{"id":3229,"date":"2012-11-02T09:12:53","date_gmt":"2012-11-02T16:12:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.dlvr.it\/?p=3229"},"modified":"2026-04-20T17:29:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T00:29:39","slug":"research-tell-before-you-sell-a-story-is-worth-a-thousand-sales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dlvrit.com\/blog\/research-tell-before-you-sell-a-story-is-worth-a-thousand-sales\/","title":{"rendered":"Research: Tell Before You Sell. A Story Is Worth A Thousand Sales"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Man is eminently a storyteller. His search for a purpose, a cause, an ideal, a mission and the like is largely a search for a plot and a pattern in the development of his life story — a story that is basically without meaning or pattern<\/em>.” Hoffer, Eric<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

A few years ago before \u201cContent Marketing\u201d became the new black, I talked about a concept, \u201ctell before you sell\u201d. \u00a0At\u00a0its core,\u00a0the concept\u00a0is about\u00a0establising a trusted relationship with customers with compelling content (text, video, pictures) and stories.<\/p>\n

Research from Adobe<\/a> and Edelman Berland<\/a> clearly proves my thesis of \u201ctell before you sell.\u201d Consumers prefer to experience a brand through stories told by that brand (a.k.a. Content Marketing).<\/p>\n

\"Consumer<\/a> The love of stories starts when we are young. My children\u2019s favorite activity before bed is telling or reading stories. Sometimes we make them up. Other times we read from a book. \u00a0They pick a character from the story and say they are that character. They want to be part of the adventure and experience.<\/p>\n

Marketing pundits from around the world are talking about content marketing or inbound marketing. Dlvr.it even created a conference on content marketing<\/a>. Why are we all talking about content? We still have that little kid inside all of us.<\/strong> We want to be part of the experience. We want to feel something.<\/p>\n

One of the greatest \u2018sales people\u2019 I know is my wife. What makes her a great \u2018sales person\u2019? \u00a0She tells stories. \u00a0Why do I use \u2018sales person\u2019 in quotes? She doesn\u2019t sell. She is a story teller.\u00a0 Unfortunately though, corporate America hasn\u2019t yet embraced that title. Anyone who knows her will tell you how detailed her stories are \u2013 it\u2019s like you were there experiencing it with her. She becomes instantly likeable from the first time you meet her. She is the same person at work as well as at home. Many of her longtime friends started out as clients. She doesn\u2019t sell. She makes you feel comfortable through her stories and conversation.<\/p>\n

The BIG take away: Stop selling. Tell a story. Tailor it to your audience.<\/strong><\/p>\n

What’s your opinion on the Adobe research? Did they get it right?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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