winning business through storytelling

4 pm | Summer 2016

opinion

Storytelling and professional serv-ices. Not what you would call themost obvious of partners. Butunlike some one-hit-wonder

business buzzwords, storytelling hasstayed the course to become ever morefamiliar in the corporate world. Because far from some new-fangled

fad, storytelling has defined communica-tion for millennia. And so long as busi-ness consists of humans selling tohumans, telling a clear story about youroffer will remain key to success. After all,engaging your audience can be the differ-ence between a pitch that succeeds — andone that fails. And winning new business has never

been more important. The pressure toland new business is growing acrossprofessional services. Firms need tocompete harder than ever before. Newcompetitors are emerging. Technologycontinues to rewrite the rules across thesector. And in just one example of firmstrying to up their visibility, search giantBing recently announced that ‘lawyer’ isnow its most expensive keyword.

Getting your story straightI have worked as a presentation coach forover 10 years. I have helped train individ-uals and teams from businesses acrossthe world, from financial services and lawto construction and consultancy. And during this time I have seen a

huge range of pitches, from the woeful tothe wonderful.I have been shown pitches without

any reference to the people being pitchedto, and pitches stuffed with so many

Winning businessthrough storytellingSandra Davis explains how clearstorytelling can improve your pitchesand help you win more business.

You can’t sellanything if you can’ttell anything.

Beth Comstack, Vice Chair, GE

deliver confidently to external audiences.This is an even bigger problem in

pitching. With such a small window tocommunicate who you are, the tempta-tion to fall back on the cliché and theoverblown can become almost irre-sistible. But remember: no one eversigned on the dotted line after a sentencelike ‘we are an innovative, full-servicefirm with global capabilities.’ Instead, we need to give evidence of

how we are innovative and global. That’swhy one of the most powerful phrases inany pitch or presentation is ‘forexample…’. Using hard facts might not seem like

something that firms struggle with. Afterall, it’s something that senior businessleaders and partners do every single day. But we believe that facts are only one

type of evidence — and that they’re onlyreally useful when backed up by moreemotive language to appeal to both IQand EQ. It’s by using a combination of hard

facts and emotive language that youreally bring your pitch-winning storyalive. As a communications consultancy,we coach our clients in the four distincttypes of evidence by grouping them alltogether under one easy to rememberacronym: FOAM• Facts: Facts establish size, scale, andwhat’s at stake• Observations: Your expert perspec-tive on the marketplace and the issuesfaced by your clients.• Anecdotes: Stories that bring yourideas to life. Relevant business storiesare even better.

clichés that there was no room foranything else. But I have also been shown pitches

that are clear, memorable, and absolutelyfocused on demonstrating how theclient’s problem will be solved. So if there’s one thing I have learned

from this, it’s that standing out from yourcompetitors isn’t just about having a clearand compelling story. It’s also abouttelling it in an equally clear andcompelling way.

Simple ingredientsInnovative. Market-leading. Deepindustry expertise and comprehensiveglobal reach.We’ve all grown weary of hearing the

same old corporate speak. But in a worldlike professional services, it can be hardto avoid cliché and talk about your offerin a way that’s honest, distinctive, andunique to your business. Even harder isfinding a way of describing your businessthat everyone can get behind — and

This article originallyappeared in PM magazine.

For further details go towww.pmforum.co.uk

pm | Summer 2016 5

opinion

• Metaphors: Metaphor, simile andanalogy cut through the waffle to createshortcuts to understanding

Simple, right? Now let’s see it in action.Let’s use the recent visit of President

Xi Jinping to the UK to tell the story ofthe changing Sino-British relationship.Fact: In 2005 the UK’s economy was

bigger than China’s. In 2015 the Chineseeconomy was almost four times the sizeof the UK’s.Observation: David Cameron and

George Osborne have taken a clear deci-sion to hitch the country’s economicfortunes to China.Anecdote: But this isn’t the first

time that China’s come to the rescue ofBritain. In fact, President Xi’s speechesincluded stories of Chinese sailorsrescuing British prisoners of war in theSecond World War to demonstrate Sino-British cooperation. Metaphor: President Xi’s visit

marked a momentous geopolitical shift —and the moment when the US’ closest allyhitched its economic future to the wagonof the world’s new superpower.By using a few simple storytelling

techniques, we’ve told our audience a farmore engaging story than would havebeen possible with just a dry statement ofthe facts.

PitchingI hear you. What’s the changing Sino-British relationship got to do withpitching in professional services? Well, let’s use a little FOAM to

imagine we’re pitching on behalf of afictional consultancy firm called Blade &Moore.Fact: Blade & Moore is a consultancy

firm based in London that specialises inadvising start-up companies looking togrow quicklyObservation: Starting up a new

company has never been easy. And withonly 10% of start-ups making it beyondfive years, the pressure on start-ups hasnever been greater.Anecdote: Blade & Moore was once

a start-up. Fifteen years ago we had twoemployees and one client. We’ve neverforgotten what it’s like to start off — andit’s because of this that we can adviseothers on the challenges and opportuni-ties they face.Metaphor: No company ever

succeeded on its own. Every great busi-ness has always needed support. At Blade& Moore, we act as half cheerleader, halfhead coach to give our clients the confi-dence and support they need to make it. This is an approach we encourage all

of our clients to take when preparing for apitch. Because whether it’s finance or

pharmaceuticals, shipping or law, webelieve that every business has evidenceof why it stands out above its competitors— and why it should be winning pitches.All it takes is a few extra ingredients fromyour sector or practice area — our obser-vations, anecdotes and metaphors — toelevate business facts into compellingstories.

Sandra Davis is a SeniorConsultant at Bladonmore.Visit www.bladonmore.com

5 classic pitchingmistakes to avoidMake your team the hero, not thePowerPointYour pitch document is there tosupport, not lead. Too often teamsmake the mistake of focusing ontheir presentation — and forgettingtheir audience.

Recycling old materialOpen. Edit. Save As. It’s tempting touse previous presentations for futurepitches. But unless it’s truly alignedwith the needs of your audience,your proposition won’t feel genuinelytailored.

Not backing upBespoke service. Innovative solu-tions. Everyone makes promises inpitches. But as there’s nothing worsethan an empty promise, make sureto provide proof points and points ofview to demonstrate just how yourservice is bespoke and your solu-tions innovative.

Failing to connectYour audience are people. And soare you. So what could be moreimportant than showing yourprospective clients that you arepleasant people to work with, not justsector whizzes.

Making it all about youPitches are never about the peoplepitching. They’re about your clientsand their needs. Failing to addressthis will sink your pitch.