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

2Remind him that you two spoke a few days or a few weeks ago, and that you emailed him a bit of information on your company. Do not—I repeat, do not—ask him if he actuallyreceivedthe information or had a chance to review it, as there’s an excellent possibility that he’ll say “no” to at least one of those questions, which gives him an easy exit ramp out of the encounter. The way to avoid this is to simply ask him if the conversation “rings a bell,” to which he will almost always reply with a yes.

3Once he does, then briefly explain to him how the last time you spoke, he asked you to give him a call the next time an extraordinary investment idea came across your desk.

4If he replies no, then act a bit surprised, but chalk it up to the fact that he must get a ton of calls and emails each day, and then assure him that you did, in fact, speak to him, and that you did, in fact, email him some information; but there’s no need to worry, as it was just a bit of background on your company. Then complete step three—reminding him that he asked you to call him the next time you had an investment idea.

5Explain how something just came across your desk and that it’s one of the best things you’ve seen in quite some time now, and if he has sixty seconds, you’d like to share the idea with him.

6Complete your introduction by saying“Got a minute?”using the reasonable man tone.^I

Here is how the reengagement process looks in script form, showing a prospect’s typical responses as well:

You: Hi, is Bill there?

Your Prospect: Yeah, this is Bill.

You: Hey, Bill! It’s John Smith, calling from XYZ Securities, on Wall Street. How you doing today?

Your Prospect: I’m okay.

You: Okay, great! Now, Bill, if you recall, we spoke a few weeks back, and I emailed you a bit of information on my company, XYZ Securities, along with some links to a few of our recent stock recommendations. Does that ring a bell?

Your Prospect: Uh, yeah, I think so.

You: Okay, great! Now, Bill, the last time we spoke, I promised to get back to you when I came across an investment idea that had huge upside potential with very little downside risk. Well, the reason for the call today is that something just came across my desk, and it’s perhaps the best thing I’ve seen in the last six months. If you have sixty seconds, I’d like to share the idea with you. You got a minute?

And that’s it.

From there, you’re going to smoothly transition into the main body of your presentation, adhering to the rules and guidelines laid out in the previous chapter, on script building, and then you’ll close out the front half of the sale by directly asking for the order for the first time, in no uncertain terms—meaning, there’s no beating around the bush or kind of asking for the order; you’re flat-out asking for it, saying something along the lines of: “Bill, here’s what I want you to do: pick up a block of ten thousand shares of Microsoft at thirty dollars a share. It’s a cash outlay of three hundred thousand dollars, or half that on margin . . .” And then complete your closing pattern.

Now, in reality, this is a far bigger investment than you expect your prospect to ultimately make; however, by asking for such a large commitment on the first go-round, you now have the opportunity to incrementally lower that amount with each new closing attempt—timing the reductions so that, on your final closing attempt, you’re asking your prospect for the firm’s minimum commitment for opening a new account.