Hodder & Stoughton Way of the Wolf: Straight line selling: Master the art of persuasion, influence, and success

The book is an amazing unique piece of art. Frankly speaking ,everyone should buy it .

This book is an interesting read from the very start, Jordan opens the book talking about himself.. of course he would who else could do it better? If you were hoping for an introduction from someone else famous it isnt there.The book is a mix of the history of Jordans back stories and a mix of his training. You will get all sorts of psychology and influence strategies mixed in the book. Some of these ideas and concepts are explained while some are not. This book is a condensed version of his live training.Its interesting that in the beginning of the book Jordan does apologize for his actions and reminds you the reader to do the right thing for the buyer your client.What you really need to know is anything in this book will take time for you to practice and master. There are quite a few concepts here. If I could give you one piece of advice and that is to start with the vocal pitch mastery because you can practice it anywhere whether on a sales call or talking to friends. That is chapter 4 in the book.I do have to let you know I have read piles of books on persuasion, influence, decision making, sales training, body language, NLP, question asking and even story telling and Jordan has done an amazing job of grabbing some of the best highlights from all of these topics.What I like about this book is it follows the video training Jordan uses. I would have to say that the book does a great job explaining the straight line system but this would be considered a diet version at 244 pages.Here is the rundown of the book mostly by chapter with my thoughts added.Most salespeople go down the path of looking for the special knowledge it takes to be a producer and close sales and there is plenty of this information you can implement in this book.One of the early stories in the book Jordan explains is the first sales team complained that there were thousands of objections the buyers were giving them. In reality there were 14. In your industry there are probably 4 or 5. What it comes down to is salespeople like to make insurmountable excuses when they cant sellThe three tens is another way to explain the know like and trust formula. They like the product, they like you they have trust you will take care of them.The buyer needs to be at an elevated belief or state in 3 areas in order to be influenced to make a buying decision. These 3 areas are based on a scale of 1-10 where one is they don’t care and 10 is they are on fire and need a solution now:1. They like the product, idea or the concept2. They trust and connect with you3. They buyer trust and connects with the companyIf there is uncertainty in any of these areas you will get an automatic response of a common objection.Logical certainty vs emotional certainty is needed from the buyer to make a purchase and future pacing does help to get the buyer to a decision. Objections are a smoke screen to the three tensThe straight line name is explained and why it is important to the sales process. Once you are off the line you are out of bounds. A buyer is always trying to pull you off the line, they think it is their job. Its your job to keep them inside with the 3-10s. This is why salespeople need to stay on topic instead of trying to build so much rapport at the wrong timeObjections are smoke screens for uncertainty, every bit of your presentation is built to help build certainty in the product or the service. This is goal oriented communication.What is not mentioned in the book – salespeople will only use what they have learned to the certainty that the training will work for them.The 3-10 rules1. Take immediate control of the sale2. Engage in massive intelligence gathering while building rapport3. Make a smooth transition to the straight line to help build absolute certainty in the 3-10sMake your question gathering more invasive as the process goes along as trust has been built. Invasive questions early on may build resistance and doubt in your abilities.Drawing out a sales map does help salespeople see visually what is going on the sales process. Drawing a picture of what is going on sets the tone as laid out explaining the ideals of the straight line system.A pain threshold gets people to move away from it as it is human nature, once you uncover the pain you must have a good remedy to take care of it and then paint them a picture of the future to take care of itThe first 5 secondsWe as consumers make quick judgments, you as a salesperson better be at the top of your game at the entrance to the sales call or the phone call. You should be seen as1. Sharp as a tack – Goal oriented and the ability to do something for the buyer2. Enthusiastic as hell – Have a great upbeat energy about you3. An expert in your field - An expert that needs to be talked to, be an expert quickly and not a long term noviceShow them you are worth listening to1. Get to the point quickly2. Do not waste the prospects time3. Have a solution to their problem4. Be a long term assetThe power of tonality (get the book just for this chapter)we are conditioned as children to listen and we look for the verbal cues of someone who knows what they are doing whether we see this or not. Most people do not communicate well vocally and you have an opportunity to outpace salespeople that do not take this skill seriously.Leverage as many conditioned responses as possible so that it makes it easy for people to buy into what you have to say and what you have to offer. Let social norms do most of the heavy lifting for you in the sales process.State managementFuture pacing + act as if is a crude way to describe this idea. You must master your state as an influencer to get people to make decisions and look at you like the expert in the room.We are conditioned to look for experts and hear what they have to say from a young age.The subject of NLP anchoring comes up and is explained. Two of the best people to teach this are Tom Vizzini and Kim McFarland. You can try to get the gist from the book but it is easier to learn from video just google their names. You cant learn this technique in 12 pages from a book as easy as you can from watching and listening to people.Advanced tonalityWhere Jordan truly masters the game of influencing people is the use of tonality. I have seen some of his recordings and have to say the book is good but does not do the teachings justice unless you can hear how he explains how to use your voice like a scalpel instead of a hammer. Thank goodness there is a link in the book you can use to find him explaining this concept to hear for yourself on page 116. You must practice how you use peoples name since it is one of their favorite things to hear. If you say their name like you are singing it you have a better chance of getting into their head. This works live just as it will over the phone. Interact with the buyer as if they were on a friend level vocally. The next step is to use “reason why” justification and explain what the “big idea” of the offer to the buyer to gain enough interest to keep them talking to you.Advanced body languageThere are some concepts in here about facial hair, dressing positioning and stances, jewelry, how to stand talking to a man to not create aggression, how to stand next to a woman to influence her, how to deal with other cultures and so many other non verbal topics that could cover an entire book. The concepts covered here are the highlights of what you need to knowThe art of prospectingThe sell me this pen challenge in a job interview can be used as a metaphor for how many salespeople do not ask enough questions. Most salespeople go into feature and benefit mode before even knowing what the buyer needs.What it really comes down to is don’t sell things to people they don’t needLook for motivated buyers to sell them something they can use to fix a pain or a risk. There is a break down of how to tell if a buyer is not serious1. They ask a ton of questions2. They seem to drag out the process3. They pretend o be interested4. They wont talk about money and avoid answering the questionsOverall this a good book for people who want to sell or persuade others better. This book is written in Jordans voice so you get the stories as well as his common catch phrases. Chapter 4 is worth the price of the book itself.

