The Art Of StoryTelling...

10/10/2012 11:07:00 AM Master Marketing , Money leveraging 0 Comments

We all had teachers like that, and then there were some teachers that were actually exciting to listen to.

Going to their class was fun.

They could make the most boring subject in the world fascinating.

What was difference?

In one word LANGUAGE.

How they used language to describe their subject.

And those who were actually interesting used a very effective tool of influence…

I truly consider it to be the master skill when it comes to salesmanship whether face to face, in print or online.

We are WIRED to pay attention to stories.

It’s part of our DNA and it’s reinforced by stories our parents and grandparents used to tell us when we were kids.

But unlike telling a story in class, in sales you want to use your story to actually sell your product, service or business opportunity.

Take any successful product out there and you’ll find a compelling story attached to the selling process behind it.

Look at the testimonials in infomercials… they’re mini-stories that paint a very vivid picture in your mind of the outcome these people got (and you automatically place yourself in their shoes, into the story). Works like a charm.

I actually realized that when I was selling financial services, by far not the sexiest product to explain and sell. Well it was to me  , but not to my prospects.

I mean who in their right mind would be interested in talking about insurance and complicated investments.

So I learned that telling stories instead of trying to explain how the product works, is much, MUCH more effective.

Years ago, a friend of mine in that business delivered an insurance payment to a widow after her husband collapsed of a heart attack, he was in his early 40′s.

Leaving a stay at home wife and 2 young kids with no income, and very little English, they lived in the country for just a couple of years.

He died only 5 days after taking out a policy.

The insurance check my friend brought to the family saved their financial life.

She was able to move out of a bad Detroit neighborhood into a small house in the suburbs and had some money left over to get her life together while looking for a steady job.

It’s a true story, I personally know the family, I used to tell it on every single appointment I went to, in full details.

And unless these people were complete morons, in my opinion, how could anyone with kids say no to a small monthly payment to protect them?

But in many cases I didn’t even have to ask them like that… because after I simply told the story, and painted this emotional picture, often they’d ask me how do we get this and how much does it cost.

Telling this one story over the years has brought a lot of fat commission checks to me, and provided quality product to many, many people.

What I didn’t realize at the time though, is that you can sell ANYTHING with a good story.

Now of course you have to believe in your product, and you have sell what’s in their best interest, that should go without saying.

But at the end, a compelling story with your product, service or business opportunity serving as the solution that saves the day, eliminates the pain, solves a major problem, etc… is the emotional push your prospects need to move them into the buying zone.

So here’s a question, how can you make your product, service or business opportunity more compelling with a story?

Is there a compelling story behind the creation of the product or the inspiration behind it… a story that your prospects can relate to and identify with?

Coming up with one could be worth a Million Dollars to you or more.

It is the difference between successful selling and making no or very few sales.

The most successful sales letter ever written, is the Wall Street Journal letter.

And guess what… it’s a story.

Right out of the gate, the letter starts out with… “On a beautiful late spring afternoon, 25 years ago, two young men…..”

This classic letter is considered the most successfully mailed letter in the history of direct response, producing over $1 Billion.

I’d say that’s pretty dang impressive and something you can learn from.

I actually swiped this very opening sentence awhile ago and used it along with what I’m sharing with you here, in an email to sell a persuasion course for a client.

It was so effective it landed me a big project and 5-Figures, just from one email.

Do you think it’s worth mastering this skill?