At the risk of ruffling a few feathers…
Jesus was a great copywriter. Well, maybe not copywriter. Because as far as we know, he never actually wrote anything down.
Rather, he was a great platform salesperson.
Which is, fundamentally, the same skill delivered through different media.
Whether you are a follower of Jesus or not, whether believe his teachings or not, one thing is for certain…
Jesus has influenced a TON of people.
Billions who are alive today. And billions before.
In fact, his fundamental sales messages have managed to make their way down through generation after generation, century after century, and now millennium after millennium.
And there’s one incredibly powerful selling tool that Jesus used, that you can also ethically borrow from Jesus to make your sales message more effective…
Jesus was a storyteller…
His lessons were almost never direct.
Rather, they were in the form of parables. Teaching tales. Metaphors.
The story was the story. But in the story was a message. A lesson. A lesson you understood and took in, often at an unconscious level, that taught you how to live a better life.
For most Christians, you remember the famous stories…
— The parable of the sower.
— The parable of the mustard seed.
— The parable of the faithful servant.
— The parable of the lost sheep.
— The parable of the talents.
— The parable of the good Samaritan.
— The parable of the prodigal son.
— The parable of the rich man and the beggar Lazarus.
Often, as reported in the Bible, they were tight and poetic. A quick metaphor.
“The kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
The lesson in there could have many layers. And each person who hears or reads it will have their own unique understanding. But it’s all meant to convey a point.
Likewise, the Bible (and pretty much every great religious text) is full of parables, stories, and metaphors.
Some people may doubt their truth. Others may be totally convinced. But either way, it’s hard to argue the influence of these stories, used to teach what it means to be a good person, to live a good life.
I’ve been studying another fascinating storyteller…
Have you ever heard of Milton Erickson? He was a medical doctor who practiced hypnosis. In fact, he was probably a bigger force than anyone else in the legitimization of hypnotherapy in the 20th century.
You can argue whether he’s the greatest hypnotist of all time, but you can’t argue that he’s on the list.
Now, Erickson was a very different kind of hypnotist than most who came before him.
He didn’t swing a watch in front of your face, or tell you that you were getting very, very sleepy (although he did know how to use these methods).
Rather, he could simply speak to you…
Engage with you…
Connect with you…
And maybe begin to tell you a story…
And suddenly you wake up, 15 minutes later, trying to figure out what the heck happened.
(He also had this crazy thing he could do where you’d think he was about to give you a handshake, and a second later you’d be zonked out, deep in trance — practically instant hypnosis.)
Erickson became masterful at therapeutic metaphors.
In short, he’d tell a story. But he wasn’t just telling stories to entertain you. Rather, he was telling stories that would lead to lasting change — for years after a single session.
He’d cure phobias, stop destructive behaviors, help people heal past trauma, increase athletic performance, and a whole lot more — through story.
I’ve been listening to the audiobook about Erickson’s use of story, called My Voice Will Go With You. (Get it free with an Audible free trial.)
One thing jumped out at me…
“First you model the patient, then you role model the patient.”
Maybe that’s not an exact quote, but it gets the point across.
Erickson would find a story, from his unconscious, that met whatever challenge the patient was bringing to him.
And that had a conclusion that would direct them in the right direction.
And so with a competitive shot-putter, he told the story of breaking the 4-minute mile. He said the runner who first did it broke down the minutes into seconds. And rather than trying to cross that big threshold from over 4 minutes to under 4 minutes, he just tried to go a second faster. And he was able to run it a second faster, which happened to be under 4 minutes. And then he wondered if the shot-putter could tell the difference between 56 feet and 56 feet plus 1/8 inch. And then he stretched it out, over and over, until the shot-putter couldn’t tell the difference between 56 and 57 feet. And through this metaphor this shot-putter broke his personal record, and went on to win at the Olympics, and break world records.
Stories are powerful.
Emerson used them to change lives.
Jesus used them, almost 2,000 years before, to change the world.
And you can use them in your selling.
Model their problem, then role model their way to solution…
That’s a good description of what I talk about in The Ultimate Selling Story. What I call “The hero’s journey of story selling.”
You can buy the paperback on Amazon today for $6.99. That same link also takes you to the Kindle version for $2.99.
But if you grab it before midnight Eastern time tonight, December 3, 2019, you can download the ebook version free. Click here for the free book.
Yours for bigger breakthroughs,
Roy Furr
PS: Here are some of the 5-STAR reviews from Amazon:
“I’m a 30-year veteran ad copywriter — trained by the best in the business — and yet I learned a tremendous amount by reading Roy’s book. I highly recommend it to ALL copywriters, new and old alike. Your copywriting will improve greatly — and so will your bottom line — once you understand all the key differences between story “telling” and story SELLING!”
— Gary Walterscheid (one of the original proteges of Jay Abraham and Gary Halbert)
Get it The Ultimate Selling Story FREE today.
“‘You really have to fall in love with selling.’ [This quote] is from Roy’s prior book — loving selling really puts the right spin on things, and Roy continues to share and shine that light right on out! His writing style, topics and books make me glow, and that kind of inspiration really really helps! Obviously, Roy fell in love BIG time with selling, and we’re grateful that he shares. The writing in this book is altogether super-clear and inspiring. It’s a short book, revealing and succinct — and story selling is totally mapped! If you’re setting out on the copywriting trail, or any other level of copywriting, then you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy and enjoy ‘the hero’s journey of story selling’, with PAISA, and the 3 Pillars. Thanks for your help Roy!”
— Kira Gadhi
Get it The Ultimate Selling Story FREE today.
“Roy does it again… another must read! Short and sweet… in less than 100 pages, Roy Furr, author, copywriter, content writer and coach tells all about use of story in selling. A must read!”
— Larry Elkan
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“Stories can make you rich… only if you read this book. If you have a business that relies on finding new customers….(all businesses)… This book is a must read….it will take you from average marketer to master fast… And all you need to do is follow a simple formula.”
— David Ryan
Get it The Ultimate Selling Story FREE today.
“Fun business read: I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to anyone interested in business storytelling. What are you waiting for? Purchase it today!”
— Billy Brophy
Get it The Ultimate Selling Story FREE today.
“Roy Furr can take a slightly complicated subject and break it down into simple, digestible parts. The book is a delightful read. It kind of preps you for the BTMSinsiders group, of which I encourage anyone who’s reading this to join. The Ultimate Selling Story has taken a position of reference in my collection of books written by GREAT copywriters. Something that I will refer back to on my quest to become a decent copywriter. The question is, how many reference books can you say you have read from cover to cover. OUCH! That can be painful. Anyways. You can skip the dose of ibuprofen on this one. The Ultimate Selling Story is easy on the system. You can take my word for it because I am halfway through my second read of this sure to be classic.”
— Keir
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