICE system actually work.
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  Speaker 1: All right, let's dive in, starting at the beginning. Aristotle,
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  Speaker 1: Why are we digging up ancient philosophy for modern sales targets?
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  Speaker 2: Because that fundamental three part story structure, it's timeless. Aristotle
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  Speaker 2: laid it out, but we're looking at it through a
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  Speaker 2: modern business lens, using frameworks like Kindra Hall's from her
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  Speaker 2: book Stories That Stick. The real power comes from how
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  Speaker 2: you place the prospect within that structure.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, structure act one, the normal setting, the scene before
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  Speaker 1: things get shaken up. What needs to be in that setup.
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  Speaker 1: Especially thinking about.
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  Speaker 2: Characters, right, you need characters people can identify with. First
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  Speaker 2: the hero. That's always always your prospect. They're the one
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  Speaker 2: with the challenge.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, prospect is the hero.
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  Speaker 2: Who else the villain? The antagonist? This isn't necessarily a person.
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  Speaker 2: It's the pain point, the competitive threat, the status quo
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  Speaker 2: that isn't working.
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  Speaker 1: Makes sense? And where do we fit in the business developer, you're.
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  Speaker 2: The confidante, the trusted guide, helping the hero on their journey.
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  Speaker 2: Maybe a sidekick character too, like an internal champion.
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  Speaker 1: And these characters they don't have to be human, not
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  Speaker 1: at all.
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  Speaker 2: The villain could be say, clunky old software. The sidekick
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  Speaker 2: might be their finance team. But they need human like qualities.
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  Speaker 2: So the audience connects emotions, got it?
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  Speaker 1: So characters? What else is crucial for Acts one?
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  Speaker 2: Three? More things? Real emotion? How does the prospect feel
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  Speaker 2: right now a specific moment, time, place, the details matter,
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  Speaker 2: and imagery things the audience can actually picture and relate to. Okay,
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  Speaker 2: setting the states. Then Act two hits the explosion. This
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  Speaker 2: is the turning point exactly.
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  Speaker 1: The challenge arrives, the status quo breaks, the hero faces
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  Speaker 1: something new, something difficult. This is where their unmet needs
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  Speaker 1: become a really urgent problem, and that leads.
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  Speaker 2: To Act three, the new normal, the resolution.
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  Speaker 1: Right, how did the hero overcome the challenge often with
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  Speaker 1: your help as the confidant? And what does life look
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  Speaker 1: like now, the better improved state? That's the promise.
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  Speaker 2: So how did this classic story structure link up with
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  Speaker 2: the nice model we mentioned?
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  Speaker 1: Act one maps directly to the first value exchange and.
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  Speaker 2: Nice Okay, explain that connection.
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  Speaker 1: Act one is where you confirm the prospect is problem aware.
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  Speaker 1: You establish them as the hero, you as the confidant.
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  Speaker 1: This interaction verifies that your basic corporate purpose aligns with
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  Speaker 1: their extrinsic needs. The functional things they need just to keep.
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  Speaker 2: Operating, extrinsic needs like features.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, the basic requirements. It's the absolute starting point for
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  Speaker 1: building trust, step one in moving them along. Okay, that
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  Speaker 1: idea of meeting basic needs compliance, it brings us straight
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  Speaker 1: to trust. You said it structural. Let's talk about the
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  Speaker 1: prospecting tearament.
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  Speaker 2: Right, So for a winning solution, you need three things
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  Speaker 2: working together. It has to be compliant, compelling, and credible.
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  Speaker 1: And these line up with Aristotle's modes of persuasion logos, pathos,
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  Speaker 1: ethos exactly.
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  Speaker 2: Let's break it down. First, purpose, that's logos. The logic
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  Speaker 2: is your solution compliant? Does it tick the boxes? Meet
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  Speaker 2: the functional specs they need to survive in their market?
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  Speaker 1: That's table stakes, okay, baseline functionality, what's next?
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  Speaker 2: Empathy? That's pathos. Emotion is the solution compelling? Does it
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  Speaker 2: hit their intrinsic needs, the benefits that help them not
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  Speaker 2: just survive but actually thrive grow what it.
