I picked up this newly released book by Ryan Taft entitled Storygetter the other week and spent a few days reading it.  It was a quick and fun read, and it very well may be one you want to add to your reading list (or to your Sales Team’s reading list).

Why do I say that?  Read on!

I love sales and marketing books – always looking for the next great idea to try myself.  As mentioned in my book review on Building Certainty, I’m a big fan of the Storybrand concept by Donald Miller – and – since THIS title mentioned “Story,” I was immediately intrigued.

The Storybrand concept is all about sharing YOUR story with your customers.  The Storygetter concept described in this book turns that idea around and has you focusing on learning your CUSTOMER’S story instead.

And Ryan does a really good job of giving you great ways to do this (in a way that is entertaining and keeps your interest).

He wants you to shift your perspective from being an “information gatherer” (which most salespeople tend to be) to being a “Storygetter” – a strategy that gives you a way to connect with your Prospects in a way that allows you to satisfy your Prospects’ needs (instead of just “selling” them your product).

Ryan walks you through is “Storygetter Timeline” to help you unearth your Prospects’ past, present, and future – by getting 5 different stories from them.

5 Stories To uncover from your prospects

Ryan does a really nice job of keeping you engaged with his style of writing.  He’s brutally honest – sharing some very personal stories from his past as true-to-life examples of how they can form who you (and your Prospects) are today.

And he mentions that the techniques he teaches in this book can be used in situations outside of New Home Sales (and – yes – I did say “teaches,” because I believe he really does do that in this book).

It got me thinking about my own personal journey of potentially buying a new vehicle.  I tried analyzing what the poor salesman who is trying to get me to buy is going through – dealing with someone as wishy-washy as I am on this sale right now.

He hasn’t found out enough of my story to know what just might make me comfortable enough to sign (🤔 side note:  maybe I’ll get him a copy of the book for his use – but – then I’ll be doomed to pull the trigger…but I digress.).

Sorry – back to the book review.

How does Ryan teach?

He uses a number of real-life conversations between Salespeople and Prospects that makes you “see” the concepts in action.  They are conversations I had with my own customers – and – ones I’ve overheard countless times in my long career in homebuilding.

And, yes, I cringed a bit – knowing that those conversations I had (or witnessed) were the typical sales spiels that gives the Salesperson that stereotypical-salesperson-vibe that is so rampant in, well, just about any industry that needs to sell something.

But Ryan shows you how those sales-spiel conversations can be improved with the Storygetter framework (and those cringes can go away).

At the end of each chapter, Ryan gives you some questions to ponder about how you are currently selling to your customers (and even to find out if you’re being a “Sales Weirdo” – he’s sorry/not sorry).

Many chapters in the book also have worksheets for you to use – though I think he may be missing an opportunity to have a separate Storygetter Workbook to sell alongside the book (note to Ryan:  If you take that idea, just forward a small royalty payment to me for each one you sell in the future). 🤣  

Seriously, though, a separate Workbook would be nice – as the pages in this book are ok to write in, but it would be nicer to have those in a separate book that is spiral-bound to allow for easier writing (in a flat format).  That Workbook could be at a lower pricepoint to allow purchases in bulk for Sales Teams everywhere (or for an individual to re-visit over time).

Why Get your customers’ stories anyway?

You may be wondering why you want to spend time getting your customers’ stories.  I mean – who has time for that, right?  You have houses to sell (and enough drama in your own life).

Think about a situation in which YOU were the Buyer (or potential Buyer).  Have you ever used the line “I’m just looking” to avoid being “sold to” – even when you were truly interested and ready to make a purchase?

Yeah.  Me, too.  And your Prospects are doing the same thing to you [insert gasp here!].

By getting your Prospects to open up and tell you their Story, you’ll connect on an entirely different level with them – knowing more easily how your new Home can help that Prospect “win” in their story without making them feel like they are just lining your pockets with a commission.

Ryan will make you think twice about sending those “just looking” Prospects into the Model Home while you return to your computer to just let them look…and then just walk out the door to the next Model where a Salesperson gets their story (and their Deposit check).

Weird, huh?!?!  Ryan shows you how this will work – if you are willing to give it a try!

I can say this is one book where I did NOT find myself starting to skim the chapters just to get through it.  It was thoroughly interesting from beginning to end (even the Forward by Jeff Shore himself was great).

The information really was useful, and you can immediately start putting Ryan’s concepts into practice.  That’s something that can’t be said for a lot of business books – that are big on “theory” but can’t deliver in real life.

Storygetter is useful right away.  And, like Ryan mentions, I do believe multiple reads of the book can continue to help you develop into a more effective Salesperson.

There were a few plugs for other products and books offered by the Team at Jeff Shore Consulting – but – they weren’t over-the-top nor annoying.  They made sense in the way they were inserted into the text (and, truthfully, it IS a book written and published by a Sales Trainer/Sales Training Company – so some of this is to be expected).

The book is so useful and entertaining that I can see future LIVE events centered around the entire Storygetter brand!  I could also see a podcast in the future – with Ryan interviewing Salespeople all across North America and doing role-playing with them to help improve their skills in each episode (note to Ryan – remember those royalty checks…).

Want to grab a copy for yourself?  Here’s a link right to the Jeff Shore store  (No affiliate link is being used here).

If you’ve read it (or once you do), I’d love to hear your thoughts, too!  Drop some feedback in the Comments.