STORYTELLING FOR BUSINESS DEVELOPERS: STICK, CONVINCE, INSPIRE: Stories make a lasting--and gainful--impression on clients.

• Author: Brown, Craig

Andy was getting this client. A mutual friend had referred them, the team liked him, and Andy had the right experience. In fact, as soon as he heard the client's problem, he knew he had them. He launched into the solution he knew could solve their problems and win him their business. But two minutes in, the prospective client's CFO stopped him. "Andy," he said. "We appreciate your enthusiasm, but that's the same approach our last lawyer took. It didn't work, which is why we're looking for new counsel. We need something else."

This story teaches a principle: You must know past solutions before talking about future ones. It's a principle I teach at my training seminars for lawyers. And instead of telling Andy's story, I could have just written "Make sure you understand past solutions before you discuss future ones." The message is the same, but the story creates a lasting reminder that motivates listeners to action. In short: Stories make knowledge stick.

Ever since Eve ate the fruit, Noah filled the ark and the Trojans let in that horse, stories have been the way we learn, remember and inspire. Today, professionals of all sorts find that stories are an impactful way to connect with audiences. The trend is to use storytelling in all aspects of business, including marketing and business development.

Turn Story Into Action

Trial attorneys are trained to play to juries and to create "the story of the case" when preparing for trial, but when it comes to talking to prospects about their firm's capabilities, lawyers often revert to classic argument, logic and bullet points, citing cases won, years of experience or track records. Lawyers forget that a good story can make the difference in selling a firm's capabilities and services to a prospective client. The right story at the right time can put a lawyer ahead of the competition and seal the deal.

Imagine a lawyer describing himself at a lunch meeting in the following way: "Our firm is proficient in midmarket acquisitions. We have worked on hundreds of mergers and acquisitions and have a proven template for taking companies like yours through an acquisition process. I've completed over 75 acquisitions just like yours."

Now compare that conventional, bulleted approach with a story a client of mine tells his prospective clients: "When I was general counsel for Centercorp, I instructed my staff to create big binders of information for each acquisition the company made. Company leadership complained of...