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The way of the wolf
In the way of the wolf, Jordan Belfort reminds us that with great power comes great responsibility. He warns you firsthand. This book gives you power so you might as well use it responsibly. Jordan is gifted as he claims, gifted with the ability to sell anything to anyone. If he were a superhero, training salespeople would be his superpower, and there’s not a soul on the planet who does it better than him. A bold claim You may wonder whether you need this book on sales or not. But “Even if you’re not in “sales,” you still need to become at least reasonably proficient at sales and persuasion. Otherwise, you’re going to find yourself living a severely disempowered life. Selling is everything in life. In fact, either you’re selling or you’re failing.” By providing you with a simple, proven way to master the art of communication, you’ll be able to move through life with far greater personal power and live a far more empowered life. So here’s a brief summary of the way of the wolf, by Jordan Belfort.
The way of the wolf Chapter 1: CRACKING THE CODE FOR SALES AND INFLUENCE
Every sale is the same. While many people would disagree with this bold statement, Jordan Belfort affirms with absolute certainty that every sale is the same. To him, three key elements must line up in a prospect’s mind before you have a shot at closing them. That’s why he says that every sale is the same.The three tens
Jordan Belfort calls the three core elements the three tens—with the context being a prospect’s current state of certainty on a scale from one to ten. The three tens are composed of1- The product, idea, or concept
Your prospect must be absolutely certain that they love your product, or as we like to say with the Straight Line System, your prospect must think it’s the best thing since sliced bread! A 10 on the certainty scale means your prospect absolutely loves your product, and they’re damn sure of it. A 1 on the certainty scale: your prospect absolutely despises your product, and it’s going to be difficult to change their mind. Human beings don’t buy things that they think will make their lives worse; they buy things that they think will make their lives better. “In consequence, when you ask for the order, if your prospect thinks that your product is shit then you have absolutely no chance of closing them. Conversely, if they think the opposite is true—that your product is the best thing since sliced bread—then you have an excellent chance of closing them.” Now, if a prospect is at a 10 on the certainty scale, will she buy from you? While many people would say “yes”, the answer is “maybe”. Maybe yes, maybe not And here comes the second part of the three tens: trust. If your prospect doesn’t trust you, then there’s absolutely no way they are going to buy from you. How certain they are about your product doesn’t necessarily involve a buying situation.2- You, trust and connect with you
Do they think you’re a likable, trustworthy person, who is not only an expert in your field but also prides yourself on putting your customer’s needs first and making sure that if any problems arise you’ll be right there on the spot to resolve them? That would be a 10 on the certainty scale. There is also a varying degree of certainty for how people trust you or not. Now, with those two elements combined, will a prospect buy from you? By now, you might’ve understood it; still not. Why? Let me ask you a question: What if your prospect doesn’t trust the company you work for?3- The prospect must trust and connect with the company
A company with a questionable reputation is likely to lose customers in the same way that it won’t attract new ones. In fact, this is why it’s so much easier to sell to existing customers than to new ones, even if you don’t have a personal relationship with them. The fact that they have an existing relationship with your company means that the third Ten has already been established, leaving you with only the first and the second Tens to address.Two types of certainty
There are two types of certainty: logical and emotional. Logical certainty is based on actual facts, figures, features and benefits etc. while emotional certainty is more based on a gut feeling that something must be good. People don’t buy on logic; they buy on emotion, and then justify their decision with logic. Hence, the two types are both important—and they’re both absolutely crucial if you want to close at the highest level.The way of the wolf Chapter 2- INVENTING THE STRAIGHT LINE
Goal oriented-communication
Every word, every phrase, every question you ask, every tonality you use; every single one of them should have the same ultimate goal in mind, which is to increase the prospect’s level of certainty as much as humanly possible, so that by the time you get to the close, he’s feeling so incredibly certain that he almost has to say yes. That’s your goal. “In fact, think of this as goal-oriented communication,” To apply this, remember when we talked about the three tens in Chapter 1. Jordan Belfort highlights two more elements that constitute the straight line system: lower the action threshold and raise the pain threshold.The five core elements of the straight line system
In sum, the five core elements of the straight line system as discussed in the way of the wolf are: 1. The prospect must love your product. 2. The prospect must trust and connect with you. 3. The prospect must trust and connect with your company. 4. Lower the action threshold. 5. Raise the pain threshold.Action threshold
