Sell with a Story Podcast
49 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 3 years ago - ★★★★★ - 12 ratingsThis podcast is to help you use the art and science of storytelling to help you be more effective in your sales role. What you’ll hear will come from two primary sources. Most will be stories that come from interviews I conducted with professional sales and procurement managers from over 50 companies around the world, including: Microsoft, Costco, Xerox, Abercrombie & Fitch, Hewlett Packard, Kroger, Cushman & Wakefield, Huntington Bank, Ghirardelli Chocolates, Amway, and Children’s Hospital, among others — all of which are documented in my book, Sell with a Story: How to Capture Attention, Build Trust, and Close the Sale. On other episodes I’ll have guest authors and experts in the sales field, including bestselling sales authors like Mike Weinberg, Anthony Ianarrino, Mark Hunter, and others.
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Episodes
Story the Call: How to Learn from the Best (and Worst) Sales Calls
April 16, 2021 19:43 - 5 minutes - 4.82 MBUsing storytelling to capture the lessons learned from your best and worst sales calls. The post Story the Call: How to Learn from the Best (and Worst) Sales Calls appeared first on Paul Smith.
Sales Hall of Fame President on Selling Well During a Pandemic
February 09, 2021 20:30 - 32 minutes - 29.5 MBSales Hall of Fame president Steve Benson joins me to talk about a clever sales tool Badger Maps, as well as specific problems and solutions for salespeople during the pandemic. The post Sales Hall of Fame President on Selling Well During a Pandemic appeared first on Paul Smith.
How NOT to Sell Yourself on LinkedIn
November 19, 2020 15:37 - 24 minutes - 22.7 MBGreat at LinkedIn author Mike Sweigart joins me to talk about some of the best -- and worst -- things you can do on LinkedIn to help market you and your brand The post How NOT to Sell Yourself on LinkedIn appeared first on Paul Smith.
No Regrets Selling and the Paradox of Choice
September 29, 2020 16:01 - 21 minutes - 19.6 MBToday, Jason Cutter is a sales success architect who coaches and trains successful salespeople. But in his past, he had several sales jobs in the trenches where he made the same kind of mistakes most of us make early in sales. Jason joined me this week to share two of his early mistakes and what we can all learn from them. The post No Regrets Selling and the Paradox of Choice appeared first on Paul Smith.
“These are not my pants!”: A Loyalty-Building Story for Salespeople
April 10, 2020 17:11 - 12 minutes - 11.9 MBIf you'd been in one of Mark Bowser's customer service training classes in Indianapolis in the late 1990s, those are the first words you would have heard him say as he introduced himself. The post “These are not my pants!”: A Loyalty-Building Story for Salespeople appeared first on Paul Smith.
3 Ways to Use Storytelling After the Sale
February 20, 2020 19:04 - 5 minutes - 5.18 MBJust because you've closed the sale doesn’t mean the need for storytelling has ended. In fact, the best salespeople continue to use storytelling after the sale in three primary ways The post 3 Ways to Use Storytelling After the Sale appeared first on Paul Smith.
Getting Past Procurement and Having Fun Doing It
January 08, 2020 16:56 - 21 minutes - 19.8 MBMike Weinberg is pissed off. And if you work in sales, you should be, too. And that very righteous anger is directed at people in his own industry -- the sales coaching and training business. In particular The post Getting Past Procurement and Having Fun Doing It appeared first on Paul Smith.
Coaching the Breakup – Helping your Prospect Fire Their Current Supplier to Make Room for You
November 22, 2019 16:51 - 5 minutes - 5.53 MBThis is the most creative use of storytelling in closing the sale that you're ever likely to come across. The post Coaching the Breakup – Helping your Prospect Fire Their Current Supplier to Make Room for You appeared first on Paul Smith.
Salespeople: Steve Jobs Didn’t Need Empathy, So Why Should You?
October 24, 2019 15:55 - 23 minutes - 21.8 MBDo you really need empathy to be a good sales rep? My podcast guest this week says no. He's Nicolas Vandenberghe, CEO of Chili Piper. The post Salespeople: Steve Jobs Didn’t Need Empathy, So Why Should You? appeared first on Paul Smith.
7 Principles of Ethical Persuasion
September 23, 2019 21:00 - 32 minutes - 29.5 MBWhat’s the difference between ethical persuasion and manipulation? That was the primary topic of my conversation this week with Brian Ahearn. And it’s an important difference that any salesperso The post 7 Principles of Ethical Persuasion appeared first on Paul Smith.
