Stories Make It Easy To Believe – Make It Easy To Buy

by Mike Sigers

Brandy by Looking Glass

” Yeah, Brandy used to watch his eyes, when he told his sailor stories. She could feel the ocean foam rise, she saw it’s ragin’ glory. “

Those lines are from a 1972 #1 hit by the group Looking Glass. It sold over a million copies. More importantly, to me anyway, it came out right after my brother came home from his 2 years of service in the Army during the Viet Nam War. He named the first of his three daughters Brandy. The words not only sold him, they named her.

Pretty damn powerful, if you ask me … or her.

In the song, Brandy didn’t just hear the stories and she didn’t just see the ocean’s ragin’ glory, she could actually “feel” the ocean foam rise.

Pretty damn powerful, if you ask me.

Stories sell. Plain and simple. But you already knew that.

What you didn’t know was just how powerful stories are going in thru the ears versus thru the eyes.

Want proof ?

Go to Amazon or some other fine seller of books and get two copies of a book. One physical copy that you have to read and one copy of the same book as an audiobook on CD.

I’ve tried it both ways and it doesn’t matter if you read first and listen second or listen first and read second.

Either way, the audio is more powerful in that you get more vivid pictures in your mind.

Want more proof ?

Rent a DVD with subtitles. Some French indie flick or something.

Watch the first 30 minutes normally, with sound.

Then turn off the sound and don’t turn the subtitles on … yet.

Within seconds, maybe a couple of minutes at most, you’ll lose interest.

Now turn on the subtitles.

You can at least follow along, even if it’s not as enjoyable as it normally would be.

That would make sound the most important, most powerful part of the equation and text a distant second.

Stories sell … ideas, possibilities, products, people, whatever.

Use ‘em in person whenever you can and watch your sales soar.

I’ve always wanted to say ” … watch your sales soar “ on this blog ;-)

Now that I’ve done it, I’ve gotta get a new dream !

Any suggestions ?

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He Who Gets The Last Laugh In Sales — Simplenomics
August 20, 2008 at 11:38 pm

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