Use the Power of Storytelling

How to Use the Power of Storytelling to Get What You Want and Need is the title of a new article by David Goldsmith.

Select any great leader, either from history or from today, and the one asset that they all share is their ability to sell. Yes, whether you consider yourself to "be in sales" or not, if you're a decision maker, you sell all day every day.

Today, you might have to sell a new line of products to a lucrative account, tomorrow you might find yourself selling an expansion plan to a venture capitalist, and next week you might have to gain buy in on a new procedural process from your management team. You may even find yourself having to sell the financial benefits of a new promotion to your family when you catch heat for working longer hours. While it's true that we don't usually call our leaders salespeople, they are in fact, the quintessential salespeople.

The author goes on to say, Keep in mind that your stories should be credible and relevant, and tell them always with the purpose of making the human connection with others.

To come up with relevant stories is actually a good point.