Ben Zoldan - What Great Salespeople Do: The Science of Selling Through Emotional Connection and the Power of Story

WHAT GREAT SALESPEOPLE DO

The Science of Selling Through Emotional Connection and the Power of Story

MICHAEL BOSWORTH BEN ZOLDAN

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ISBN: 978-0-07-176974-7
MHID: 0-07-176974-9

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We would like to thank the following people for making this book possible.

My grandmother, Genevieve Bosworth, and my sister, Leslie Bosworth Schuler, the most influential storytellers during my first 30 years. My whole extended Bosworth clan, for their love and support; my children, Brendan, Brian, and Shiloah; my emotional support group of Judy, Jean, Madeline, Rosy, Gina, and Julie; my intellectual support group of Charles, Dave, Ron, and Kevin; my sales role model, Jim Campbell; my wonderful life partner, Jennifer Lehr; and most of all, my creative and courageous partner and coauthor, Ben Zoldan. Bens courage in leaving his comfort zone has been an inspiration to me, and collaborating with him has been tons of fun!

My loving and supportive wife, Tia, and our two beautiful daughters, Zoe and AbbyI cannot get enough of their stories; my entire family and my close circle of friends; Mark Sage, L.M.F.T., a true role model (especially for role modeling real empathy); and my coauthor of this book and cofounder of our Story Leaders business, Mike, whom I have known for more than 15 years. Mike has been a mentor, friend, and is family to me.

Will Allison, our collaborator on this book project, who through his empathic listening helped bring our voice to the page.

John Burke, the best Story Leader we know, an inspiration to us both, someone who challenges the status quo.

Phil Godwin, for having the vision to take a leap of faith and bring Story Leaders into his business and for being a blast to work with.

Tom Albers, an innovative software executive who supported our efforts to launch Story Leaders, LLC.

And finally, all the people mentioned in this book, from the stories you shared with us, to the research you provided we are so appreciative!

Mike and Ben

Before we get into what great salespeople do, Id like to share a story about my daughter Zoe, one that brought new meaning to the work Mike and I are doing.

Last January, my wife and I attended a midyear parent-teacher conference. Zoe was in sixth grade, and we were expecting the usuala glowing report. But this meeting was different. I could tell there was a problem from the moment we sat down with Zoes teacher.

Zoe is struggling in history, she said. She explained that Zoes test scores had dropped. Maybe it was Zoes comprehension, or maybe it was her recallthe teacher couldnt be sure. The news hit me like a punch in the stomach. Something was wrong with my little girl, and the teacher couldnt even tell me what it was. On top of that, Id always loved history, and I wanted it to be a subject my kids loved, too.

That night, I asked Zoe about history. She said she hated having to remember stupid names, dates, and facts. Why do I need to know what happened to a bunch of old men 200 years ago? she asked.

Theyd just finished studying colonial American history, so I asked her what shed learned about the Revolution.

They signed the Declaration of Independence, she said.

What did that mean?

I dont remember, she said.

Over the next few weeks, I asked some of Zoes friends about history, and they all felt the same way she did. I just didnt get it. I remembered history lessons as being full of exciting stories about interesting people. To this day, I still remember learning about Paul Revere in grade school.