Changing Minds – One Story/One Metaphor At a Time

How do you attract people to a field (sales) that they think has a notoriously suspect reputation? How do you turn perceptions of sales as a “pushy,” “manipulative,” and “untrustworthy” endeavor into a respectable opportunity that could launch participants into a world of respectable and lucrative work?

That was the challenge John Kratz faced in 2019 when he went after Gen Z students to enroll in the first public university sales major that he created in the state of Minnesota.

He had the university’s blessing and he had backing from Fortune 500 company 3M.  Now, all he needed was the students!

How did he do it? With story and metaphor.

Getting “Butts in Seats” – Enrollment

As acting sales program director, I knew the challenge would be overcoming the negative misconceptions students would have about the sales profession. 

Having previously immersed myself in the cognitive and neurological research that showed human beings are evolutionarily hardwired for story and metaphor, I understood that our brains are wired to make sense, think, understand, and remember, using those techniques.

I realized effective stories and metaphors possess certain key elements and must be presented in a way that your potential audience relates and understands.

Stories and metaphors are the “trojan horse” into the subconscious decision-making processes of the human mind.

• They are a “pull” versus “push” communication method
• Facts TELL…Stories and metaphors SELL

Selling Sales with Stories

I knew there were many facts that could be shared about the sales profession. Facts like:

• In the U.S., nearly 20M people work in the sales profession
• 50% of all university graduates work in a customer facing role at some point in their career
• Sales can be a fast track into senior management positions
• Many students starting their business career in sales get to six-figure incomes while still in their 20’s

I knew these would be compelling facts but if I could wrap these facts in a story narrative, they would be even more compelling.

I decided I would hold open-house sessions where I would simply share the stories of past UMD business majors who started their careers in sales. For example…

I told a story about Michael A. and how a successful sales career transformed his life. Michael, a UMD graduate at 22, grew up poor and fatherless and really wanted to make something of himself, only to fail at his first sales job and then bounce around unsuccessfully from subsequent job to job. After his mother passed away, he attended a Story Seekers workshop which proved to be a turning point for him.  The seminar experience helped him see how he had been doing everything wrong in how he sold and he learned an entirely new approach to building buyer relationships which ultimately helped him succeed and “make something of himself.” [I ended with] This year he will earn $400,000.

 Motivating to Act with Metaphors

At the open houses, I began each session simply by launching into stories like Michael’s and after sharing 5-6 stories over 30 minutes, I would announce the meeting was over, but there would be a special meeting for those who were inspired by the stories to see if sales would be an appropriate “launchpad” for their careers.

The metaphor of “launching pad “was purposefully used.

We talked about what was needed to get into “orbit” and how to reach “unseen galaxies” they could not even imagine yet.

The Results

We achieved our 5-year enrollment goal in 37 weeks!

Moral of Story

Facts Tell. Stories and Metaphors Sell!

 

John, I could not have said it better. Thank you for your story and continued success with your course.

What stories/metaphors can you use to change minds in your world?

Anne Miller

Make What You Say Pay! – with Metaphors

For more information on John Kratz, visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnlkratz

Photo by Bill Jelen on Unsplash

---

Random Example of Metaphors/Analogies in Action

If you read this newsletter regularly, you know I recommend the opinion pages of your favorite newspaper as an inspiration for how to use metaphors and analogies effectively. One I particularly liked was in the Wall Street Journal this week. The editorial described at length the seriousness of North Korea having launched a missile that flew over part of Japan. That information may or may not have upset you. However, to underscore how outrageous and dangerous that was, the article ended, “Think Cuba launching a missile over Florida.”  Whoa! Talk about going from the abstract to the meaningful concrete!

When you are explaining the consequences/impact of a process, product, event, etc. what resonant metaphor/analogy can you use to underscore your point?

---

---