Sell with a Story

Paul Smith, author of Lead with a Story, applies his storytelling method to selling, on the view that stories reach the part of the brain where decisions get made. He breaks effective sales stories into their ingredients and explains how to pick the right one, shape it around a challenge, a conflict and a resolution, and keep it memorable. He also shows how stories can introduce a salesperson, build rapport, handle objections, add value, make data vivid and create urgency. Model stories and skill exercises sit alongside examples from Costco, Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, Xerox and Abercrombie & Fitch. The material is aimed at salespeople who want routine presentations to turn into working relationships.

Robert Hajnal, an ultrarunner and founder of Trail Running Academy, picked it up to learn how to build a strong story behind a product he brings to market.