Why You Should Attend This Course

Do you want to deliver strong sales and marketing stories that cut through the clutter and resonate? Do you ever feel your sales message is the same as your competitors - except that in your version, your product is always better?

This Story Selling course will help you to craft that killer message and deliver your pitch in a way that WOWs your customers every time, and puts you in a Category of One.

Combining key storytelling skills with cutting-edge presentation techniques, your sales pitch will never be the same again – it will be the most memorable, impactful and effective weapon for all sales and marketing professional to drive results.

This is an interactive course, featuring many Learn-by-Doing individual and group breakout exercises.

• Learn and practice storytelling frameworks from Stanford d.School, Steve Jobs, Guy Kawasaki etc
• Hollywood and Silicon Valley ‘High Concept’ Pitch technique
• The 3 factors of persuasion from master persuader, Robert Cialdini PhD
• Examples and multi-media case studies from leading brands such as Pixar, IKEA, ING Direct, FMCG marketers, GE, and more

Learning Outcomes

• Develop the storyteller’s mindset, skillset and toolset
• Create memorable and meaningful sales/marketing stories and develop and deploy your brand’s strategic vocabulary
• Develop an ‘Elevator’ sales pitch which resonates and opens more doors
• Understand two objectives of every presentation and what your audience really wants from you, and answer their questions before they ask them
• Structure sales presentations with jaw-dropping introductions, demonstrations and closings
• Sell and tell your story with confidence, passion using your authentic voice

Course Outline

Introduction

• Why stories are essential to us as human beings
• Why Stories are vital to brands and companies today
• Why Storytelling is the most powerful differentiator today

Storyteller’s Mindset

• Understanding and finding passion and purpose
• Experiential examples from Stu’s award-winning career
• Overcoming the "Who Cares?" factor and becoming a Category of One

Storyteller’s Skillset

• Examples and multi-media case studies from leading brands such as Pixar, IKEA, ING Direct, Patagonia, GE, Apple, Zappos, and more.

Storyteller’s Toolset

• Structures and processes for creating and telling stories
• Cool tools for storytelling (online and offline)
• Crafting your company or brand’s story narrative and elevator pitch

Presentation Skills

• Finding your confidence and overcoming fear of speaking/presenting
• Two techniques to physically reduce fear and gain confidence
• Attendees will actively role play and record with video to implement techniques and improve their confidence

What You Say and What You Do

• Understanding importance of words, tone and body language
• Answering questions before they are asked
• 3 Drivers to increase your influence from master influencer Robert Cialdini, PhD.

Pitchcraft with structural frameworks and tips

• Guy Kawasaki’s Perfect Pitch rule
• Master presenter Steve Jobs
• TED talks
• Hollywood and Silicon Valley High Pitch concept

Presentation Role Play

• ‘Bringing it all together’ with telling and selling your sales/marketing story

Target Audience:

All sales professionals (B2B or B2C customer-facing) who wants to improve their presentation skills and win more deals. Directors of Sales and Marketing – with responsibility for strategic direction and sales/marketing content and messaging.

Trainer Profile:

Born in Zimbabwe, Stu Lloyd has since lived and worked in 7 countries and travelled to a further 60.

Described as “the Perfect Storyteller” by The Telegraph, UK, Stu has pitched and won tens of millions of dollars of business from clients such as Adidas, Microsoft, OCBC Bank, Christian Dior, P&G, Porsche, Pfizer, SHELL, etc.

As an advertising guy, he was a creative director for agencies such as Ogilvy& Mather, Saatchi & Saatchi, Bates, etc, before setting up his own $20m agency in Singapore, which he built up and sold to US-listed group FCB.

Stu has published 7 books (including 3 on best-seller lists in 3 countries selling around 100,000 copies), and was one of the most widely published travel writers in Asia Pacific, with features in National Geographic Travel, Travel + Leisure and major dailies.

A little known fact - he was once contracted to Warner Music as a songwriter.

He has addressed a UN conference on tourism innovation, and MC’d a TEDx event on Creativity & Collaboration.

Teaching/training experience includes:

• Founding lecturer, Institute of Advertising, Singapore
• Guest lecturer, University of Washington
• Certified trainer, De Bono Training Systems
• Guest Professor, College of Innovation, Thammasat University
• Consulting/coaching on innovation and creativity since 1999

Currently he is Chief Hothead at Hotheads Innovation, helping Fortune 500 companies turbo-charge their creativity and innovation thinking skills. Clients include Citibank, SHELL, Accor, Adidas, Pfizer, Harman, etc.

Stu has 30 years of experience at the intersection of creativity and commerce, which means his workshops are a deep-learning experiential event for all to learn from someone who has actually lived and breathed this subject.