University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
Sell with a Story
Book

Sell with a Story

How to Capture Attention, Build Trust, and Close the Sale

Paul Smith
AMACOM, 2017
Buy book or audiobook

Read offline

Amazon Kindle

Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Applicable

Recommendation

A good story transforms your sales pitch and selling relationships. Corporate trainer Paul Smith explains why stories matter and how to create great ones. He concludes each chapter with activities to help readers identify, draft, develop and practice their stories. No matter your industry, Smith offers helpful guidance to making your sales calls more personal so your customers see who you are, what you offer and why they should work with you. getAbstract recommends these concrete, applicable lessons to help all salespeople add vitality to their sales presentations.

Summary

Stories Work

A good story has six facets: time, place, main character, a goal, an obstacle and events. Stories build trust by sharing situations that everyone could face: Problems occur and get solved with effort. Most people make decisions from the subconscious and emotional parts of their brains; stories target those areas by guiding people to identify with a situation. A story lets a client relax and understand the value you and your product offer by considering it in a different context. An original story is memorable and sparks clients to remember you and your product.

Stories to Tell Yourself

Making sales calls is difficult, so salespeople need strong self-motivation. Knowing why your sales calls matter can help you be aware of how much client service you provide. Consider a time when you significantly improved a customer’s experience through your efforts and thoughtfulness. How did the difficulty you solved originally arise? What did you do? How did you do it? What was the clients’ response when you presented the solution? Use this as your motivation story to remind yourself why your sales calls are about providing service.

Stories You Need

About the Author

Paul Smith, who had a 20-year executive career with Procter & Gamble and, earlier, with Arthur Andersen, is a speaker and corporate trainer in storytelling techniques. He also wrote Lead with a Story and Parenting with a Story.

Comment on this summary