It’s a threshold the prospect must cross over before he or she feels comfortable enough to buy. In other words, the action threshold is the collective level of certainty that a person needs to be at before they feel comfortable enough to buy. Prospects have beliefs, experiences that create a threshold of certainty. We refer to people who are very easy to sell to as having a low action threshold; and we refer to people who are very difficult to sell to as having a high action threshold. Most importantly, a prospect’s action threshold is malleable; it is not set in stone. This implies that if you can lower a person’s action threshold, then you can turn some of the toughest buyers into easy buyers.The pain threshold
This is the last core element of the straight line system and it’s for the toughest customers who’re not inclined to buy, even after you lowered their action threshold. Pain is the most powerful motivator of all. Pain creates urgency. What the Straight Line System can do, once you become reasonably proficient at it, is get you to a point where you can close anyone who’s closable.The way of the wolf Chapter 3- THE FIRST FOUR SECONDS
It takes only a quarter of a second for a prospect to make an initial decision about you when you meet them in person. Actually, it happens in less than four seconds over the phone, and in only a quarter of a second when you’re in person. That’s how fast the brain reacts. To be clear, though, even when you’re in person, it still takes four seconds before a final judgment gets made. The difference is that the process starts sooner when you’re in person—literally from the first moment the prospect lays eyes on you. There are three things you need to establish in those first four seconds of an encounter if you want to be perceived in just the right way: 1 Sharp as a tack 2 Enthusiastic as hell 3 An expert in your field If you’re in sales, stop believing in the “don’t judge a book by its cover”. Each and every one of us judges books by their covers. It’s basically hardwired into our brains; and it’s not just an American thing; it’s also an Australian thing, a Chinese thing, a Brazilian thing; an Italian thing—it’s a human thing. It exists everywhere in the world, and crosses all cultural boundaries. How you are perceived will carry through to every part of the sale, but it starts in the first four seconds. If you screw that up and make a negative first impression, then you basically have no chance of closing the deal.Sharp as a tack
In essence, you have to sound and act like someone who can help the prospect fulfill their needs and desires. To achieve lasting success, you must actually become an “expert in your field,” so that you do, indeed, know what you’re talking about. You can’t just talk the talk; you also have to walk the walk.Enthusiastic as hell
This sends a subliminal message to your prospect, telling them that you must have something great to offer. You must sound upbeat, enthusiastic, and full of energy, and be a positive influence in their lives.An expert in your field
You have to be an expert in your field—an authority figure and a force to be reckoned with. Convince the prospect that you are a highly competent, ultra knowledgeable professional by coming off as a world-class expert in your field, right out of the gate.The way of the wolf: Show them you’re worth listening to
1. Get to the point quickly 2. Do not waste the prospect’s time 3. Have a solution to their problem 4. Be an asset to them over the long-term
The way of the wolf Chapter 4- TONALITY AND BODY LANGUAGE
You know by now that the first four seconds are crucial. Since a substantial portion of communication takes place over the phone nowadays, how do you ensure that you’re being perceived the right way when your prospects can’t even see you? The answer is your tone of voice. On the flip side, if a sales encounter takes place in person, then a second communication modality comes into play, working hand-in-hand with tonality to help us get our point across. We call this second modality body language. In unconscious communication, tonality and body language play major roles in how we get our point across—both while we’re talking and as we’re listening. Use enthusiasm to create massive emotional certainty in our prospect—meaning, they get an overwhelming sense that whatever product we’re selling simply must be good. Remember to never stay in any one tonality for too long or else the prospect will become bored—or in scientific terms, habituate—and ultimately tune out.Conscious and unconscious
Your unconscious mind is 200 million times more powerful than your conscious counterpart. You see, not only is your unconscious mind responsible for regulating all your bodily functions; it also acts as the central depository for all your memories. So, at the end of the day, whether it’s in person or over the phone, the strategies you employ and the outcomes you desire will always be the same: you’ll use words to influence your prospect’s conscious mind, and tonality and body language to influence their unconscious mind.The way of the wolf Chapter 5: STATE MANAGEMENT
Jordan Belfort refers to state management as a way to temporarily block out any troubling thoughts or emotions that might normally make you feel negative—thereby allowing yourself to maintain a positive state of mind. When you’re in an empowered state—like “certainty,” for instance—then you’re able to access your internal resources, which then sets you up for massive success. Conversely, when you’re in a disempowered state, you’re blocked from accessing your internal resources, and you’ve set yourself up for massive failure.How to manage your state?