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  Speaker 1: Needs like feeling competent or having autonomy precisely.
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  Speaker 2: We'll get more into that, but first the foundation.
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  Speaker 1: Truth, ethos, Credibility.
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  Speaker 2: This is everything. Does the prospect believe you can actually deliver?
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  Speaker 2: Is your company credible? And the science here, well, like
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  Speaker 2: you said, it's unforgiving, unforgiving.
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  Speaker 1: How what happens if they doubt your credibility?
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  Speaker 2: It's non negotiable. Even a hint of doubt, a whiff
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  Speaker 2: of untruthfulness triggers their sympathetic nervous system the SNS.
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  Speaker 1: And in a sales context, an activated SNS means disengagement.
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  Speaker 2: Instantaneously, it's fight or flight. Physiologically, they'll pause to think,
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  Speaker 2: they feel unsafe, so they flee.
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  Speaker 1: Ghost You stop responding.
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  Speaker 2: Usually flight in the business context, yes, the momentum dies,
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  Speaker 2: the conversation halts. You have to protect that perception of
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  Speaker 2: truth above all else.
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  Speaker 1: Wow, that really highlights why empathy pathos is so powerful.
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  Speaker 1: Then if they trust you, then they're open to sharing
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  Speaker 1: about those compelling benefits, the intrinsic stuff exactly.
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  Speaker 2: And that's where self determination think SDT is so useful.
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  Speaker 2: It tells us what those core intrinsic motivators are, which
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  Speaker 2: are three mean ones. Competence the desire to be good
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  Speaker 2: at what you do, to master things, Autonomy the feeling
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  Speaker 2: of control, freedom to act purposefully, and relatedness wanting connection,
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  Speaker 2: trusting relationships.
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  Speaker 1: Can you give an example with a software feature, Sure,
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  Speaker 1: the future.
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  Speaker 2: Might be compliant, it does xyz logos, but maybe it
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  Speaker 2: also gives the user more control over their workflow that
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  Speaker 2: hits autonomy. Maybe it helps them learn a valuable new skill.
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  Speaker 2: That's competence. That's how you elevate the conversation beyond just features.
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  Speaker 2: You make it compelling and.
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  Speaker 1: Focusing on these intrinsic needs. This motivational marketing. Yeah, it
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  Speaker 1: gives a real edge. Right is there data on this? Oh?
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely? Research Back in two thousand and nine. Steinmann and
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  Speaker 2: Karpinski found that implicit attitudes, those gut feelings, the intrinsic responses,
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  Speaker 2: were actually better predictors of conversion than explicit attitudes, like
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  Speaker 2: comparing featurelesss.
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  Speaker 1: Implicit beats explicit. And there's that salesforce stat too, the
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  Speaker 1: expectation gap, huge gap.
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  Speaker 2: Sixty six percent of customers expect empathy, expect you to
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  Speaker 2: understand their unique situation, but only thirty four percent of
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  Speaker 2: salespeople actually deliver it.
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  Speaker 1: That's almost half fur missing the mark on a key expectation.
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  Speaker 2: It's a massive opportunity because closing that gap changes the relationship.
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  Speaker 2: Customers who feel that personal emotional connection built on empathy
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  Speaker 2: and trust are fifty two percent more valuable.
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  Speaker 1: Fifty two percent. That's the payoff for getting the empathy
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  Speaker 1: piece right.
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  Speaker 2: That's the value of intimacy in the relationship.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, let's quickly map the pyramid back to the nice
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  Speaker 1: E cycles.
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  Speaker 2: Simple progression. First value exchange focus on purpose extrinsic needs,
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  Speaker 2: getting them from problem aware.
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  Speaker 1: Okay.
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  Speaker 2: Second value exchange, heavy focus on empathy, intrinsic needs, moving
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  Speaker 2: them to solution aware.
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  Speaker 1: Right.
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  Speaker 2: Third value exchange all about truth, demonstrating credibility, proving you
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  Speaker 2: can deliver. This gets them to most aware, ready to
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  Speaker 2: convert perfect.
