April 2024

Hi there,

Good storytelling—in sales, in personal life, and even in pop culture—requires a good Reframe.

Take the 2013 Disney film “Frozen,” for example. Sister princesses Elsa and Anna have a really big (and really musical) fight. In the middle of their argument, Anna delivers the news to her ice queen sister that she has a seriously underappreciated problem: Elsa’s (accidentally) “sort of set off an eternal winter…everywhere.”

Elsa didn’t realize how far the snow had spread and has no idea how to fix it. So as the Rational Drowning kicks in and she begins to spiral, she asks Anna, “What power do you have to stop this winter?”

It turns out that Anna has the only power that matters (this is Disney, so it’s love). To save pretty much everyone, Elsa must accept the breadth of the problem and see that partnering with her sister is the only way forward.

That’s a seriously powerful Reframe, and the result is a very memorable story. Millions of children will never let it go.

In this month’s newsletter, we’re delivering a Challenger perspective on the power of storytelling and messaging and sharing resources you can use to Reframe your customer’s thinking.

Thinking Like a Challenger 

Feat. Michael Schaumberger, Principal Executive Advisor & Global Head of Insights & Messaging

Before they can craft a Commercial Insight, sellers must determine what customers already understand.

Our Global Head of Insights & Messaging, Michael, suggests considering three possible problems. 

“We're trying to get into the psyche and the mind of our customer and their business and stakeholders. We want to think about three problems to build a proper Insight. 

1. The unrecognized problem: When your customer does not know that they have a problem or how it's negatively impacting their business on a day-to-day basis.
2. The underappreciated problem: The customer knows they have a problem, but doesn’t grasp its full magnitude. The underappreciation is a great way to twist and turn and do some teaching.
3. The misunderstood cause of the problem: The customer knows they have a problem but doesn't understand it. When they aren’t focused on the problem, they can’t focus on the solution."

Hear more from Michael in this short clip from our Winning The Challenger Sale webinar.

Challenger Moment of the Month

This month’s conversation starter comes from Kristina Jaramillo of Personal ABM. Tag @challenger on LinkedIn for a chance to be featured!

Kristina nailed it: personalization goes beyond knowing your prospect's name and industry. To move past the status quo, they must see themselves inside the story – from that first cold email to the closing call. Find her full post here.

FEATURED ARTICLE

How Prospect Theory Drives Sales Experiences

Good storytelling forces you to feel. In this article, Challenger’s Veronica Coli shares how a weightlifting personal best helped her put a foundational storytelling technique into perspective. Read it now

Winning The Challenger Sale

ON DEMAND WEBINAR

How to Build a Successful Reframe [Live Review]

Challengers know that their sales success depends on building and delivering a powerful Reframe. Is yours ready for prime time or in need of improvement?

In our April webinar, our experts reviewed two real Reframes live and delivered practical guidance on building and delivering a Commercial Insight that changes your buyer’s perspective — and changes your sellers’ win rates.

UPCOMING WEBINAR

Scaling a Culture of Coaching & Reinforcement

To maximize your investment in a sales methodology, you must embed coaching and reinforcement into your company’s DNA. In our next webinar, a respected sales leader from Connection, a Challenger client and Fortune 1000 company, joins us to learn scalable strategies for embedding Challenger into your organization. Join Dennis Riseman, Connection’s vice president of sales, and Ian Goddard, Challenger’s vice president of advisory, May 16 at 10 a.m. CT.

On the Ground

Gartner CSO and Sales Leader Conference
May 21-22

Our team will join other executive sales leaders in Las Vegas next month for the Gartner CSO and Sales Leader Conference. If you’re attending, connect with your CSM or reach out to meet with our team.

Word on the Street

From Sprout Social:
The journey of a datapoint: Turning numbers into social media intelligence

Social media analytics can be a storytelling goldmine for message testing, competitive intelligence, and personalization. Social media management giant Sprout Social delivers this primer on adding social analytics to your strategy. 

One More Thing...