How to Build Rapport, Earn Trust, and Inspire Them to Hire You

A quick excerpt from Chapter 4 of my book, Story Power Marketing, to celebrate the big screen’s most amusing life insurance salesman on National Life Insurance Day.

I love the scenes in the movie Groundhog Day when Ned Ryerson (Stephen Tobolowsky) pitches insurance to Phil Connors (Bill Murray).

“Have you ever heard of single premium life? Because I think that really could be the ticket for you,” Ned says. Ned repeats the pitch day after day after day after day.

With each repeating Groundhog Day, Phil arrives with a new response for Ned. On one of those days, before Ned opens his mouth, Phil rears back and slugs him in the jaw. I remember seeing the movie in a theater. The crowd laughed and cheered. No one likes a pitchy pest.

How does Ned know single premium life “could be the ticket” for Phil? Of course, he doesn’t know. He pitches single premium life to anyone who fogs a mirror. Ned reminds me of countless other salespeople who pitch and prod and promise—without knowing what makes their prospects tick.

Any old “Ned” can promise they have “the ticket” for you. But when you promise something prospects don’t want or need, they’ll tune out and move on. Or, worse yet, they’ll sock you in the jaw.

If you want to build rapport with a prospect, earn their respect, and inspire them to hire you, you must empathize. You must discover what your prospects experience and feel. What holds them back? What keeps them up at night? What do they fear? What’s got them stuck?

To deliver a meaningful promise, you must also envision. Where do they want to go? What does the mountaintop look like? What do they wish for and dream of?

When you empathize and envision, you promise a journey from before to after. You promise transformations. Prospects tune in and turn on. They think, I want this. And they ask, “How can I make this journey happen?”

Now they believe you when you say, “I have the ticket for you.” You’ve presented the journey, and they want that ticket. They want you to transport them from before to after. They’re more likely to trust you to help them transform. They’re eager to hear how you enable the transformation. They’re on the edge of their seats, waiting for the lesson.

A-list copywriter Kim Krause Schwalm says my book is “the best guide—and tool kit… for maximizing the power of story in marketing and sales copy.”

Marketing legend Brian Kurtz says it’s “one of the best books I’ve read in years on…well…the power of story…and creating deep relationships when writing to any audience in any medium.”

My 100%-objective, completely unbiased mother, Ann Ruwitch, says it’s the greatest book written since the dawn of time. (And she’s read a lot of books!)

My crazy-doodle, Moose, loves it, too. But he doesn’t do testimonials.

Go to StoryPowerBook.com to grab a copy — free .pdf download or free paperback (we pay for the book; you pay for shipping).

Thanks for reading. And be careful out there as you celebrate National Life Insurance Day. 🎉