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  Speaker 1: So we have the story. We have the trust pyramid.
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  Speaker 1: Now let's talk mechanics, the Nicey model and those gears.
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  Speaker 1: You said it aligns with the Fog Behavior model.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, FBM provides the behavioral science underpinning the gear metaphor
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  Speaker 2: just helps visualize the energy transfer the physics of it.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, walk us through the gears.
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  Speaker 2: First, you have the corporate content gear. It's always spinning,
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  Speaker 2: putting out content based on purpose, empathy, truth.
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  Speaker 1: But that gear spinning alone doesn't do anything.
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  Speaker 2: Nope, it needs to engage with the prospect permission pinion.
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  Speaker 2: That's the crucial upfront contract.
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  Speaker 1: The permission step you mentioned. This lets the prospector control
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  Speaker 1: the process, not the prospect. What does that look like
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  Speaker 1: in practice?
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  Speaker 2: It's about reciprocal commitment. You offer value, but you explicitly
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  Speaker 2: ask for permission to take the next, specific, agreed upon step.
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  Speaker 2: You structure the interaction the process. But the prospect always
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  Speaker 2: controls themselves. They can always say yes or no. If
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  Speaker 2: they say no or don't give permission, the gears.
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  Speaker 1: Don't engage, and that saves you from.
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  Speaker 2: The sucker cycle, pouring energy and free advice into a
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  Speaker 2: prospect who never intends to commit. Permission controls the flow.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, permission granted, the gear's mish. What happens next.
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  Speaker 2: The prospecting team gear engages for that first value exchange,
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  Speaker 2: And here's the key visual. This first gear is the
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  Speaker 2: largest one largest Why physics transferring energy from a smaller
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  Speaker 2: gear your effort to a larger gear. Prospect engagement multiplies
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  Speaker 2: the force it generates torque, So.
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  Speaker 1: That initial engagement, the first value exchange, needs to deliver
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  Speaker 1: a huge amount of value high torque to overcome their inertia.
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  Speaker 2: Exactly, you need that big initial push to get things moving,
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  Speaker 2: build that first bit of trust and momentum.
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  Speaker 1: But it gets easier after that.
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  Speaker 2: That's the beauty of it. As trust builds, the next
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  Speaker 2: gear's second third value exchanges are progressively smaller. The corporation
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  Speaker 2: needs less energy because the prospect is already invested, already
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  Speaker 2: moving efficient.
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  Speaker 1: But you need permission to shift between these gears to
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  Speaker 1: those mini contracts or tie downs.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely, every transition needs that explicit agreement to avoid stalling out.
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  Speaker 1: So how do you know when it's the right time
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  Speaker 1: to ask for that permission, try and shift gears.
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  Speaker 2: That's trigger marketing guided by FBM. You monitor their intent signals,
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  Speaker 2: what they do, behavior, how they engage micro conversions, express feelings, emotions,
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  Speaker 2: external events. Based on those signals, you deliver the right
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  Speaker 2: next best action a nudge, a bump, or a prompt
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  Speaker 2: in FBM terms.
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  Speaker 1: And FBM helps categorize those triggers based on where the
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  Speaker 1: prospect is at motivation and ability.
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  Speaker 2: Precisely, let's run through the typeska first. Sparks use these
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  Speaker 2: when motivation is low but ability is high. Maybe they
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  Speaker 2: can easily make a change, but they don't want.
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  Speaker 1: To yet, So a spark aims to increase motivation, like
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  Speaker 1: showing them a pain.
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  Speaker 2: Point exactly, highlight the cost of inaction, maybe show competitors success.
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  Speaker 2: You typically use sparks during that first value exchange, trying
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  Speaker 2: to move them from just problem aware.
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  Speaker 1: Example, they've visited pricing high ability, but haven't engaged further
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  Speaker 1: low motivation. Send a spark a case study about a
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  Speaker 1: competitor saving money by solving the problem they still have.
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  Speaker 2: Then you have facilitators. Use these when motivation is high
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  Speaker 2: but ability is low. They want to move forward, but
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  Speaker 2: something's blocking them.
