Many of us have seen The Wolf of Wall Street but never realized that sales technique that the movie is outling is probably one of the most influential things you can learn. Jordan Belfort developed this technique out of desperation and then after seeing it's success taught it to people without high school educations and turned them into millionaires in less than two years.
You can throw stones all you want but after paying his debt to society, he returned to the business world and became a fast success by using the same technique but this time in an ethical way and he preaches in his sales seminars that once you learn this technique you'll have the ability to sell ethically and unethically but advises against the latter because it's not good for long term growth and sustainability.
To give you an idea of how well it works - I watched his videos last night, skipped worked today, called my boss and pitched a sale to her to train me to do more than she already had planned and to give me more hours and soon more pay.
It is EFFECTIVE!
Straight lines sales says within the first four seconds on the phone, someone has already formed an opinion on you and can actually visualize who you are so you need to portray three things.
Enthusiasm
Knowledge
Figure of Authority
Achieving these are actually quite easy when it comes to tone of voice. When first talking to someone, never call them by their last name, i.e. Mr. Jones. This means you are placing them above you meaning you're not a figure of authority.
Casually and in a peppy tone say "hey" and call them by their first name with an upward inflection like asking a question. This immediately sets "yes" as a response in their head so when you ask more questions or saying sentences in an upward inflection, they're set to agree with you.
When you make your pitch you drop the tone.
"The reason I'm calling is I want more money or your money... or whatever the reason is....
the reason being, when the tone drops after an inflection people tend to lean in because they feel like they're being let in on a secret. From there, the closing is at your fingertips and can be applied to anything in life like when I went to a CCA banquet and convinced them I was an organizer and needed a shirt to be included in their quarterly photo op.
Selling ETHICALLY though means that you're only going to sell them something they need by creating more of a feeling of necessity to "act now" but only if it's going to help them gain control of their life in some way, shape or form. Playing this power to sell them something they don't need is WRONG.
Much of this is better understood by watching to understand the differences in tone but I felt like sharing. A few minutes of my time today increased my value to my employer, got me more money and training all from a sales pitch I did while drinking a beer in my kitchen.
Sell yourself! You are worth it!
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."
-Aristotle
"Sell me this pen!"
Those techniques are amazing. Makes me feel I can sell everything.. Truly a great post. =)
I highly recommend watching him on YouTube. It will make you appreciate that movie so much more. My favorite scene now is where they're flashing between all his friends doing the same pitch with all of them succeeding. Belfort definitely taught them before they filmed the scene. It's beautiful!
I can't remember that scene.. I guess I'll have to watch it again.. Thanks for tips.. It's really helpful =D