Stories sell

People think in stories. No, that’s not the important thing. People feel in stories. Feelings (emotions) help people decide, buy, stay loyal, and refer new customers.

Heinen's Fine Foods“One of the things Whole Foods taught us is the need to tell stories” about our products, Mr. Heinen said. In fact, Heinen’s has 50 stories that it trains employees to tell customers about its meat, produce, baked goods and other items.

Tom Heinen
Heinen’s Fine Foods in
The New York Times

What stories are your customers and prospective customers hearing about you?

 


 

See also, Creation Myths and Why We Need Them: Origins.

 


 

One more question…

One more question…

 


 

Download a handy one page .PDF of this post by clicking here.Establish the habit of slowing down your responses to questions, to save time and trouble. A simple and effective way to do this is by training yourself to respond to every question with a clarifying question. This gives the questioner a chance to explain why they asked and what they are trying to accomplish. You’ll be surprised how often the quick answer you might have given would not have helped them –or you– at all.

Suppose, for example, you shipped that big report yesterday, just as you had promised. Today the client telephones and asks, “Have you (more…)

Integrity-based, relationship-building selling system

 


 

Selling SystemYou Can’t Teach a Kid to Ride a Bike at a Seminar:

The Sandlr Sales Institute’s 7-Step System for Successful Selling
by David H. Sandlr, John Hayes

 

I put off reading this book for months. Reading another how-to, self-help autobiography was like a trip to the gym: I knew I should, but it could always wait. Most sales trainers left me with a simple pair of thoughts: that stuff would really work–if I could force myself to do it! The Sandlr System leaves me with: this stuff works–and it feels natural!

The book is very professionally written: not literature just clear, concise and readable. A lively mix of (more…)

A fantastic book on negotiation

 


 

Getting Past No: Negotiating Your Way from Confrontation to Cooperation by William L. Ury

A practical guidebook to “Win-Win” negotiation.William L. Ury

William Ury is not only an experienced high-level negotiator but an acute student of his art who can distill his wisdom into concise, memorable lessons. This book is indispensable for anyone who wants to do well in negotiations, formal or informal, without humiliating or destroying the other side. For Ury and his disciples, Win-Win is not a feel-good aspiration but a profitable practice. As a negotiation style that builds relationships while getting things done, Win-Win is a cornerstone of the “Sustainable Workstyles” we teach at MayoGenuine.

A key insight of his method is the possibility of being “soft on the people, hard on the problem.” Negotiation is so often associated with macho words like “bruising,” “hard-nosed,” and “marathon” that it is easy to forget negotiation is not war pursued by other means. We negotiate as an alternative to battle, not as another version of it. Everyone wants (more…)