Salespeople: Arm Your Sponsor with a Story, Not Just a Pitch
September 05, 2019 19:33 - 6 minutes - 5.9 MBEvery salesperson worth their salt does their best to get in front of the ultimate decision-maker. But we all know that’s not always possible. The post Salespeople: Arm Your Sponsor with a Story, Not Just a Pitch appeared first on Paul Smith | Business Storytelling Coach.
Software Demos Are Broken — Here’s How to Fix Them
July 22, 2019 17:18 - 19 minutes - 17.7 MBSoftware demos are broken, and everyone who sells software knows it. Greg Dickenson realized that when his boys came home from college for a visit. They needed to keep up with their online courses while they were home The post Software Demos Are Broken — Here’s How to Fix Them appeared first on Paul Smith | Business Storytelling Coach.
A Smart Salesperson’s Response to “Now’s just not the right time. . .”
March 26, 2019 20:01 - 4 minutes - 4.44 MBHas this ever happened to you? You finish what seems like a great sales call. The buyer says that they definitely need what you’re selling, and the price and quality are both fine. They’ll definitely place an order. “But,” they say, “now’s just not the right time. Come back in six months.” Of course it … The post A Smart Salesperson’s Response to “Now’s just not the right time. . .” appeared first on Paul Smith | Business Storytelling Coach.
What Every Salesperson Should Learn from Eminem
February 21, 2019 02:15 - 6 minutes - 6.26 MB{The 19th in a series of the 25 most useful sales stories} Wouldn’t it be great if you could resolve your buyer’s objections before they’re even brought up? Turns out you can. And, believe it or not, the best example I’ve ever seen of that was in the hip-hop movie 8 Mile, starring rapper Eminem. … The post What Every Salesperson Should Learn from Eminem appeared first on Paul Smith | Business Storytelling Coach.
“That’s what I thought at first, too. But then. . .” Resolving Sales Objections Before They’re Brought Up
December 20, 2018 13:45 - 4 minutes - 3.9 MB{The 19th in a series of the 25 most useful sales stories} One powerful use of storytelling in sales is to resolve your buyers’ objections before they’re even brought up. I’ve come across two different methods to do this, so I’ll cover one in this post and the other in the next. The first technique [read more] The post “That’s what I thought at first, too. But then. . .” Resolving Sales Objections Before They’re Brought Up appeared first on Paul Smith | Cincinnati, Ohio.
Defending Your Price Without Negotiating
November 14, 2018 12:52 - 6 minutes - 6.24 MB{The 18th in a series of the 25 most useful sales stories} One of the final, and most common objections buyers have to what you’re selling is price. So, if you’re at the point that you’re negotiating price, congratulations. You’ve got a prospect interested in what you’re selling, and you’ve probably resolved every other objection [read more] The post Defending Your Price Without Negotiating appeared first on Paul Smith | Cincinnati, Ohio.
Resolving Objections with a Story
October 03, 2018 14:32 - 5 minutes - 5.15 MB{#17 in a series of the 25 most useful sales stories} As most salespeople have learned, the real selling doesn’t start until the buyer says no. That’s why there are all kinds of methods salespeople use for handling objections. Some of the more popular ones are: LAIR: Listen, Acknowledge, Identify Objection, Reverse It) LACE: Listen, [read more] The post Resolving Objections with a Story appeared first on Paul Smith | Cincinnati, Ohio.
A Value-Adding Sales Story You Need in Your Repertoire
August 22, 2018 19:48 - 5 minutes - 5.38 MB{Number 16 in a series of the 25 Most Useful Sales Stories.} Value-adding stories are stories that actually add to the attractiveness of the product. They literally make people willing to pay more money for your product than they would without the story. One example of that is the Pig Island story I told on [read more] The post A Value-Adding Sales Story You Need in Your Repertoire appeared first on Paul Smith | Cincinnati, Ohio.
A Two-Roads Sales Story
July 24, 2018 22:23 - 4 minutes - 4.65 MB{The 15th in a series of the 25 Most Useful Sales Stories.} “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood.” That’s the opening line of one of Robert Frost’s most famous poems, The Road Not Taken. It describes a difficult choice the narrator has to make between two different paths, and how important it was that [read more] The post A Two-Roads Sales Story appeared first on Paul Smith | Cincinnati, Ohio.