Jordan Belfort then talks about NLP or Neuro-linguistic programming. NLP’s basic premise is that the human brain functions similarly to a computer and hence can be programmed as such to make near instant changes to certain key behavioral patterns. Yet, before you can make any changes, you need to know two important things first: . How to write code for the human brain . What type of software to embed the code in The basic premise of NLP anchoring is that human beings have the ability to choose how they feel at a particular moment in time, as opposed to it being chosen for them by what’s going on in their surrounding environment or their personal life. In other words, we can be proactive when it comes to choosing our emotional state, as opposed to reactive, which is what most human beings have been conditioned to think, is our only choice.How to live a more empowered life
NLP’s first leap of logic was based on the idea that human beings could proactively manage their emotional state with near 100 percent success by directing their focus and their physiology in a specific way. There are two core elements of NLP that helps you manage your stateWhat you choose to focus on
In essence, at any particular moment, you have the ability to choose the precise direction of your focus; and based on that choice, you’ll fall into a state that’s congruent with what you’ve chosen to focus on.Your current physiology
As Tony Robbins said “motion creates emotion”. Our posture and our physiology affect the way we feel. The most common state that salespeople will try to set an anchor for is a state of absolute certainty, and the most common anchor they’ll choose to try to link it to is a combination of shouting the word “yes” and simultaneously clapping their hands. People also read: Never split the difference summary Building a storybrand Getting to yes summary Crucial conversations summary Exactly what to say – The magic words for influence and impact Made to stick summaryStart with why summary
Chapter 6- A SUREFIRE FORMULA FOR MANAGING YOUR STATE
One of the main benefits of NLP is anchoring. It helps people trigger a peak emotional state at will. While anchoring is a powerful tool, people often have difficulties mastering it. Two reasons mainly explain these difficulties. The first vulnerability had to do with how intense you were able to get your state to at the precise moment when you introduced the anchor. The second vulnerability had to do with the type of anchor you choose. It needs to be extreme—the more extreme the better, in fact—and the more unusual the better too. Jordan Belfort then guides you through five basic steps to NLP anchoring: Step #1: Choose a state Step #2: Choose your focus Step #3: Choose your physiology Step #4: Intensify your state Step #5: Set your anchorThe way of the wolf: Olfactory anchoring
As mentioned earlier, “intensifying one’s state” remains one of the difficulties people most encounter. To solve this, Jordan Belfort suggests not generating that state but rather waiting until you are actually in that state organically and set your anchor then. He takes the example of “certainty”. Instead of generating a state of certainty, wait until you really live it and then, right then, in that very instant, set yourself a powerful anchor. All you have to do is wait for that awesome moment when you close a really big sale (or any situation that causes you to organically pop into a state of absolute certainty, or absolute anything, for that matter), and then, right then, in that very instant, when that moment hits, you whip out your tube of BoomBoom, unscrew the cap, take a deep, prodigious blast up each nostril so you can literally feel the rush of the mint and citrus bathing your olfactory nerves, giving you that pleasant, invigorating burn.Here’s how it looks, laid out in steps
Step #1: Choose a state: Like before, let’s choose a state of absolute certainty. Step #2: Set your anchorThe way of the wolf Chapter 7: ADVANCED TONALITY
Advanced tonality as explained in the “way of wolf” is an extremely powerful unconscious communication strategy. You can actually get people to buy things they shouldn’t buy, and do things they shouldn’t do, without them even realizing that an extraordinary amount of influence was brought to bear. You see, in the absence of the right tonality, your ability to move your prospect emotionally is severely limited and your ability to close is also limited accordingly. Remember, it’s your words that move a prospect logically, and it’s your tonality that moves your prospect emotionally. We can also use tonality at a much higher level to take control of our prospect’s inner monologue and stop it from narrating against us.A few rules
The first rule is to never address their prospect in an overly formal manner; instead, the salesperson should address the prospect in the way they would respectfully address a friend. 1. “I care” or the “I really want to know” tonality which is upbeat and enthusiastic. This tonality creates an unconscious psychological connection, because we naturally feel closer to people who express a sincere caring for our well-being. 2. Phrasing a declarative as a question – ex: “Hi, my name is Bill Peterson? Calling from Acme Travel Company? In Beverly Hills, California? How are you today?” 3. Mystery and intrigue – you use this tonality when explaining the precise reason why you called the prospect today. 4. Scarcity (to create urgency) – lower your voice to a whisper as if you are sharing a secret. There are verbal scarcity, tonal scarcity and informational scarcity. 5. Absolute certainty – firm and definitive 6. Utter sincerity – this is a calm, smooth, confident; low-pressure tone that implies that what you’re currently saying to the prospect is coming directly from your heart, and that you’re being absolutely sincere with them at the highest possible level. 7. Reasonable man – raising your voice at the end of a sentence to imply reasonableness; for instance “If you have sixty seconds, I’d like to share an idea with you. You got a minute?” 8. Hypothetical, money aside tone – Ex: So let’s say in response to you asking for the order, your prospect says, “It sounds good. Let me think about it. “Your reply would be, “I hear what you’re saying, but let me ask you a question. Does the idea make sense to you? Do you like the idea?” 9. Implied obviousness – to infer the notion that it’s beyond obvious that your product or service is a winner. 10. “I feel your pain” – use when you’re asking questions that are designed to uncover your prospect’s primary and secondary pain points and, if necessary, amplify them.