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

So, let’s go through that right now, picking up exactly where we left off—when Bill admitted that it was actually a lack of trust that’s holding him back, not his original objection. And while his response was short and sweet—“Yeah, well, in that case, I would”—that doesn’t take away from how profound it was. In fact, not only do those five simple words mark a major turning point in the sale but they also mark the point where you’re going to begin your next pattern.

You’re going to say, in a sympathetic tone: “Now, that I can understand. You don’t know me, and I don’t have the luxury of a track record; so let me take a moment to reintroduce myself.

“My name is [your first and last name], and I’m a [your title] at [the name of your company], and I’ve been there for [actual number] years, and I pride myself on . . .”

And now you’re going to tell your prospect a little bit about yourself—citing any degrees you have, any licenses you have, any special talents you have, any awards you’ve won, what your goals are at the company, what you stand for as a person in terms of ethics and integrity and customer service, and how you can be an asset to him and his family over the long term.

In addition, in the same way that you took as much time as you needed to write out the best possible version of yourself, you also wrote out a secondary and a tertiary version as well. This will ensure that you can keep talking about yourself intelligently if the sale drags on, forcing you to execute additional loops.

So, you’ve now resold your product, which is the first of the Three Tens; you’ve resold yourself, which is the second of the Three Tens; and now it’s time to resell the company that stands behind your product, which is the third of the Three Tens. And the way you’re going to do that is by moving directly from the Forrest Gump pattern to a new pattern that has been designed to do precisely that—namely, to increase your prospect’s level of certainty for the third Ten.

In other words, when you reach the end of the Forrest Gump pattern, rather than asking your prospect a question (like you’ve done with your previous patterns), you’re going to move straight into your new pattern for reselling the company—using the following seven words as your transition: “And as far as my company goes . . .”

For example, let’s say that the last point you were trying to get across to Bill with your Forrest Gump pattern was that not only are you going to tell him when to buy but you’re also going to tell him when to sell. Here’s how you would tack on your seven-word transition to the end of your Forrest Gump pattern. You would say:

“Not only am I going to guide you into the idea, but I’m going to guide you out as well. And as far as my company, XYZ Securities, goes, it’s one of the most well respected . . .”

In essence, it’s a seamless transition, where you’re reselling the third Ten directly on the heels of reselling the second Ten.

Now, in order to create a kick-ass language pattern for your third Ten, you should follow the same protocol that I just laid out for creating your Forrest Gump pattern—including spending as much time as it takes to write out the best possible version of your company, on both a logical and an emotional basis; and, to be safe, I want you to create secondary and tertiary versions as well—ensuring that you can run additional loops without running out of intelligent things to say.

In terms of the specifics, you’re going to be saying things like: “We’re the number-one this . . . we’re the fastest-growing that . . . we’re the foremost experts in this . . . The chairman of the board, a man named so-and-so, is one of the most astute minds in the entire XYZ industry . . . He’s accomplished X . . . he’s accomplished Y . . . and he’s built this company around one thing above all: [whatever that is].” And then you’re going to complete this pattern by moving directly into a close, saying something along the lines of: “So, Bill, why don’t we do this . . .” or “So, all I’m asking for is this . . .” and then transitioning directly into your close, which will end with you asking for the order a second time.

In addition, if the nature of your product allows it, one thing you should definitely consider here is to try to step down to a slightly smaller purchase, as it will definitely increase your conversion rate. In essence, you’re allowing your prospect to “dip their toe in the water to test things out,” and then, next time, after they’ve seen what a great job you’ve done, you can work on a much bigger level.

Here are a few quick examples of language patterns that work very well with this type of step-down approach:

 “If you give me 1 percent of your trust, I’ll earn the other 99 percent.”