A Customer Success Story with a Twist
June 27, 2018 18:59 - 5 minutes - 5.02 MBCustomer success stories are probably the most common type of sales story. And they deserve to be. That’s because buyers trust what other customers have to say much more than what a salesperson says. So, your customer success story, even if you’re the one telling it, is far more credible than just your opinion. But, [read more] The post A Customer Success Story with a Twist appeared first on Paul Smith | Cincinnati, Ohio.
Begging for the Order
June 06, 2018 14:02 - 15 minutes - 14.3 MBMy guest this week was Stewart Samkange in Kenya. Stewart is a sales professional who’s worked at IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, and SAP. And he’s in the process of relocating from Kenya to Dublin, Ireland to take a job working for LinkedIn. Stewart is a regular listener of the podcast and reached out to me with [read more] The post Begging for the Order appeared first on Paul Smith | Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Hidden Cost of Giving Away FREE Services
May 23, 2018 11:02 - 6 minutes - 5.81 MBFor some reason, when you’re in the speaking business you’re constantly asked to work for free. I don’t imagine school teachers or farmers or physicists are often asked to travel across the country to teach children, grow crops, or uncover the hidden mysteries of the universe without pay. But in my line of work, and [read more] The post The Hidden Cost of Giving Away FREE Services appeared first on Paul Smith | Cincinnati, Ohio.
SALES 101: Explaining the Problem
April 30, 2018 13:16 - 3 minutes - 3.64 MB[The 13th in a series of the 25 most useful sales stories.] One of the most important stories you’ll ever tell as a salesperson is about someone who encountered exactly the kind of problem your product or service is designed to solve. It lets buyers understand the problem in a more personal, visceral way than [read more] The post SALES 101: Explaining the Problem appeared first on Paul Smith | Cincinnati, Ohio.
“What’s your bottle of water?” A simple lesson in growing sales from Alex Goldfayn
April 09, 2018 16:50 - 20 minutes - 19.1 MBA recently got a chance to chat with Alex Goldfayn, CEO of the Evangelist Marketing Institute. He’s one of the top-rated and most requested sales speakers in the world, and the author of several books, including his most recent one, Selling Boldly: Applying The New Science of Positive Psychology To Dramatically Increase Your Confidence, Happiness [read more] The post “What’s your bottle of water?” A simple lesson in growing sales from Alex Goldfayn appeared first on Paul Smith | Cincinnati,...
Your Product’s Invention or Discovery Story
March 12, 2018 19:28 - 5 minutes - 5.42 MB{The 12th in a series of the 25 most useful sales stories.} This story marks our transition from the rapport building phase of the sales process to the actual sales pitch itself. And for most salespeople, this is the heart of the matter—this where most of the traditional selling is done, and where most of [read more] The post Your Product’s Invention or Discovery Story appeared first on Paul Smith | Cincinnati, Ohio.
Your “How We’re Different From Our Competitors” Story
February 19, 2018 12:15 - 5 minutes - 5.13 MBProfessional buyers will tell you (like they told me) that competitors in just about every space are so similar that it’s hard to tell them apart. They need a differentiation story—which means you need a differentiation story. One of my favorite examples of that comes from Sharad Madison, CEO of United Building Maintenance. UBM is a [read more] The post Your “How We’re Different From Our Competitors” Story appeared first on Paul Smith | Cincinnati, Ohio.
5 Steps to Speaking Your Customer’s Secret Language
February 08, 2018 14:39 - 37 minutes - 34.4 MBWho knew you could learn so much about running a business and understanding your customers from a professional photographer and a candle? I didn’t. But then I had a chat with Jeffrey Shaw, former photographer turned business coach and author. He spent three decades as highly-sought after portrait photographer. Now he’s the host of business [read more] The post 5 Steps to Speaking Your Customer’s Secret Language appeared first on Paul Smith | Cincinnati, Ohio.
A Leader’s Guide to Storytelling with Data
January 31, 2018 12:00 - 9 minutes - 214 MB VideoCan you use the same storytelling techniques with data that you can with words? Of course, you can. In a previous article, I shared one method of telling stories with data. In the video above, I’ll show you another method that I call the “Discovery Journey” story method. And it has nothing to do with [read more] The post A Leader’s Guide to Storytelling with Data appeared first on Paul Smith | Cincinnati, Ohio.
