By David Lynn
In the world of sales and service, we’ve been trained to trust the numbers. We track conversion rates, ticket resolution times, net promoter scores, and average deal size. We measure performance in percentages, progress in dashboards, and potential in forecasts. And while all of that is necessary—it’s not enough.
Because data might explain behavior, but it rarely changes it.
If your goal is to deepen a relationship, earn trust, or drive meaningful action—data alone won’t get you there. It might justify a decision, reinforce an argument, or support a process. But it won’t spark belief. It won’t stick in the mind. It won’t make your audience feel something.
If you want to win hearts—not just minds—you need more than metrics.
You need a story.
When Data Isn’t the Answer
There’s a common moment that happens in sales and service conversations. You lay out your case clearly. You’ve got the right facts, a sound proposal, perhaps even a well-designed slide deck. Everything checks out logically. But somehow, it falls flat. The client isn’t convinced. The employee doesn’t buy in. The decision maker delays again.
What’s happening?
You’ve made a rational argument in a world where decisions are often emotional. It’s a disconnect we don’t always see—but it’s one that costs us deals, loyalty, and momentum. Data can tell people what’s true, but only stories can show them why it matters.
Storytelling is how humans make sense of the world. It gives context to the facts. It anchors the abstract in something we can relate to. And in the crowded, noisy world of modern communication, it gives your message a fighting chance to be remembered.
As I often say:
“Business storytelling is a more compelling way for narratives to break through the bombardment and cacophony of messaging people are receiving.”
We’re not short on information. We’re short on connection.
The Stories That Actually Work
Not every story sticks. In fact, some do more harm than good—too vague, too self-promotional, too disconnected from the listener’s reality. The stories that resonate are the ones that feel familiar.
They don’t have to be dramatic. But they do need to feel real. And they need to feature someone who is struggling with something your audience understands intimately.
“In order for the story to be powerful, it has to be about an individual with struggles that the person you’re talking to can relate to.”
This is where so many professionals miss the mark. They share polished success stories that look great in a slide deck but feel emotionally distant. What works better is a story that starts with tension, doubt, frustration, or fear—something your audience has felt themselves. Then, when the story leads to insight or transformation, it’s not just a nice ending—it’s proof that change is possible.
A skeptical buyer starts seeing their own path forward.
A frustrated customer feels heard.
A team member feels re-energized.
That’s the power of a well-told story. It shifts someone’s posture from “That’s interesting” to “That could be me.”
Connection Begins with Listening
The key to telling better stories isn’t about being more creative. It’s about being more attuned.
Before you can share a story that resonates, you need to know who you’re talking to—and what’s going on beneath the surface. That means going beyond your CRM notes and KPI dashboards. It means listening not just for facts, but for feelings. Not just for objections, but for obstacles.
“The deeper you understand someone—we call that transformational listening—the more effective you’re going to be at telling a story that inspires them to change.”
Transformational listening is about slowing down and really paying attention. It’s asking a follow-up question not because it’s on a checklist, but because you genuinely want to understand the “why” behind the “what.” It’s about sensing the tension between what someone says and what they mean.
In sales, this might mean noticing the hesitation in a prospect’s voice when they talk about internal buy-in. In service, it might mean recognizing that a customer’s frustration isn’t just about a delayed shipment—but about feeling overlooked.
When you listen this way, you earn the right to tell a story that matters.
Where Technology Helps—and Where It Doesn’t
Let’s talk about the role of AI and automation. There’s no question that technology is reshaping how we work. AI can help us generate follow-ups, analyze sentiment, predict churn, and write pretty compelling outreach sequences.
Those are good things. As professionals, we should absolutely be learning how to prompt better, operate faster, and work smarter.
“We think that’s critical—being able to be a really good prompter and use AI effectively to increase your productivity.”
But here’s what technology can’t do:
It can’t build trust.
It can’t create empathy.
It can’t tell a story that makes someone feel something.
“Without the soft skills of human connection and storytelling, we don’t think it’s going to be effective.”
The best professionals today—and certainly the best managers—aren’t just fluent in tools. They’re fluent in people. They can take the insights that data or AI provide and wrap them in a message that feels personal. They understand that credibility comes from competence, but influence comes from connection.
The future belongs to those who can integrate both. Hard skills and soft skills. Data and narrative. Performance and empathy.
Where to Use Storytelling in Your Work
You don’t need to be a keynote speaker or published author to start using storytelling. In fact, some of the most impactful stories are shared in quick, casual moments—on a Zoom call, in a 1:1, over a coffee, or embedded in a product demo.
In sales, use stories:
- When introducing a new solution, anchor it in a customer’s real-world experience.
- When overcoming objections, share how another client voiced the same concern—and what happened next.
- When closing a deal, paint a vivid picture of what success could look and feel like.
In service, use stories:
- To train new team members with real examples that highlight your values in action.
- To de-escalate tough situations by humanizing the process and validating emotion.
- To inspire higher standards by highlighting small moments of greatness.
In management, use stories:
- To reinforce priorities during change.
- To give feedback in a way that feels constructive rather than clinical.
- To celebrate wins in a way that spreads culture, not just applause.
Stories are sticky. When you use them with intention, they turn insight into action.
Why This Matters More Than Ever
We’re living in a time when attention is short, skepticism is high, and emotional bandwidth is thin. Sales and service professionals are being asked to do more with less. Managers are trying to lead teams through constant change. AI is accelerating everything, and it’s tempting to rely on it for more and more communication.
But as our tools get faster, our human moments need to get deeper.
That’s why storytelling is so important right now. It’s not a “soft” skill. It’s a strategic one. It’s how we create trust in uncertain times. It’s how we help others make sense of complexity. It’s how we stay memorable in a sea of sameness.
Because when you strip away all the technology, trends, and templates, people still want the same thing they’ve always wanted: to feel seen, understood, and inspired.
And that never comes from a spreadsheet.
So yes—bring your data. Know your numbers. Use your tools. But don’t forget the story.
Tell me who struggled. Tell me how they changed. Let me see myself in it. Make me believe something better is possible.
