A 5 Minute Overview Of

Sell with a Story

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

By Paul Smith (2016)

About the Author

Paul Smith is an expert on the art and effectiveness of organizational storytelling. He is a keynote speaker, coach and the author of three books including the bestseller Lead With a Story. He formerly worked as a consultant at Accenture and for 20 years as an executive with Procter & Gamble. He consults with Fortune 500 companies such as Hewlett Packard, Google, Ford Motor Company, Bayer Medical, Abbott, Novataris, Progressive Insurance and Procter & Gamble. He is a graduate of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

The Main Idea

Despite all the high tech that's available today, stories still sell. Pure and simple the best way to influence someone is to tell them just the right story. You should treat storytelling like any other professional skill that you progressively work at and refine.

Based on interviews with hundreds of sales professionals and managers, there are in fact 25 generic sales stories you should prepare beforehand so you have them ready to use at a moment's notice.Build a personal database of your own versions of these 25 stories and then learn how to deliver them convincingly. Do that and you have positioned yourself to excel.

Storytelling gives you a way to stand out in the crowd with something interesting and original to say. It distinguishes you not only from your peers and competitors but also from your predecessors, because the stories you tell won’t be the ones cooked up by the marketing department, your ad agency, or even the sales manager. They’re your stories. Nobody else will have them unless you decide to share.

Paul Smith

Stories sell. And the people who can tell a good sales story sell more than people who can’t. Many people assume that a talent for storytelling is the kind of thing you’re either born with or you’ll never have. And while it’s true that some people are born with a natural ability to tell stories, it’s not true that you can’t learn it. Treat storytelling like any other professional skill. If you invest the time to learn how to do it well, and then practice it, you can master it.

Paul Smith

Download a 1-Page PDF Snapshot of This Book

Business Storytelling 101 Collection

If you enjoyed this summary, here is a collection of related business book summaries, to help you get ideas and strategies that will give you an edge over your competition.

This course will help you shape and mold great stories for your business.

Buy Business Storytelling 101 Collection (5 x 30-Min Summaries)

Summary published 12/2016