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

by Jordan Belfort

“When you gather intelligence from a prospect, you’re doing all of the following things: “First, you’re identifying their needs—and not just their core need but also any secondary needs or ‘problems’ they might have. “Second, you’re identifying any core beliefs they might have that could impact the sale, such as not feeling comfortable working over the phone or with making quick decisions, and also not trusting salespeople in general. “Third, you want to find out about any past experiences they’ve had with similar products, both good and bad, and how they feel about the salespeople they bought them from. “Fourth, you want to identify their values—meaning, what things are most important to them? Are they looking for growth or income, or do they want to set themselves up for retirement, or to give their profits to a certain charity, or a religious institution? It can even be that the prospect is an action junkie and they’re in it for the thrills. “Fifth, you want to identify their financial standards, insofar as what level of wealth and spending ability they need to have to feel good about themselves. “Sixth, where their pain lies—meaning, what’s keeping them up at night? What’s that one single financial worry that sits at the very base of their skull and weighs them down, like an anchor? “You see, at the end of the day, it’s knowing your prospect’s pain and, if necessary, amplifying that pain; if they’re currently in denial, that’s going to help you close the tougher sales....