With every company’s competing priorities and requirements to do more with less, securing the budget necessary to enhance your inbound contact center operations can be challenging. Decision makers often prioritize revenue generating departments like sales and marketing, leaving the contact center underfunded. This means you’ll need to pull out all the stops when advocating for additional funding. And one of the most effective tools in your arsenal is storytelling. 

Storytelling is a powerful communication tool that enables you to present facts, data, and ideas in a way that resonates emotionally and intellectually. When done effectively, storytelling can turn abstract metrics into compelling narratives that justify the investment in the inbound contact center. Here’s how to use storytelling to increase your contact center budget. 

Storytelling Isn’t Just for Novels – It Works in Business Too 

In Donald Miller’s seminal book on the business of storytelling, Building a Story Brand, he writes, “…audiences must always know who the hero is, what the hero wants, who the hero has to defeat to get what they want, what tragic thing will happen if the hero doesn’t win, and what wonderful thing will happen if they do. If the audience can’t answer these questions and the movie will lose at the box office.” The same is true when you’re presenting in a boardroom and asking for a budget increase.You’ll make your argument much more compelling if you follow this structure: 

• The Hero 
• Has a Problem, and 
• Meets a Guide 
• Who Gives them a Plan, and 
• Calls them to Action 
• That Helps them Avoid Failure and 
• Leads to Success 

Consider the classic Star Wars films as an example of effective story telling in action. 

• The hero is Luke Skywalker. 
• A combination of internal, external and philosophical conflicts creates the problem. The death star needs to be defeated (external). Luke Skywalker isn’t sure he has the mettle to do it (internal). The battle is good versus evil (philosophical). 
• The guide is Obi-Wan-Kenobi. 
• The plan is to use The Force. 
• The villain is Darth Vader. 
• The call to action is for Skywalker to leave Tatooine, get on the Millennium Falcon and “Use the Force.” 
• Avoiding defeat means avoiding the Stormtroopers and Darth Vader. 
• Success means becoming a Jedi and destroying the Death Star. 

The Star Wars trilogy is successful because it uses all of the story telling elements. And the audience is satisfied when all three problems are solved simultaneously upon destruction of the Death Star. 

How does this relate to your next presentation to the executive team? Consider this example. 

As the head of contact center operations, imagine that lack of investment in leadership training coupled with rapid growth has led to less experienced people being promoted to middle management positions. This ill-prepared management layer is in turn negatively impacting attrition as agents are not feeling well supported and are lacking guidance. In fact, lack of leadership training is threatening the entire fabric of the contact center, from lower morale to fewer employee referrals and an overall weaker customer experience as a result.  

Following the framework outlined above, your first task will be to identify the hero (hint, it’s not you).  

• The Hero — In this case, the hero will be the budget decision maker such as the CEO. 
• Has a Problem – In defining the problem, this is where you’ll need to tailor your story to resonate with the decision makers.  What are the primary concerns of your audience? If you’re not sure, do some research to find out how senior executives and decision makers are bonused or incentivized. Incentives will give you a strong indication of what’s most important to them.  Is it return on investment (ROI), customer retention, or competitive advantage? If you don’t know specifically what their individual goals are, look at the overall corporate goals for the quarter or for the year. It’s safe to assume your decision makers will have goals that align to these corporate objectives. The more you understand their priorities, the better you can align your story with their interests. Business units and teams are interconnected and if the issue matters to you, it’s safe to assume that the issue matters upstream as well. You just need to identify the right way to spin your problem so that it better aligns to the concerns of your audience. This problem identification exercise is also a good test of the storytelling process. If your issue doesn’t align with the priorities of decision makers, you should reconsider whether or not you want to make this argument at all. In this case, we’ll assume your problem is limited funds to address employee attrition caused by inexperienced and ineffective middle managers.  However, for the purposes of better aligning the issue to decision makers, you can also define the problem as a struggle for operational cost reduction, revenue growth, and employee experience.  
• and Meets a Guide — you 
• Who Gives them a Plan – a detailed accounting of the cost benefits of investing in a comprehensive leadership training program. 
• and calls them to Action – a budget of $200,000 over three years to overhaul the current leadership training program 
• That Helps them Avoid Failure – reduces employee attrition and talent exodus by 20% over three years, while addressing employee and customer experience concerns 
• Leads to Success — raises employee satisfaction scores and reduces attrition, while also raising customer satisfaction scores 

In addition to this framework, conflict is the key to drawing an audience into any compelling story. In a business context, the gap is between where your inbound contact center is currently and where it needs to be. Use data and anecdotes to illustrate the consequences of underfunding.  Then, offer a clear, actionable solution to the conflict. Explain how the additional budget will address challenges and improve outcomes. Use specific figures to bolster your case: For example, “By investing $200,000 in advanced leadership training, we can reduce employee attrition by 20%, improve customer satisfaction to 95%, and save an estimated $400,000.” 

End your presentation with a vision. Paint a picture of the future if your proposed budget is approved. Highlight the long-term benefits, such as increased employee and customer loyalty, higher revenue, and a stronger brand reputation. For example, “Imagine the benefits to the customer experience that can be enjoyed when we become the employer of choice in our market, hiring and retaining only the best people, with a management layer ready and able to support our growth.” 

Securing a larger inbound contact center budget requires more than just presenting data; it requires making a compelling case that resonates with decision-makers. Storytelling is a powerful tool for achieving this. By combining data with human-centered narratives, you can demonstrate the value of customer service in a way that inspires action. 

While facts and figures are important, when it comes to convincing others to take action, storytelling can be a powerful part of your toolkit. Remember, your story should align with the goals and priorities of your audience, so use both logic and emotion, and provide a clear vision of the benefits your proposed budget will bring. With a well-crafted narrative, you can not only secure the resources your team needs but also elevate the importance of customer service within your organization. For more information about how Advensus can support your contact center goals, contact us.