Podcast (sell-with-a-story-series1): Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

Nobody ever quit their job and started their own company for a boring reason. And that’s why one story every salesperson should have in their arsenal is their company’s founding story. It introduces the prospect to the person who started your company and helps them see and feel why it was started in the first [read more]

Podcast (sell-with-a-story-series1): Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

Humans have a habit of judging people before even meeting them — often just based on what they do for a living. And unfortunately, just working in sales is sometimes enough to create rather powerful — and negative — preconceptions. And until you can get your prospect past those preconceptions, your job will be much [read more]

Podcast (sell-with-a-story-series1): Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

{The 8th in a series of the 25 most useful sales stories.} One of the types of stories you’ll find useful in the rapport-building phase of the sales cycle is one to assure your prospect that, when necessary, you’re willing to go to bat for them with your own company’s leadership. Of course, that doesn’t mean [read more]

Podcast (sell-with-a-story-series1): Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

{The 7th in a series of the 25 most useful sales stories} One of the things I learned from interviewing professional buyers was that there are two things salespeople can do to immediately earn buyers’ trust and credibility. In the words one buyer used to explain it, “First, tell me when you can not help me. And [read more]

Podcast (sell-with-a-story-series1): Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

{The 6th in a series of the 25 most useful sales stories.} One of the things I learned from interviewing professional buyers was that there are two things salespeople can do to immediately earn buyers’ trust and credibility. In the words one buyer used to explain it, “First, tell me when you can not help me. [read more]

Podcast (sell-with-a-story-series1): Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

{This is the 5th in a series of the 25 most useful sales stories salespeople should have in their repertoire.} The major premise of Simon Sinek’s bestselling book Start with Why can be summarized in his statement “People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.” It should make sense, then, that in order [read more]

Podcast (sell-with-a-story-series1): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

This series is dedicated to helping you tell better sales stories. But your first objective in a sales call shouldn’t be to tell any of your stories. It should be to get the buyer to tell you their stories. If you don’t hear their stories first, how will you know which of your stories to [read more]

Podcast (sell-with-a-story-series1): Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

[This is the 4th in a series of the 25 most useful sales stories salespeople should have in their repertoire.] In conducting my research on storytelling in the sales space, I read dozens of books and interviewed sales and procurement managers at over 50 companies around the world. One of the more unexpected, and quite frankly, amusing, [read more]

Podcast (sell-with-a-story-series1): Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

(This is the 3rd in a series of the 25 Most Useful Sales Stories salespeople should have in their repertoire.) In 2008, Wharton management professor and social psychologist Adam Grant conducted a very telling study. He and two research assistants went to an outbound call center where a fund-raising organization was raising money for a [read more]