How to Transfer Certainty in Every Sales Call

TL;DR

Enter every sales encounter with absolute certainty about your product, yourself, and the company supporting the offer. That certainty reaches prospects through your tone, body language, words, and logical case, while the Straight Line system provides the structure for transferring it without damaging rapport. Techniques such as olfactory anchoring can help trigger the required emotional state consistently.

Transcript

hey jordan over here the wolf of wall street welcome to sales school all right jb here the wolf of wall street time for sales school the topic is your state of mind when you show up to a sale and this is sort of a book end to another lesson i've given you in sales school about the transference of emotion remember sales at the highest level is the t... Read More

Key Insights

• Sales at the highest level is the transference of emotion, and the primary emotion being transferred is certainty. The prospect begins with less certainty because they do not know everything the salesperson knows about the product, offer, and company.
• Product certainty is confidence that the offer can meet the prospect's needs, resolve their pain, and provide the best course, ratio, or value proposition. A salesperson needs this internal conviction before attempting to communicate it to someone else.
• Personal certainty is confidence that the salesperson is right for the job, will behave ethically, will answer questions, and will respond to issues as they arise. This confidence affects how assured and trustworthy the salesperson appears during the encounter.
• Company certainty is confidence that the organization behind the offer will deliver the product and provide customer service. The salesperson transfers confidence not only in the offer and themselves, but also in the company's ability to fulfill its responsibilities.
• The Straight Line system is a transfer mechanism rather than a source of certainty. Like ductwork carrying heat from a boiler into rooms, it carries the salesperson's existing emotional certainty from the opening of the conversation toward the close.
• Certainty is communicated through tone of voice, body language, the assuredness of each word, and an airtight logical case. Sales techniques cannot compensate when the salesperson enters the encounter with no genuine certainty available to communicate.
• Excessive excitement can damage rapport if certainty is expressed in a way that makes the salesperson sound like a know-it-all. The Straight Line approach is intended to transfer conviction without angering the prospect or boring them during the presentation.
• Olfactory anchoring is a technique that uses smell and other senses to trigger a state of absolute certainty. Its purpose is to help salespeople arrive at each encounter at the top of their game instead of hoping they happen to feel confident.

Questions & Answers

Q: How do you transfer certainty during a sales call?

Certainty is transferred through tone of voice, body language, assured wording, the information shown to the prospect, and an airtight logical case. The salesperson must first feel certain about the product, their own ability and ethics, and the company supporting the offer. The Straight Line system then provides a structured way to move that conviction from the opening toward the close.

Q: What does certainty mean in the Straight Line sales system?

Certainty means having strong internal confidence in three areas: the product, the salesperson, and the company. The salesperson believes the product can meet the prospect's needs and resolve their pain, trusts their own ability to answer questions ethically, and believes the company will deliver the product and provide customer service. That combined conviction is what gets communicated to the prospect.

Q: Why must a salesperson feel certain before meeting a prospect?

A salesperson must feel certain because the sales system can transfer an emotion, but it cannot create that emotion. If the salesperson enters with negativity or misgivings, those feelings come through to the prospect. Even strong sales skills cannot transfer confidence that is not present, making it harder to increase the prospect's certainty and complete the close.

Q: How does the boiler analogy explain certainty in sales?

The salesperson is compared to a hot boiler, while the Straight Line system is compared to the ductwork carrying heat into different rooms. The boiler must produce heat before the ducts can distribute it. Likewise, the salesperson must generate certainty internally before the sales process can transfer it to the prospect through words, tone, body language, and presentation.

Q: What are the three types of certainty a salesperson needs?

A salesperson needs certainty about the product, themselves, and the company. Product certainty concerns the offer's ability to meet needs, resolve pain, and provide value. Personal certainty includes confidence in ethical conduct and the ability to handle questions. Company certainty means trusting the organization to deliver the product and provide customer service after the sale.

Q: Can the Straight Line system create confidence for a salesperson?

The Straight Line system does not create confidence or certainty. Its role is to transfer the certainty already present inside the salesperson to the prospect while moving the conversation from the opening toward the close. If the salesperson arrives uncertain, the system has nothing to carry, just as ductwork cannot distribute heat when the boiler is not producing any.

Q: How can certainty hurt rapport during a sales conversation?

Certainty can hurt rapport when intense excitement is expressed in a way that makes the salesperson sound like a know-it-all. The prospect may become annoyed, stop listening, or resist the presentation. The Straight Line system is described as an elegant and simple way to communicate strong conviction without angering the prospect or boring them during the sales process.

Q: What is olfactory anchoring in sales preparation?

Olfactory anchoring is a technique that uses the sense of smell, along with other senses, to trigger a state of absolute certainty. It is intended to help a salesperson arrive at every encounter at the top of their game instead of depending on chance. The goal is to leave negativity and misgivings behind before selling in person or by phone.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Selling at the highest level is presented as the transference of emotion, particularly certainty. A salesperson must feel convinced about the product's ability to meet needs, resolve pain, and provide value, while also trusting their own conduct and the company's ability to deliver the product and provide customer service.

• The Straight Line system acts as a transfer mechanism that moves a prospect from the opening toward the close. It does not create certainty for the salesperson. Instead, certainty originates within the salesperson and is communicated through tone of voice, body language, assured words, product presentation, and an airtight logical case.

• Salespeople should not rely on chance to determine whether they feel confident before an encounter. They can prepare themselves to enter a state of absolute certainty consistently. Olfactory anchoring uses smell and other senses to trigger this state, helping salespeople leave negativity behind before speaking with a prospect.