A 6-Minute Guide to Storytelling with Data: The “How We Got Here” Method
January 08, 2018 14:29 - 6 minutes - 43.1 MB VideoCan you tell stories with data like you can with words? Absolutely! In the video above, I’ll show you one of my two favorite methods for doing that. Have a look, and then try it out yourself. If you’d rather read, see below. But the video is a lot more fun! (If you have trouble [read more] The post A 6-Minute Guide to Storytelling with Data: The “How We Got Here” Method appeared first on Paul Smith | Cincinnati, Ohio.
Give Your Sales Team a Company Founding Story That’s Not BORING!
December 11, 2017 18:27 - 5 minutes - 5.33 MBNobody 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] The post Give Your Sales Team a Company Founding Story That’s Not BORING! appeared first on Paul Smith | Cincinnati, Ohio.
How to Fix That “Salesperson” Reputation That Preceded You
November 20, 2017 18:27 - 5 minutes - 4.79 MBHumans 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] The post How to Fix That “Salesperson” Reputation That Preceded You appeared first on Paul Smith | Cincinnati, Ohio.
Sales Story #8: Your “I’ll go to bat for you with my company” story
October 30, 2017 14:09 - 5 minutes - 5.44 MB{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] The post Sales Story #8: Your “I’ll go to bat for you with my company” story appeared first on Paul Smith | Cincinnati, Ohio.
Your “I’ll tell you when I made a mistake” Story (Sales Story #7)
October 09, 2017 15:38 - 4 minutes - 4.24 MB{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] The post Your “I’ll tell you when I made a mistake” Story (Sales Story #7) appeared first on Paul Smith | Cincinnati, Ohio.
#6 of the 25 Most Useful Sales Stories: An “I’ll tell you when I can NOT help you” story
September 18, 2017 11:22 - 3 minutes - 3.4 MB{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] The post #6 of the 25 Most Useful Sales Stories: An “I’ll tell you when I can NOT help you” story appeared first on Paul Smith | Cincinnati, Ohio.
#5 of the 25 Most Useful Sales Stories: A “Why I Do What I Do” Story
August 28, 2017 11:00 - 5 minutes - 5.47 MB{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] The post #5 of the 25 Most Useful Sales Stories: A “Why I Do What I Do” Story appeared first on Paul Smith | Cincinnati, Ohio.
5 Ways Great Salespeople Get Buyers to Tell Their Most Important Stories
August 06, 2017 17:35 - 90 MB VideoThis 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] The post 5 Ways Great Salespeople Get Buyers to Tell Their Most Important Stories appeared first on Paul Smith | Cincinnati, Ohio.
Sales Story #4: How to Relax and Take the Stress Out of a Sales Call
July 10, 2017 18:18 - 3 minutes - 3.02 MB[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] The post Sales Story #4: How to Relax and Take the Stress Out of a Sales Call appeared first on Paul Smith | Cincinnati, Ohio.
Sales Story #3: Your Personal Motivation Story
June 12, 2017 17:08 - 7 minutes - 6.67 MB(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] The post Sales Story #3: Your Personal Motivation Story appeared first on Paul Smith | Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Mysterious Brown Bag: Closing Your Toughest Sales Challenges Using Emotional Intelligence
May 22, 2017 18:24 - 30 minutes - 28 MBMy guest this week is sales guru Jeb Blount. He’s one of the very best-selling authors of books about sales and has written over 10 of them. He joined me on this week’s podcast to talk about his new book, Sales EQ: How Ultra-High Performers Leverage Sales-Specific Emotional Intelligence to Close the Complex Deal. We had [read more] The post The Mysterious Brown Bag: Closing Your Toughest Sales Challenges Using Emotional Intelligence appeared first on Paul Smith | Cincinnati, Ohio.
Sales Story #2: Your “Who I’ve Helped and How I’ve Helped Them” Story
April 24, 2017 15:48 - 7 minutes - 6.99 MBToday’s article is the second in a series of the 25 most useful sales stories salespeople should be able to tell. As a reminder, those 25 are the result of my interviews with professional sales and procurement managers at over 50 companies looking for where salespeople are most effectively using storytelling throughout the entire sales [read more] The post Sales Story #2: Your “Who I’ve Helped and How I’ve Helped Them” Story appeared first on Paul Smith | Cincinnati, Ohio.
Two Guaranteed Ways to Completely Undermine Your Sales Department
April 01, 2017 11:43 - 29 minutes - 27.4 MBMy guest this week is Mike Weinberg. He’s a sales consultant and bestselling author of two absolutely fabulous books, both of which spent a significant amount of time as the #1 selling book on Amazon for Sales and Selling. The first was New Sales. Simplified. And the second is Sales Management. Simplified. which we talked [read more] The post Two Guaranteed Ways to Completely Undermine Your Sales Department appeared first on Paul Smith | Cincinnati, Ohio.