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  Speaker 1: Friction so if facilitator makes it easier for them, removes
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  Speaker 1: the barrier.
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  Speaker 2: Right, provide frictionless info. Simplify The next step often used
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  Speaker 2: in the second value exchange, moving towards product awareness.
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  Speaker 1: Example, they loved the demo high motivation, but are stuck
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  Speaker 1: on it integration details, low ability. Send a facilitator a
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  Speaker 1: simple clear integration guide, spot on.
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  Speaker 2: And finally signals. These are for when both motivation and
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  Speaker 2: ability are high. They're ready.
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  Speaker 1: The straightforward call to action.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, time to ask for the business invite conversion, usually
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  Speaker 2: during the third value exchange, when they're most aware.
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  Speaker 1: Makes sense. One last thing on the gear is what
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  Speaker 1: if things change, like unexpected resistance pops up?
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  Speaker 2: Great point. You have to be flexible if the environment shifts,
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  Speaker 2: say their CEO freezes budgets. You can't just keep pushing
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  Speaker 2: in a high gear.
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  Speaker 1: You have to downshift, shift back to a lower gear,
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  Speaker 1: reduce the ass.
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  Speaker 2: Exactly, refocus on empathy, maintain the trust, don't try to
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  Speaker 2: force it against resistance. Keep the momentum even if it
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  Speaker 2: slows down, Otherwise you risk stalling completely.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, let's unpack this. We've covered a lot Aristotle oxytosein
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  Speaker 1: trust pyramids behavioral triggers, gear physics. Wow, So let's boil
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  Speaker 1: it down. What does this all mean for you, the
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  Speaker 1: business developer trying to boost conversions?
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  Speaker 2: I think there are three really crucial takeaways here. Mandatory
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  Speaker 2: actions one, okay Leman. First, storytelling isn't optional, it's scientific.
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  Speaker 2: Use that three act structure make the prospect the hero.
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  Speaker 2: Why to generate oxytocin. You need that trust to convert
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  Speaker 2: needs both the logical extrinsic ones and the emotional intrinsic
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  Speaker 2: ones into a yes.
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  Speaker 1: Got it? Number one use the story structure scientifically for trust.
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  Speaker 2: Let's do second. Trust stands on the pyramid. Your solution
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  Speaker 2: has to be compliant logos, compelling pathos, hitting those sdt
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  Speaker 2: nes like autonomy, competence and fundamentally credible ethos. And never
• 13:00
  Speaker 2: ever compromise on truth. The instant you do, biology takes
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  Speaker 2: over at the SNS fires and you lose them right.
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  Speaker 1: Number two, build trust on compliance, compellingness and absolute credibility.
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  Speaker 1: And number three.
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  Speaker 2: Third, master the NINEZ mechanics, the gears and FBM triggers.
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  Speaker 2: Remember the physics that first value exchange needs massive torque,
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  Speaker 2: huge value. Always get permission upfront contracts. Many contracts to
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  Speaker 2: avoid that sucker cycle and match your triggers starks, facilitators
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  Speaker 2: signals to their exact motivation and ability levels right now.
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  Speaker 1: Use the mechanics, high initial value, permission at every step,
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  Speaker 1: and targeted triggers. Excellent summary.
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  Speaker 2: So, thinking about all this, it really raises a key
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  Speaker 2: question for everyone listening. We know the science shows implicit
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  Speaker 2: emotional attitudes predict conversion better. We know sixty six percent
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  Speaker 2: of customers want empathy, but only thirty four percent get
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  Speaker 2: it consistently. That's a huge thirty two point gap. So
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  Speaker 2: the question is where's the biggest empathy or trust gap
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  Speaker 2: in your current prospecting cycle right now? And how fast
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  Speaker 2: can you work to close that gap and make your
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  Speaker 2: value exchange potentially fifty two percent more valuable more intimate.
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  Speaker 1: That fifty two percent figure really sticks with you, something
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  Speaker 1: powerful to think about. Thank you for joining us on
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: this deep dive into the science behind sales story and trust.
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  Speaker 1: We hope you found it valuable. We'll catch you on
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  Speaker 1: the next one.