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

Gone were any high-pressure sales tactics, questionable language patterns, or even the slightest reference to closing a sale at all costs to simply earn a commission; all of these were purged from the system in favor of more elegant strategies. It was a painstaking process, where no expense was spared and no stone left unturned.

World-class experts were brought in to review every aspect of the system—from occupational psychologists to experts in content creation, best adult-learning practices, and neuro-linguistic programming. And what emerged in its place was something truly incredible: a system that was so powerful and effective, and that maintained such a high level of ethics and integrity, that I knew in my heart that the Straight Line System had finally evolved into what I always knew it could be:

A money-making force for good.

What I offer you on the following pages is a turnkey solution for applying the Straight Line System to any business or industry.

For those of you in sales, or if you own your own business, this book will be a total game-changer for you. It will show you how to shorten your sales cycle, increase your closing rate, develop a steady stream of customer referrals, and create customers for life. In addition, it will also offer you a paint-by-number formula for building and maintaining a world-class sales force.

And, for those of you who are not in sales, this book will be equally as valuable to you. You see, one of the costliest mistakes that “civilians” make is that they tend to think of sales and persuasion in traditional terms only, where there’s a salesperson closing a deal. So, they ask themselves, “Since I’m not in sales, what’s the point of learning how to sell?”

Meanwhile, nothing could be further from the truth.

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.

You’re selling people that your ideas make sense, your concepts make sense, your products make sense: you could be a parent selling your kids on the importance of taking a bath or doing their homework; you could be a teacher selling your students on the value of education; a lawyer selling a jury on the innocence of your client; a pastor selling your congregation on the existence of God or Jesus of Mohammad or Buddha; a politician selling your constituency on the benefits of voting for a certain referendum—in short, selling applies to all people, and all aspects of life, both business and personal. After all, at some point in our lives, we’ll all have to sell ourselves to someone: a prospective partner, a future employer, a future employee, a future first date, and on and on.

Then you have all the day-to-day business scenarios that fall outside of what we normally consider sales—an entrepreneur trying to raise venture capital or secure a line of credit at a bank; selling your employees, or someone you’re courting to become an employee, on the power and righteousness of your vision for the future; negotiating a new lease for office space; securing a better interest rate on your merchant account or negotiating better payment terms with a vendor.

Again, it doesn’t matter what line of work you’re in or if it’s business or personal. We’re always trying to convey our thoughts and ideas and hopes and dreams in a way that not only moves people to take action but that also gets us what we want in life too.

That’s what ethical persuasion is all about; and without that one, linchpin skill, it is very difficult to achieve success, at any reasonable level, or live an empowered life.

In fact, at the end of the day, that’s what this book is really all about. 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.

Just always remember the words of Spider-Man’s uncle, from the first Spider-Man movie. “With great power,” he warned, “comes great responsibility.”

This book will grant you that power.

I urge you to please use it responsibly.

1

CRACKING THE CODE FOR SALES AND INFLUENCE

“DON’T YOU GUYS GET IT? Every sale is the same!”

The first time I uttered those words to a roomful of salesmen was on a Tuesday evening, in 1988, and what I got in return were some very confused looks. They were looks that so much as said, “What the hell are you talking about, Jordan? Every sale is not the same! Every sale is different. Our prospects all have different needs, different beliefs, different values, different objections, and different pain points. So how could every sale possibly be the same?”

In retrospect, I can see their point.