The 5-Letter Word That Converts 90% of My Sales Calls
Most sales calls are a waste of time. Yours and the prospect's.
You show up, vomit a list of your product’s features, talk about your company’s history, and then ask them if they have any questions. They say "no, this was great, we'll be in touch," and you never hear from them again. You know the drill.
Why? Because nobody cares.
Nobody cares about your "synergistic platform" or your "robust, scalable infrastructure." It’s noise. It’s boring. And it doesn't solve their problem. Humans don't connect with feature lists. We connect with stories.
For years, I've used a dead-simple formula that turns a boring pitch into a story that actually sticks. It’s an acronym, I know, I know. But unlike the useless crap they teach you in corporate training, this one works. It’s called S.T.O.R.Y.
And it’s the reason most of my sales calls actually lead somewhere.
Here’s the breakdown.
S – Situation
This is the "Once upon a time." You need to paint a picture of the world before you showed up. Don't just say, "The client had low lead flow." That’s a report, not a story.
Get specific. Get emotional. Where were they? What did their day look like?
"The client was a marketing director, John. Every morning, he'd come into the office to a dead inbox. He was spending $10k a month on ads that got clicks but zero form fills. He was getting grilled by his CEO in every single weekly meeting, and he was starting to think he was just bad at his job."
See the difference? We're not talking about a faceless company. We're talking about John. He’s stressed. He's failing. He’s relatable. Your prospect should see themselves in John's shoes.
T – Task
What was the mission? What did they need to do to escape the hell you just described? This isn't about what you do. It's about their goal.
"All John wanted was to generate 20 qualified leads a month. That was the number he promised his boss. He didn't need a million leads. He just needed to hit that one number to get the CEO off his back and prove his strategy was working."
The task is the glimmer of hope. It’s the light at the end of the tunnel. It makes the goal feel achievable and focuses the story.
O – Obstacle
This is the most important part of the entire story. Without an obstacle, there is no story. There is no tension. There is no villain to defeat.
What was standing in John's way?
"The problem was, John had no idea why his ads weren't working. He'd tried changing the copy, the images, the targeting. Nothing worked. The obstacle wasn't the ad platform. The obstacle was a complete lack of clarity. He was flying blind, burning money, and his team didn't have the expertise to diagnose the real problem."
The obstacle is the dragon. It's the thing that makes the prospect think, "Yeah, that's my problem, too." If you can articulate their obstacle better than they can, they will instantly assume you have the solution.
R – Result
This is the payoff. You rode in on a white horse and helped them slay the dragon. Now, what happened?
Again, don't be lazy. Don't just say, "We increased their leads by 300%." It's impressive, but it’s sterile. Translate the numbers into human impact.
"So we came in. We rebuilt their landing page and tweaked their offer. In the first month, John got 25 qualified leads. The next month, it was 40. The CEO stopped grilling him and instead asked him to present his 'new strategy' to the entire company. He went from feeling like a failure to being the marketing hero. He even got a bonus that paid for his family's trip to Hawaii."
Now that's a result. It's a tangible, emotional victory. Your prospect doesn't just want 40 leads. They want the respect of their boss. They want that bonus. They want to feel like a winner.
Y – You
This is the pivot. You just told a great story about someone else. Now you have to make it about the person you're talking to. You have to bridge the gap.
Don't assume they'll connect the dots. Do it for them.
You look them in the eye and say:
"The reason I'm telling you this story about John is because what you just described—feeling like you're wasting ad spend and not knowing why—is the exact same obstacle he was facing. The result he got? That's what I believe is possible for you, too."
And that’s it.
You stop talking.
You’ve just taken them on a journey. You’ve shown them you understand their pain, you’ve presented a clear path forward, and you’ve dangled a desirable outcome. You haven’t sold them a single feature. You’ve sold them a future version of themselves.
Start telling stories. It's not that hard.
