Many service-based entrepreneurs tell me, “My services seem so ordinary! I want to create a sense of excitement among potential clients.” It’s how lots of small business owners (including me) begin looking at their websites and sales letters.   That doesn’t mean inventing wild stories or digging into your distant past for inspiration. Any story comes with hidden pitfalls and many people resist getting started.   We can learn from a unique, creative experiment co-created by an anthropologist and a writer. They transformed ordinary thrift store purchases (none more than $2) into valuable objects that commanded high prices.  Their secret? Writers were asked to invent stories surrounding each object.  As business owners, we can learn from their story.  Of course, business stories must be accurate. You can’t deceive your audience. But you can apply these principles to describe your offer. In fact, that’s what we do in a story that sells.   What you’ll learn in this episode: Examples of how stories can transform ordinary objects into valuable treasures (including a close-to-home example from a business owner) Qualities of stories that increase the value of ordinary offers (while remaining completely truthful) What you get people to say when you tell a selling story (which is why these stories succeeded) RESOURCES: My self-paced video course: From Storytelling to Story-selling My self-paced video course: Brand Your Business With Stories “Borrow my brain” consultation on storytelling FREE: 17 Surprising Ways To Use Storytelling For Your Business Growth - Click here.   MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST: Original article about the Halston mug