I have become a huge fan of Jeffrey Gitomer. If you haven't had a chance to check out his stuff you should visit http://www.gitomer.com/ or you can download some of his podcasts on I-tunes. In his latest "sales rant" he talked about being a story teller instead of a joke teller, and I think he was right on the money.
I have seen it a number of times with other sales reps and have been guilty a few times myself. You just never know what could offend someone, and if you aren't offensive, telling a joke that isn't funny could be just as damaging. Nothing says "cheesey salesperson" more than a bad joke in a sales meeting. I have made a promise to myself not to tell a joke in a sales meeting no matter how funny I think it is.
Story telling on the other hand, is a great idea. I don't mean stories about your crazy weekend, but rather stories about your clients. Having good compelling stories about why other businesses became clients or why they remain clients can set you up for success. Telling stories brings a sense of comfort to a business meeting and can help allow your prospect to open up. Just think about how great a conversation you could have after telling a story about a client, and your prospect is dealing with the same issue. All of a sudden your prospect is telling their story, and might end up doing your job for you; selling your service/product.
So, I think it would be wise for us all to take some advice from Jeffrey Gitomer, and become better story tellers, and keep the jokes at home. Better yet, get rid of the jokes all together. They probably aren't that funny anyway...
Regards,
K Mason
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