Page 272 - ConvinceThemFlip

convince them in 90 seconds or less
Winston Churchill and John Lennon have in common? Or
Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr.? Not to men-
tion Jesus, Buddha, and the Prophet Muhammad? They all
told stories to get attention, capture interest, fire desire,
and move their listeners to action.
But they never, ever used a story to outright sell. If
you’ve proved your point and delivered it into the hearts
and minds of your listeners, the selling takes care of
itself.
Let’s say you’re introducing a new service, one that you
think your sales staff will find unorthodox, but you think
is visionary and has potential. You could invoke the story
of Aristotle to make your pitch: “When Aristotle said the
world was round, they said he was off his rocker . . . ”
Or you could cite Aristotle to introduce a story about
challenging the status quo, breaking barriers, and having
vision.
Where would the human race be today if the likes of
Christopher Columbus, the Wright brothers, or the astro-
nauts hadn’t followed their dreams? Their stories could
introduce your message about leadership, teamwork, or
courage.
When Mark Burnett, the producer of The Apprentice,
told his friends that he was going to make a television
show about job interviews, they told him he was nuts. But
Burnett was certain that telling his story could be a way
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