Meet Bill Whitley

Bill Whitley has been facilitating courses along side the coaches at Ty Boyd for years. His latest collaboration will be co-facilitating Ty Boyd's newest course, Sell With a Story: Powerful Sales Presentations that Captivate, Connect and Create Action. An accomplished sales and marketing expert, Bill has a gift of making complex topics simple, visual and easy to understand. Using a blend of humor and insightful stories, he teaches how to fully engage clients by developing long-term, high value relationships.

Whitley will tell you that it all begins with a story - a customer attraction story. It's one of the most elusive business skills, and yet, one of the most important. Being able to communicate your worth and persuade your clients and colleagues is one of the most sought after traits in the business world. In a typical organization, a lot of time and money is spent on marketing, branding and generating leads with the intent to open dialogue with prospects. And yet, not nearly as much is invested in teaching people how to communicate and engage in business relationships. If you understand the steps involved in a compelling customer attraction story, the rest will fall into place.

Here is an example of a customer attraction story told in Bill's own words....

I'll never forget my interview with Mike a top insurance agent who had been with a major carrier for over 25 years. I asked a simple, but difficult question, "Can you give me an example of a client that had a problem, where you were able to help with a brilliant solution and they got great results?"

Mike paused for a moment and then said, "Well, yes, one of my clients is a college professor. He's a nice guy. He's a smart guy. He was driving home from work one day and it started to rain. He pulled up to a stop light to make a right on red, looked left and saw that there was no oncoming traffic, and started making his right turn. At that time, a guy was running across the street to get out of the rain - my client didn't see him and hit him with his car." 

Then Mike paused and said, "$900,000 later, the last medical bill was paid. Fortunately, one year before the accident, my client bought a million dollar personal umbrella policy from me. Now every time I see this client, he stops to thank me for selling him that policy."

"Wow, that's a great example," I said. Then Mike added, "If he hadn't bought that personal umbrella policy, here's what would have happened. First, he would have exhausted all of his savings trying to pay off that guy's medical bills. I know how much he's got, and he doesn't have $900,000. Once he had exhausted all of his savings, he would have gone into debt, and then finally, when the debt burden became too great, he would have had to declare bankruptcy. But because he had that one policy, there was no financial impact at all."

Perfect example of a customer attraction story. In fact, Mike's story was so vivid that it moved me to action. My agent works for the same carrier as Mike. He has insured my home and cars for the last twenty years, but for the first time I realized the value of having a personal umbrella policy. The next day, I called him and bought a five million dollar personal umbrella policy.

Prior to the start of Sell With a Story, Bill will schedule a conference call to discuss your personal relevant story. Over the two day course, you will and master your story so that you can easily insert it into a conversation and use it to your benefit for those rare unplanned opportunities that could change the course of your career. 

The goal of an effective communicator is to make a meaningful contribution to an audience. Sell With a Story will help you achieve that goal.

Surviving and Thriving in Your Career

In today's workplace you are expected to stay on top of your game while working positively and productively with all types of personalities and communication styles. If you aren't learning new skills and acquiring new knowledge, you risk the chance of falling behind your peers. That's why you owe it to yourself to take charge of your professional development.


It's easy to be complacent about professional development when you are gainfully employed, especially if it isn't required by your company. But, making an effort to grow professionally not only helps you in your current role, it will help you in the future. Don't do it for your boss, do it for you.

Here are 5 ways to grow professionally - either with or without the help of your current employer:

• Take a course. Concentrate on developing soft skills that are relevant across a variety of industries and positions - they have the biggest bang for your buck. Today's economy puts a new premium on people skills and relationship building. Are you both verbally articulate and a good listener? Can you deliver your message and express yourself in a way that builds bridges with colleagues and clients? If you need help in this department, consider attending one of the courses at Ty Boyd. 

• Find a mentor or coach. Identify somebody who is willing to give you guidance and advice. An on-going relationship with a professional coach who can give honest feedback can be an invaluable investment.

•  Read. There are hundreds of books and blogs and articles on the Internet that can shine a new light on your industry. The more you know, the easier it is to position yourself as someone who is knowledgeable in your group - an industry expert. It also helps to read things outside of your realm of experience as you may be able to apply something to your business. Consider reading Ty Boyd's The Million Dollar Toolbox and let it be a blueprint for transforming your life and career with powerful communication skills.

• Get involved with an industry organization. And don't just attend - join a committee. And commit to commenting and speaking at the meetings. Challenge yourself to bring more awareness to your public speaking in every day interactions.

• Get LinkedIn with Ty Boyd. Update your profile, get in touch with people in your industry as well as old colleagues. Who knows - a great opportunity may be out there for the taking.