Every great salesperson knows that to sell a product or service, you need to do more than merely list the facts or ask for the sale: You also need to tell a vivid story that gets the buyer excited about the potential unlocked by closing the deal.

But saying “Tell them a story!” is one thing – doing it is another. When it’s time to boost your sales career, try unleashing your storytelling skills. Here’s how:

Show, don’t tell.

The oldest storytelling advice in existence is also the best storytelling advice when it comes to advancing your sales career. Whether you want a client to close a deal or you need to demonstrate your sales abilities in an interview with a potential employer, remember that the stories you love all have one thing in common: they use vivid details and moment-by-moment description instead of merely listing features or traits.

During your next job interview, put this storytelling skill to use by letting the “tale” of your sales accomplishments unfold rather than jumping straight to the punchline. For instance, don’t just say “At X Company, I increased sales of our flagship product by ten percent.” Instead, build suspense: “During my last year at X Company, sales of our flagship product were falling. One day, I realized….”

Think CCR: Conflict-Crisis-Resolution.

In real life, a day with no conflict can be nice: resting on the beach, a good book in hand, with the gentle breezes blowing…. In stories, however, a story with no conflict is boring – and a sales pitch with no conflict falls flat.

To improve your storytelling skills for better sales, start looking for the client’s or prospective employer’s “conflict” or “crisis,” and describe how your product or your skills resolve the problem.

Think about the “big picture,” or the entire “plot” of the sale. Finding out Cinderella’s slipper fits may have given her two matching shoes again, but it isn’t what the fairy tale is really “about.” Find out what your clients or a prospective employer really want, then “show, don’t tell” how you can provide it.

Act, don’t chatter.

When you love or admire a book, TV, or movie character, is it because another character read you a list of their top traits?

If you’re like most audiences, the answer is “no.” Chances are, you learned to like that character because of how he or she behaved when the going got tough. And just as we root for the heroes because they reflect who we’d like to be, you can get clients and prospective employers to root for you by providing real-world examples describing how you can solve their problems.

At SMR Group Ltd, our experienced recruiters help sales and marketing professionals find their “niche” within great companies. Contact us today to learn more.