Behavior Hacking, Episode 3: Crafting a Narrative That Wins Deals

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Gray Hardell: 

So you wrote that there's one sales practice that everyone uses, but few master. What is it, and how can every rep watching this apply it?

Asking Thoughtful Discovery Questions

Nate Nasralla: 

Asking thoughtful discovery questions. Every seller knows you have to do a discovery, you have to ask questions. However, there's a wide gap between a question that leads to a meaningful conversation and the typical checklist approach.

First, you need a framework for what you want to understand about the buyer. I focus on the journey the buyer is on today that they've decided to take. Where are they? What's not working? Why does it truly matter to them? Is it getting worse or will it work itself out over time? How do they think about it differently from others? What do they feel misunderstood about the current issue or scenario that others have missed?

Then I want to understand where they're trying to go. If this is where they are today, where do they want to go tomorrow? From some type of problem to some type of payoff. What would it look and feel like to step into that for a second? If I can use a question to create a clear visual of, well, how do we know we're there? How big of a change is it to go from here to there?

Next, we'll look at the pathway to get there. This is where you start to think about process questions. Who needs to come along for the ride? What have you tried before that maybe went off the rails? Was there some anxiety and fear baked into it? Is there going to be a point where we know we'll hit friction on the path? These are all topics you can uncover with good questions.

Discovery is ultimately helping the buyer think for themselves on an old topic in a new way by asking a question. That's where you can break down so much resistance inside a deal. Not by making a statement or telling them something, but by helping them come to that conclusion. It's like that saying, anyone convinced against their will is of the same opinion still. That's where a good question comes in.

Gray Hardell: 

Got it. That makes a lot of sense. We've talked a lot about putting the problem on paper. Training and developing sellers in this way is pretty rare in my experience. We don't spend a ton of time on it. What can sales managers do to help reps actually master the art of crafting a narrative?

Training Reps to Craft Narratives

Nate Nasralla: 

The first thing I would do, because you're right, it is an underdeveloped, undertrained skill, is start with something familiar. That is your own pipeline, your own workweek. I would have reps write out a weekly pipeline update to unpack what's in the pipeline, how that compares to what needs to come in, top priorities for the week, blockers in the way, and just write down what you already know. Part of the goal is to ease into the discipline and to show that you'll probably uncover new things you didn't even know you were thinking about or gaps you need to address.

Next, I would have a follow-up email. Take a business case or executive summary, give it to a peer on the team, and have them work with each other to provide feedback. It's always easier to point out something unclear or undesirable in someone else's writing than to evaluate and improve your own writing. So work on rewrites for other people.

Third, go back to your point about conversations. Listen to what your buyers are saying and write with their words. Start with a framework and use the buyer's language to fill it in, like writing Mad Libs.

Gray Hardell: 

This brings me to something in your book where you talk about groups of people using Legos and two people trying to build a very specific thing versus four. Many sellers have to navigate dysfunctional buying groups. What steps can closers take to accelerate and negotiate when you have so many different personalities all trying to build something with these Legos?

Navigating Dysfunctional Buying Groups

Nate Nasralla: 

The study you mentioned from UCLA showed that smaller teams built the structure faster because they cut down on communication overhead and different opinions. When working with a large buying group, more people is not always better because you'll get into unproductive conversations.

Start by identifying who needs to be at the table. Look at past deals that have closed: who were the contacts present, who influenced the deal significantly, and at what stage did they come into the cycle? Make sure you have the right people and no more.

Find one lead who will be your champion to coordinate and call out disagreements. This person holds the weight of the group and people take cues from them. Have a one-on-one conversation with this person before going to the group.

Lastly, if you can't get consensus in writing on what you're trying to solve, any downstream conversation on product requirements, criteria, differentiators, or alternative solutions won't be productive.

Gray Hardell: 

You and I have talked about buyers and their personal motivations. How can a seller determine if a buyer has the three I's: information, influence, and intent?

Determining Buyer Motivations

Nate Nasralla: 

In a conversation, you might bring up a project plan or mutual action plan. I might say, "This is going to be a lot of work and take time away from your day job. Yet, you're signing up for this where nobody else is. What's driving you to say, let's do this together?" This helps unpack their motivation.

For example, one customer told me he needed to get his team's number faster because he was expecting his third son and didn't want to be on at 9 pm looking at materials. He needed to be ready for the night shift if his little one was fussy. For him, the motivation was to become more present as a father. No other urgency or incentive could match that.

Gray Hardell: 

And you could quantify as much value as you want on the business side, but there's no way to quantify the value of being able to be present with your family.

Nate Nasralla: 

Yeah, I can help him put numbers on it for finance, but that's not his personal motivation.

Gray Hardell: 

That makes a ton of sense. Your book Selling With highlights that 92 percent of deals don't have a business case attached to them. If 92 percent of sellers don't do it, then why should sellers spend their time creating one?

The Importance of a Business Case

Nate Nasralla: 

First, let's level set on what a business case is. Many people think it's an ROI calculator or financial model. When I talk about a business case, I mean a written narrative that connects your deal back to the executive priority and creates the context or narrative that brings meaning to those numbers. It's not that there aren't numbers, but it's a clear, one-page narrative about the deal built with the buying team.

A business case is not a 30-page slide deck. It's about how the deal develops from early discovery, framing the problem statements, and doing this over time with the buying team.

Only 8 percent of deals have a business case, but the gap in win rates and sales cycle length is massive. Once sellers see that data, they understand its transformative potential. Many sellers don't realize that creating content to guide the internal buying conversation is crucial. Until they think about deals this way, they won't spend the time to build out that business case.