<p>Ok, hold on a second. I'm going to do something to your brain.</p> <p>Woah, woah, don't, run away. No scalpels or weird voodoo are involved.</p> <p>And I promise, it won't hurt.</p> <p>But with just a few simple words I'm going to *short circuit* your conscious mind and *instantly* throw your brain back in time to the way it felt when you were six years old and safe and warm and happy and your Mom or Dad was tucking you in for bed.</p> <p>It'll be fun.</p> <p>I promise.</p> <p>Ready?</p> <p>OK.</p> <p>Here we go.</p> <p>(Waves magic wand.)</p> <p><b>Let me tell you a story.</b></p> <p>First off, let me apologize. I feel guilty now.</p> <p>Because I'm not actually going to tell you a story.</p> <p>But if you're like most people, just hearing those words &quot;let me tell you a story&quot; made your brain open up like thirsty flower and sent a little excited tingle down your spine to your toes.</p> <p>Why?</p> <p>Because as human beings we're all *hard-wired* to respond to stories and because stories are the oldest, most powerful way of transferring knowledge and ideas that we've got.</p> <p>I mean, think about it.</p> <p>How do we learn important stuff and keep kids from playing in traffic? Stories. (&quot;Once upon a time there was a little boy who played with his ball in traffic and he never got to eat ice cream again.&quot;)</p> <p>How do religions big and small spread their beliefs like wildfire? Stories. (The bible is chock full of 'em and as a kid I spent most of my time in church ignoring the sermon and just reading cool stuff about fishes.)</p> <p>Why is the Enquirer the most successful newspaper in history? Stories. (Did you hear what's going on with Britney? That poor girl.)</p> <p>How did J.K. Rowling become the richest woman in England? Stories.</p> <p>And how do smart marketers and business owners create groundswells of interest in their products and grow like crazy? Stories.</p> <p>Why?</p> <p>Because . . .</p> <p> <p><b>STORIES SELL!</b></p> <p>And if you *really* want to make an emotional connection with your audience and increase your sales, you've *got* to start telling stories.</p> <p>What kind of stories?</p> <ul> <li>Origin stories about how you *stumbled* onto an incredible idea that changed your life and helped you create a great product (I usually call this the &quot;superhero&quot; story and use it in just about every sales letter I do.)<br /><br /></li> <li>Success stories about all the great stuff that happened to your client when they put your product or your advice into action (testimonials and case studies are both fantastic ways to show off your success stories.)<br /><br /></li> <li>Bonding stories that show that you're a real life human being with regular Joe problems just like your customers.<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /><br /> </li> <li>Insider stories that give your customers a peek behind the curtain into your world.<br /><br /></li> <li>And even metaphors that sneakily crawl into your customers brain and explain why what you've got to sell is so darned great.</li> </ul> <p>So here's your action item because I want to make this easy.</p> <p>Right after you finish reading this newsletter open up &nbsp;a fresh document and write out the *story* behind what you've got to sell.</p> <p>Don't edit. Don't leave anything out. And be as honest and *human* as you can.</p> <p>And just test out what happens when you start using that story to *sell.*<br /> </p> <p>And that's it, folks.<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"></p> 2008-02-28T23:07:28Z -26.0074 1012 335 true 15 179 how-to-use-stories-to-sell-like-crazy 4 2008-02-28T23:15:22Z 2008-02-28T23:15:22Z

<p>A story about stories (and why stories make sales).</p>

1 2009-02-24T09:43:18Z