Sales Story #1: Explaining What You Do, Simply
March 13, 2017 16:04 - 6 minutes - 5.94 MBIn an earlier post, I shared an overview of the 25 most useful sales stories that salespeople need. In this episode, I share an example of one of those 25 stories, and talk about how you can craft a similar one for yourself. I’ll discuss each of the other 24 sales stories in separate posts in [read more] The post Sales Story #1: Explaining What You Do, Simply appeared first on Paul Smith | Cincinnati, Ohio.
Dealstorming with Former Yahoo! Chief Solutions Officer, Tim Sanders
February 20, 2017 16:31 - 24 minutes - 23 MBMy guest this week is Tim Sanders. He’s the former chief solutions officer at Yahoo! and a New York Times bestselling author. He’s also a cofounder of the research consultancy Deeper Media, Inc. and a top-rated speaker. He joined me on my podcast this week to talk about his new book, Dealstorming: The Secret Weapon that [read more] The post Dealstorming with Former Yahoo! Chief Solutions Officer, Tim Sanders appeared first on Paul Smith | Cincinnati, Ohio.
The 25 Most Useful Sales Stories
January 27, 2017 23:05 - 15 minutes - 13.9 MBStorytelling is all the rage in business today – and in sales in particular – because it works. But having trained thousands of executives and salespeople in storytelling, I can tell you the first and most important thing you need to understand about storytelling is not the structure of a great story, or how to [read more] The post The 25 Most Useful Sales Stories appeared first on Paul Smith | Cincinnati, Ohio.
Top 10 Reasons Why Sales Stories Work Better Than Just a Sales Pitch
January 27, 2017 22:59 - 11 minutes - 11.1 MBStories have always had a unique power to lead, influence, persuade, and sell. Here are my top 10 reasons you’ll want to add more of them to your repertoire instead of relying solely on a dry sales pitch. 1. STORIES HELP THE BUYER RELAX AND JUST LISTEN It’s similar to the response college students have [read more] The post Top 10 Reasons Why Sales Stories Work Better Than Just a Sales Pitch appeared first on Paul Smith | Cincinnati, Ohio.
High Profit Prospecting, with Mark Hunter
January 27, 2017 22:40 - 16 minutes - 14.8 MBMy guest this week is Mark Hunter, author of the highly successful book, High-Profit Selling, which came out in 2012. His newest book that just came out recently is called High-Profit Prospecting: Powerful Strategies to Find the Best Leads and Drive Breakthrough Sales Results which I got to talk to him about on this week’s podcast. [read more] The post High Profit Prospecting, with Mark Hunter appeared first on Paul Smith | Cincinnati, Ohio.
6 Differences Between a Sales STORY and a Sales PITCH
January 27, 2017 22:23 - 10 minutes - 9.73 MBImagine it’s 9 o’clock on Monday morning, three days before a big sales call with a new prospect. The entire team is sitting in a conference room ready to start planning the sales pitch. At 9:02, the sales VP walks in the room and calls the meeting to order with a clap of her hands. [read more] The post 6 Differences Between a Sales STORY and a Sales PITCH appeared first on Paul Smith | Cincinnati, Ohio.
Sales guru and bestselling author Anthony Iannarino on his first lessons on selling
January 27, 2017 22:14 - 20 minutes - 19.1 MBThis week, I’m joined by sales guru and bestselling author, Anthony Iannarino to talk about his new book, The Only Sales Guide You’ll Ever Need. You can listen to the podcast by clicking the play button above. Below is an excerpt from his book that reflects one of the stories he shared. But it’s a lot [read more] The post Sales guru and bestselling author Anthony Iannarino on his first lessons on selling appeared first on Paul Smith | Cincinnati, Ohio.
Pig Island: An Accidental Sales Story
January 27, 2017 21:57 - 6 minutes - 6.16 MBWelcome to the debut episode of the Sell with a Story Podcast and Blog. I’m Paul Smith. You can listen to the podcast by clicking the play button above, or you can read the transcript below. Either way, thanks for tuning in. This podcast and the episodes that follow are primarily for people who work [read more] The post Pig Island: An Accidental Sales Story appeared first on Paul Smith | Cincinnati, Ohio.