Love this, great sales tips if you are into sales.

Good

Gutes. Ich um einen Einblick in das verkaufen zu erlangen.

My God! If you are in sales right now, you absolutely have to read this book. I ordered mine in March, and it was finally published and arrived yesterday. It took the day to read it, and was well worth the wait.Belfort has a deep and profound understanding of human nature and how to convey the right image to make a sale. From your tone of voice, cadence, enthusiasm, certainty, and belief in what you sell, he knows how to put that all together to generate sales at a rapid rate.OK, the book tells about his history selling stocks, training salespeople, and a little about the adventures he has had along the way. Butmostly, for the price of a lunch, you are essentially getting the meat of the Straight Line Sales System that sells online for about $2,000 (at least that's what I remember a few years ago).One caveat, this book tells the hard truth about making sales. If you sell arts and crafts at a bazaar..maybe this isn't for you. But if you sell high end products, that truly benefit those who buy, this is the book for you.If you sell anything by phone, you can use about 100% of what's in this book. It will all apply to you. But if you are like me, and sell by appointment, maybe 90% will apply. But that 90% is pure gold.If you are going to learn from someone, learn from the best. If your goal is to make money selling...learn from someone who made a fortune doing exactly that.One thing you should know...Belfort talks about not using "pressure", but the techniques he teaches create an urgency to buy, and for some salespeople...that can be a little intimidating. Belfort's personality may turn a few off...you may not even particularly like him. And he swears. So if that hurts your ears, don't buy the book. But if you are hungry...and want to get ahead in selling....this book is the map.Chapter 4 talks about tonality. And as another reviewer said, this chapter alone is well worth the cost of the book.It's more than just the tone of voice...it's the cadence, amplitude, timing, certainty in the voice, "caring" in the voice...and more.Belfort teaches.how to transfer certainty to the prospect. And it's done mostly through how you speak (and body language and facial expressions in person), even more than what you say.Watch a great actor...a slight change in expression can carry loads of meaning. A shift in posture, a raised eyebrow, leaning forward slightly, lowering your voice slightly...can make a big difference. And it's that kind of thing Belfort is talking about.And it works powerfully. Belfort talks about tonality, because he sells over the phone.It has been brought up that he sounds (in his sales videos) like a hustler.His voice is annoying. There, I said it. And my guess is that most of his reps had less than a radio voice as well. And they were mostly uneducated young men.And that's one of the things that impressed me the most. Even though his voice is aggravating (to me)...he still sold millions of dollars of product a month. And he taught others how to do it as well. His methodology is that good.His methodology is so well thought out, his understanding of human nature is so profound, his knowledge of the core of what makes people buy (or makes them object) is so deep... it overcomes all of his flaws (and ours) when pitching over the phone.And in his book he lays it all out. He is a gifted teacher, and it's impossible to not understand what he is teaching, and use it to your immediate profit.I'm going through my second reading now, with a yellow highlighter. This is the kind of book you study.