Story telling in selling has been around a long time.  One of the most effective methods of closing a sale is called Similar Situation Closing - which is telling a true story about a previous customer who was in a similar situation as your current prospect.  The goal here is to explain why the previous customer made the decision to invest in your product and why it makes sense for your prospect to do the same thing?

Example:  Years ago, I was in Life Insurance Business.  One of the frequent objections I would get is, typically, one parent would object adding the children to the policy. 

There are a number of ways to try and overcome this, but I had one that never failed.  I would tell a story of when I didn't want to add my own kids to my policy but was convinced to add a small amount to guarantee insurability of my kids should they become uninsurable due to illness.  I go on to say Thank God I did that because 4 short years after I took out the policy, I got a phone call from my 21 year old son in Texas telling me that he had a severe backache.  After a couple of trips to the hospital, he was diagnosed with Colon Cancer that had already spread to his other organs, spine and brain.  He had 8 weeks left to live.  Had I not put that small $25,000 life insurance policy on him, I would not have been able to afford to fly his body home for a proper family funeral. 

I would tell that story and look at the mom and ask her if she ever wanted to be put in that situation? Usually through tears, she would say no and then we would both look at the dad who did not want to add the kids to the policy.  I've never had a dad or mom say no after that story.  

If your story is compelling and you are able to put the customer in the same situation, you will be surprised how effective Story Closing can be.

You can also tell a story with a happy ending because someone invested in your product.