Struggling with the previous two exercises?
Maybe you just started your new role or you don’t have too many successes to show yet?
Don’t worry, we gotcha.
Below, you’ll learn how to source stories from your coworkers.
“Wait, a second! I can tell a story that is not mine?”
Absolutely.
Sure, it’s easier to tell the story if it’s your own, but if you struggle to come up with your own stories, you tell you coworkers’ customer success stories. No problem.
So, how can you get your coworkers to tell you their stories?
Let me walk you through the steps.
1. Select people you’d like to interview
First, identify who you’d like to interview. That can be any seller that has been with your company for a few years, that has sold the products you’re selling, and that seems decently cooperative. Anyone that cares about your company and about other people, will be more than happy to help you. If you’re working at a start-up, you can also interview one of the founders.
2. Ask them for an interview
Once you’ve identified who you’d like to talk to, just drop them a quick note.
Don’t overthink it. It should be enough to say, “Do you have 30 minutes to talk about your experience? I’d like to gather a few examples of you’ve helped some of our clients. No prep needed.”
I’m sure that every single person that you reach out to will be happy to talk to you.
At the end people love talking about their experience and feel proud that you’ve chosen them.
3. Give them context
Once they’ve agreed to talk to you and you meet with them, give them some context. Tell them a bit about yourself, what stories you’re looking for and where you’d like to use their stories.
4. Ask them about their experience
After giving some context, it’s time to move into the actual interview.
Let’s start off with what you should avoid. The questions you should avoid at any cost are, “So, do you have a great story that I could use?” or “Tell me your story.”
Why?
Well it puts immense pressure on your interviewee. Most people don’t think of their experiences as stories.
So if you ask them for their story, they will likely feel overwhelmed. It’s too vague, too broad.
Here are some better questions to ask your coworker:
- Can you tell me about a customer that was very happy using our products / service?
- Do you remember how they got in touch with you?
- What was their situation like before they began working with you? What problems were they going through? How did they feel?
- How did you help them?
- How did your solution change their situation? How did they feel after solving that problem?
5. Wrap it up: Once you’ve gotten a few cool story ideas, it’s time to wrap up the interview. You can thank them for their time and, lastly, ask them for their permission to use the stories in your conversations. As part of that, it’s good to check if can use actual client names or if you should tell the story without disclosing any names.