The Power of Storytelling for Sales Teams (Or How to Turn Cold Prospects into Engaged Buyers)

SUMMARY
Did you know that 60% of sales opportunities end in no decision? The sales cycle doesn't end in a “no thanks,” just stalled at indecision. This is due, in part, to the fact that most sales teams fail to use effective storytelling techniques, and as a result, have not given their buyers enough cause to take action.

To be successful, your sales team needs to move beyond simple features and benefits pitches to tell compelling stories, taking prospective buyers on an emotional journey that not only acknowledges where they are today, but where they want to be in the future. As a result, prospects feel compelled to act – and they can see clearly why they need to choose your solution.

Join our speakers, Calum Kilgour, CEO of SlingshotEdge, and Patrick Gunn, EMEA Sales VP with Qstream, as they share specific techniques and real-life examples of how to increase your sales win rate with proven storytelling approaches that engage prospects, supported by new technologies and data-driven insights into how this approach is being reinforced, adopted and applied on the job.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
Sales leaders and enablement pros who wish to:

• Better understand the art and science of effective storytelling for sales people
• Build a compelling narrative which highlights their value proposition and builds trust, supported by customer successes and other data points that drive prospects to action
• Accelerate positive behavior change within their sales team, including real-time data and analytics that measure team progress and highlight relevant coaching opportunities for managers

ABOUT OUR SPEAKERS
Calum Kilgour, CEO, SlingshotEdge
Calum delights in seeing people communicate with passion, clarity and purpose. He comes from the world of sales having been a bag carrying salesman for International software companies, running presales teams and managing national sales teams.

Because he is dyslexic, in the past, he tried to avoid lots of words and data in his proposals and sales communications, instead using pictures, simple drawings, and stories. And to his delight, it worked much better than all the other more wordy, more self-promoting, more PowerPointed approaches others were using.

As CEO of Slingshot, Calum's vision is to make it easy for everyone to re-cultivate their natural, inherent communication brilliance and make being charismatic something that can be learned and mastered.

Patrick Gunn, EMEA Sales VP, Qstream
As Vice President, EMEA Sales for Qstream, Patrick is responsible for the expansion of the company’s enterprise sales force and the development of Qstream’s SaaS business outside North America. An experienced international sales leader, Patrick has spent more than 25 years in enterprise software sales for some of the largest companies in the world, as well as several EMEA start-ups. Patrick is passionate about building high-performance sales teams that deliver on revenue, but also on growth – both personal and professional.

Prior to Qstream, Patrick was VP, EMEA for iQuate, a leader in enterprise software analysis and discovery, rebuilding the EMEA sales organization while driving triple-digit growth. Prior to iQuate, Patrick launched ManageSoft in the UK and grew its EMEA business from introduction to its eventual acquisition by Flexera Software, where he remained to build successful enterprise sales teams across multiple business units.


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