Episode #331 – Patti Pokorchak
Meet
Patti Pokorchak
Patti Pokorchak (Poker-Chuck) was NOT a born sales professional. She was the shyest female tech pioneer, proving that ANYONE can learn how to sell, AND love it too. Patti now teaches Entrepreneurial Sales at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University). A serial entrepreneur since 1992, she helped co-found and run a software business, scaling to multiple 7-figures in sales and 20 employees before opening up her own hobby farm and garden centre. Patti will take you from Sales FEAR to Sales FUN to Sales SUCCESS, so you can do more of what you love to do. She has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs to have more fun AND make more money too!Our Mission Is To Change The Negative Perception Of Sales People
Our Vision Is A World Where Selling Is A Profession To Be Proud Of
When you can share stories that demonstrate the value of your product or service—while making your prospective client the hero—it makes what you offer come alive. Patti Pokorchak likes to say, “When people see the value, they will find the money.” Learn how Patti crafts stories that show value in this episode of Sales Reinvented!
Outline of This Episode
- [1:19] Why is storytelling an important skill?
- [1:46] Is storytelling something that can be learned?
- [2:37] The ingredients of a story that sells
- [3:18] The attributes of a great storyteller
- [4:03] Resources to improve your storytelling
- [5:16] Top three storytelling dos and don’ts
- [6:25] How to keep your story more concise
- [7:19] How to make the story about the customer
- [8:12] When people see the value they find the money
Is storytelling something that can be learned?
Patti jokes that she’s living proof that you can take a shy geek and turn them into a more outgoing multi-million-dollar sales professional. Storytelling is another tool in her arsenal that she uses and teaches. She believes that if you want to improve, it helps to have a board of advisors and accountability partners so you can practice your stories and get feedback.
The ingredients of a story that sells
You have to set the scene. What is the conflict or problem that needs to be resolved? The climax involves turning your potential client into the star of the story. Patti emphasizes that you have to pace yourself and use different tones. Make your story concise so your listener doesn’t tune out. The least amount of words makes the maximum impact. Lastly, don’t forget to pause at the crucial moment of the story.
Patti breaks down some other useful storytelling dos and don’ts:
- Make sure the customer is the hero of the story
- Make sure there’s a lesson to be learned
- Be concise. Keep your story at 2–3 minutes
- Don’t be boring.
- Don’t be long-winded.
- Don’t make it about you.
Listen to find out how Patti makes her stories concise and customer-focused.
When people see the value they find the money
Patti was asked to come in to give a dreaded second quote to train a department that was already working with someone they trusted. To prepare for the quote, Patti started asking questions. She asked what the other consultant was charging. It was only $1,000 a day. Patti’s target quote was $10,000 a training day. She was 10 times more expensive. But that didn’t deter Patti.
Patti had been working for Learning Tree for a few years by then. She was confident that they provided world-class training. So when she gave the quote, she shared how they developed courses, which included beta testing, six months of training, and constant evaluation of trainers. In comparison, their consultant had never taught this course before. Their consultant wasn’t qualified in comparison.
Did they want their 20 engineers to waste two days of their time on an unproven course? Patti won their business by showing the value of their training. When people see the value, they will find the money. It’s why Patti always preaches value.
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Resources & People Mentioned
- Jeanne Robertson Stories
- Dave Lieber Dallas Morning News
- The Power of Storytelling to Change the World
Connect with Patti Pokorchak
Connect With Paul Watts
Audio Production and Show notes by
PODCAST FAST TRACK
https://www.podcastfasttrack.com
Learn More About Patti Pokorchak
In the field of Business Story Telling – Who do you most admire and why? Dave Lieber, Dallas Morning News and Jeanne Robertson.
Are there any aspects of your own Story Telling skills that you are working on improving at the moment? To practice my stories to make them punchier and shorter.
Hobbies, Interests? My new rescue dog Zoey, a 10-year-old Jack Russell Terrier keeps me busy as I’m training her. I love to hear other people’s stories and read a lot.
How can our listeners contact with you? Patti(at)SmallBizSalesCoach.ca
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