Many years ago, our company represented 3M safety strips, a recently introduced product to prevent slips on staircases.

One day a sales rep was with a group of people in his customer’s factory. While they were walking through a corridor, he fell down a concrete staircase. The customers surrounded him, fearing that he might have injured himself. Instead, the sale rep sprung to his feet and pulled a few 3M safety strips out of his briefcase. I think the customer ordered on the spot! True story.

That was a very effective (though not recommended) demonstration. And, the story became extremely useful for selling the product to other accounts. Why? Because when you talk about theoretical benefits, such as improved safety, you tend to wind up with theoretical orders. You have engaged the customer’s mind, but not his emotions. When a customer visualizes a person (perhaps his boss!) tumbling down a staircase, now you have his attention.

One of the greatest examples of elegant and effective storytelling is the famous Michelin Tire campaign which featured a baby next to a tire. Prior to this campaign, American consumers were used to tire ads that stressed outstanding construction or performance. With one simple photo and minimal copy, Michelin made car tires the #1 priority in automotive products and established themselves as the #1 manufacturer of safety.

The storyline of the Michelin campaign is simple enough–buying any old tire puts your family in harm’s way. Consumers can–and do–use their imaginations to fill in the blanks.

If your sales message is heavy on ideas but light on stories and images, you’re probably not fully engaging the customer. Words like “story” and “image” get a bad rap in marketing, but the use of them in our culture is venerable and dates back thousands of years. Just asked Homer!

Word Sell … Scrambled Toast