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

Now, in sales, when we talk about certainty, the first thing that pops into people’s minds is certainty about the actual product being sold. In other words, before there’s any chance of a prospect buying a product, they first have to be absolutely certain that the product makes sense to them, insofar as it filling their needs, eliminating any pain they might have, being a good value for the money . . . and so forth.

So—the first of the Three Tens is your product.

THE THREE TENS

1 The product, idea, or concept

2

3

In essence, 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!

This includes both tangible products like cars, boats, houses, food, clothing, consumer products, and all the various services people perform; and also intangible products, like ideas and concepts and values and beliefs, or any vision you might have for the future.

Over the years, I’ve found that the simplest and most effective way to explain the Three Tens is to imagine a “continuum of certainty,” like the one below.

Now, notice how on the very right end of the continuum, you have the number 10. This represents your prospect being in a state of absolute certainty about the value and efficacy of your product, or put more simply, your prospect absolutely loves it!

For example, if you were to ask this prospect what they thought about your product, a dead-honest answer would sound something like: “Oh my god, it’s literally the best thing since sliced bread! Not only does it fill all my needs but it’s also a great value for the money! I can only imagine how great I’m going to feel when I get to use it in the future. It’ll be like having a huge weight lifted off my shoulders!”

That’s a 10 on the certainty scale: your prospect absolutely loves your product, and they’re damn sure of it.

Then, over on the very left end of the continuum, you have the number 1. This represents your prospect being in a state of absolute uncertainty about the value and efficacy of your product, or put more simply, they think it’s a total piece of shit.

In this case, if you were to ask your prospect the same question as above, they would say something along the lines of: “That product of yours is the biggest piece of shit I’ve seen in my life! In fact, not only is it completely overpriced, but it also looks like shit, works like shit, feels like shit, and it’s actually built like shit. So the sooner you get that piece of shit out of my sight, the happier I’ll be.”

That’s a 1 on the certainty scale: your prospect absolutely despises your product, and it’s going to be difficult to change their mind.

Then, along the continuum’s middle, you have the varying degrees of certainty between a 1 and a 10, with the number 5 representing a state of pure ambivalence. That’s where your prospect isn’t leaning one way or the other. In normal sales parlance, this is referred to as your prospect “sitting on the fence,” an expression specifically meant to highlight the delicate nature of this state. However, with the Straight Line System, we view a 5 in a far more positive light. In fact, to a seasoned Straight Liner, a prospect who is at a 5 has a big sign on their chest, saying:

PLEASE INFLUENCE ME NOW!

I CAN’T MAKE UP MY MIND,

SO PLEASE HELP ME!

The important thing to remember here is that, while being at a 5 does, indeed, mean that your prospect is fifty-fifty on your product, it does not mean that you only have a fifty-fifty chance of closing them.

The same thing goes for levels 3 and 7 on the certainty scale, which are basically mirror images of each other. In the case of a 3, your prospect thinks that your product is basically crap, although not nearly as crappy as if they were at a 1. And at a 7, your prospect thinks your product is great, although not nearly as great as if they were at a 10.

In both of these cases, however, whether your prospect is at a 7 or a 3, there are two important things to remember. First, your prospect’s feelings of certainty or uncertainty are less set in stone than if they were at the level to the right or the left of them. Secondly, their presence at either level does not directly translate into a better or worse chance of ultimately closing them. In other words, their current state of certainty is just that—current. It is not permanent, and they are eagerly waiting to be influenced by you.