Sell with a Story: How to Capture Attention, Build Trust, and Close the Sale | Paul Smith

Despite the high-tech tools available to salespeople today, the most personal method still works best. Through storytelling, a salesperson can explain products or services in ways that resonate, connect people to the mission, and help determine what decisions are made.

A well-crafted story can pack the emotional punch to turn routine presentations into productive relationships. In Sell with a Story, organizational storytelling expert and author Paul Smith focuses his popular and proven formula to the sales arena.

Smith identifies the ingredients of the most effective sales stories and reveals how to:

• Select the right story 
• Craft a compelling and memorable narrative 
• Incorporate challenge, conflict, and resolution• And more 

Learning from model stories, skill-building exercises, and enlightening examples from Microsoft, Costco, Xerox, Abercrombie & Fitch, Hewlett-Packard, and other top companies, you will soon be able to turn their personal experiences into stories that introduce yourself, build rapport, address objections, add value to the product, bring data to life, create a sense of urgency…and most importantly, sell!

If you want to become a better communicator and transform your sales results, Sell with a Story is for you. 

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

“I love it! Stories . . . allow for a real connection with the customer. And Sell with a Story is THE book to teach you how to do that.” — Gary Cofer, Chief Commercial Officer, GfK North America

“Paul Smith has done it once again! Sell with a Story is a practical and useful resource for anybody selling anything!” — Mike Parrott, Vice President/GMM, Costco Wholesale

“Paul Smith's book Sell with a Story is simply the most comprehensive book ever written on the science and the art of using authentic stories in the sales process.” — Anthony Mullen, CEO, the Advanced Sales Summit

“This book will change the way you sell by being able to use stories to close bigger deals. With 24 styles discussed in the book you’ll find more than a few that will make you money!” — Mark Hunter, author of High-Profit Selling and High-Profit Prospecting

“A must read for anyone who wants to captivate attention and win business.” — Lisa McLeod, sales consultant and author of Selling with a Noble Purpose

“Incredibly insightful and practical beyond words . . . a must read for anyone who wants to be more persuasive.” — Dr. Jeffrey Docking, President, Adrian College

“This book is a game changer! . . . a must read, and essential to taking your sales skills to the next level.” — Michael Miller, President and CEO of Primo Solutions, LLC and author of Selling at Combat Speed and Stop Selling and Start Caring

“Paul's book, Sell with a Story, unlocks the secrets of a great story, and here he gives us a great gift. Get this book and tell your story!” — Craig Wortmann, CEO of Sales Engine Inc., Clinical Professor of Entrepreneurship at University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and author of What’s Your Story?

“Sell with a Story is a MUST READ. It’s THE book to show you how to craft memorable, compelling, and honest sales stories that will get more sales closed.” — Colleen Francis, author of Honesty Sells and Nonstop Sales Boom

“As a salesperson, you will finally get what storytelling is, and how to use it to create transfer of ownership and shorten the sale.” — Skip Miller, author of ProActive Selling

“Anyone who thinks that storytelling can’t be learned hasn’t read this book.” — Logan Strain, Digital Content Specialist, NextGen Leads

“Sell with a Story is both wise and practical and, as you would expect, full of great stories. Paul Smith gives us what is sure to be another best seller.” — Shawn Callahan, author of Putting Stories to Work

When it’s time to meet clients, you can roll out the sales deck and go through features and benefits, cost-savings, and time-shavers. But what if no matter how solid and logical your sales pitch is, little actually sticks?

Sales stories, on the other hand, draw people in and actively engage them. You might talk about a time when your company met a nerve-wracking challenge. You might tell the offbeat story of how your product was developed. Stories like these activate emotions and trigger the part of the brain where decisions are made.

Storytelling expert Paul Smith helps salespeople add this potent tool to their toolkit, and get dramatically better results. Based on interviews with sales and procurement professionals at more than 50 top companies including Microsoft, Costco, Xerox, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Hewlett Packard, Sell with a Story explains how stories work, when to use a story to move the sales process along, which ones to always have handy, and how to turn real-life experiences into stories that resonate.

Whether you want to build a relationship with the buyer, negotiate price, or close the deal, you’ll learn how to:

• Craft unique stories that convey your values, your commitment, your product’s ability to solve problems, and more

• Distinguish between a great story and a less compelling one

• Pick the story your audience wants to hear by choosing the most relatable hero, most relevant obstacle, and most meaningful struggle

• Use the right story structure template to ensure key elements are included

• Close stories with succinct lessons and recommended actions

• Add emotion, surprise, dialogue, detail, data, and other elements to make your stories fresh and effective

• Ask open-ended questions that encourage customers to share their own stories

• And much more

Complete with model stories, skill-building exercises, and enlightening examples, this powerful and practical guide gives you the tools to create memorable stories that sell.

Paul Smith is a popular speaker and expert trainer on business storytelling techniques. A former Procter & Gamble executive, his clients include Hewlett Packard, Bayer Medical, Progressive Insurance, Walmart, and other distinguished companies. As the author of Lead with a Story and Parenting with a Story, his work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Inc., Time, Forbes, The Washington Post, Success, and Investor’s Business Daily.

Connect with Paul at: www.leadwithastory.com.

Twitter: @LeadWithAStory

Facebook: LeadWithAStory

--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From the Back Cover

Despite all the high-tech tools available to salespeople, the most personal method still works best. Storytelling packs an emotional punch that turns routine presentations into productive relationships. It brings products and services to life in ways that customers remember; it connects people and creates momentum.

Paul Smith, author of the acclaimed Lead with a Story, shifts his best-selling formula from leadership to the sales arena. In Sell with a Story, he identifies the ingredients of the most effective sales stories and reveals how to:

• Develop compelling and memorable narratives

• Incorporate challenge, conflict, and resolution into your stories

• Select the right story for every occasion: to introduce yourself, build rapport, address objections, add value, enliven data, create a sense of urgency, and more

--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Book Description

Stories sell. Great SALES STORIES sell even more.

“Sell With a Story is a rich compilation of story techniques that can improve any persuasion process.” –Forbes.com

"If you're serious about increasing your effectiveness as a communicator and looking to transform your sales results, Sell with a Story is for you. This book empowered and energized me, and I know it will do the same for you." — Mike Weinberg, consultant, speaker, and author of New Sales. Simplified. and Sales Management. Simplified.

Despite all the high-tech tools available to salespeople, the most personal method still works best.

Storytelling packs the emotional punch to turn routine presentations into productive relationships. It explains products or services in ways that resonate; it connects people and creates momentum. Stories speak to the part of the brain where decisions are made.

Paul Smith, author of the acclaimed Lead with a Story, shifts his best-selling formula to the sales arena. In Sell with a Story, he identifies the ingredients of the most effective sales stories and reveals how to:

Select the right story • Craft a compelling and memorable narrative • Incorporate challenge, conflict, and resolution • Use stories to introduce yourself, build rapport, address objections, add value, bring data to life, create a sense of urgency, and more

Complete with model stories, skill-building exercises, and enlightening examples from Microsoft, Costco, Xerox, Abercrombie & Fitch, Hewlett Packard, and other top companies, this powerful and practical guide gives you the tools you need to turn your experiences into stories that sell.