Way of the Wolf: Straight Line Selling: Master the Art of Persuasion, Influence, and Success

by Jordan Belfort

So, to avoid the possibility of a head-on confrontation, the prospect conjures up a little white lie, a special lie, a lie that gives the salesperson just enough false hope to make them think that there is a shot of getting a callback by ending the encounter now, without pressing the prospect any further. To that end, the prospect will often start off their objection with a quick one-liner about how much they like your product. For example, the prospect might start with something like, “It sounds pretty good, Jim,” or “It seems really interesting, Jim,” and then follow it up with, “I just need to speak to my wife first. How about I give you a call back tomorrow?” And, with that, the prospect has set themself up to gracefully bow out of the sale, while the salesperson, if they were naïve enough to buy into this charade, has not only eliminated any chance of closing the deal but has also been set up for massive pain when they start dialing through the list of callbacks, which consists of people who had no intention of buying in the first place.