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

Specifically, tonal scarcity is when you lower your voice to just above a whisper and then put a little oomph into it! Applying that tone of voice to a word or phrase triggers a sense of scarcity in the listener’s unconscious mind, which then sends a signal to its conscious counterpart, in the form of a gut feeling. In other words, tonal scarcity stacks on top of verbal scarcity, so that the sound of your words intensifies the feelings of scarcity in the prospect’s gut to a level far beyond what they would have felt from words alone.

And that takes us to the third type of scarcity, which is called informational scarcity—meaning, the information itself is in short supply. In other words, not only is the black 750iL in short supply but also nobody else is aware of that fact.

In essence, informational scarcity compounds the effect of the whisper, turning what is said into a full-blown secret that the prospect feels they can use to gain a personal advantage.

Here’s how you put it all together:

 First, verbal scarcity is used to convey the logic: “We only have one black-on-black 750iL left, and once it’s gone, it’s going to be three months until our next shipment comes in.”

 Second, you add on tonal scarcity by using a power whisper, which greatly intensifies the prospect’s sense of scarcity.

 And third, you add on informational scarcity by explaining that even the information itself is in short supply.

For the next three tonalities, let’s jump ahead to the end of the main body of your sales presentation, right to the point where you’re going to ask for the order for the first time.

In this case, we’re going to apply a series of three tonal shifts as we ask for the order—starting with a tonality of absolute certainty, then transitioning into a tonality of utter sincerity, and then transitioning again to the reasonable man tone.^II

Let me first explain each tonality separately.

1Absolute certainty: I’ve already explained this to you in detail in Chapter 4, so let me just quickly refresh your memory. In essence, with the tonality of absolute certainty, your voice takes a firmer, more definitive tone, with a power that seems to come right from your solar plexus, in order to convey your absolute conviction about whatever you happen to currently be saying.

2Utter 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. It’s a velvety smooth tone that’s so humble, and so nonthreatening, that it sounds almost apologetic in nature, but, of course, there’s no apology being given. Rather, you’re telling someone something that is clearly in their best interest, and hence they would be a fool not to believe what you’re saying and take your advice.

3The reasonable man: This is one of my favorite tonalities, as it’s used at some of the most important moments in the sales encounter. In this particular case, we’re focusing on how it’s used at the close; however, what I want you to understand is that we are also going to be using it at the beginning of the sale, when you ask your prospect for permission to explain the benefits of whatever product or idea you’re offering them. In other words, you don’t just start pitching your prospect an idea, without first saying something along the lines of “If you have sixty seconds, I’d like to share an idea with you. You got a minute?”

Those last three words—“got a minute?”—are when you apply the reasonable man tone, which entails you raising your voice up at the end of the sentence,^III to imply the reasonableness of your statement.

In essence, when you use the reasonable man tone, the extra words your prospect hears are “I’m reasonable, you’re reasonable, and this is a very reasonable request!” And since it’s basic human nature to want to obey the golden rule—do unto others as you’d have them do unto you—your prospect feels an unconscious obligation to return your reasonableness in kind, causing them to say yes to your request.

Now, when it comes to the close, here’s an example of how we put all three tonalities together into one tonal pattern.^III

First, the typical language pattern for a close would be something along the lines of “If you give me one shot, Bill, believe me, you’re going to be very, very impressed. Sound fair enough?”