How to Transfer Certainty During a Sales Call

TL;DR

Enter every sales encounter with absolute certainty that the product offers the right value and can meet the prospect’s needs. Then explain its features, benefits, results, and cost-benefit ratio clearly enough to raise the prospect’s certainty until buying makes sense, because the Straight Line System transfers the certainty already present in the salesperson rather than creating it.

Transcript

hey jordan over here the wolf of wall street welcome to sales school hey jb the wolf of wall street time for a sales school i got a very simple topic today but very important we're going back to basics here i want to get down to the very basis of what the straight line system is all about and that is the transference of emotion and the primary emot... Read More

Key Insights

• Selling is the transference of emotion from a salesperson to a prospect, and certainty is the primary emotion being transferred. A successful explanation increases the prospect’s confidence that the product offers suitable value, meets relevant needs, and can resolve pain.
• Prospects are initially less certain because they do not possess everything the salesperson knows about the product. They may lack detailed knowledge of its features, benefits, performance, customer testimonials, cost-benefit ratio, and demonstrated ability to help people.
• A salesperson raises certainty by explaining information the prospect does not yet know. Clear statements about the product’s value, benefits, effectiveness, and relevance to the prospect’s needs can move the prospect toward the level of confidence required to make a purchase.
• Initial certainty varies according to the product’s familiarity and the industry’s reputation. A well-known product can attract prospects who are already relatively confident, while an offering associated with a suspect reputation can cause nervousness and produce a much lower starting point.
• The salesperson’s responsibility remains the same regardless of the prospect’s starting position. Whether the prospect begins relatively confident or highly doubtful, the salesperson must communicate from a position of absolute certainty and progressively raise the prospect’s confidence.
• The certainty scale runs from one, representing total uncertainty, to ten, representing complete certainty and love for the product. Prospects may enter somewhere in the middle, while the salesperson is expected to enter at ten because of deeper product knowledge.
• The Straight Line System transfers certainty but does not create it. The method can organize and carry persuasive communication, but the emotional confidence being communicated must already exist within the salesperson before the sales encounter begins.
• The heating-system metaphor distinguishes the source of certainty from its delivery mechanism. The salesperson functions as the boiler producing heat, the Straight Line System functions as the ductwork, and prospects resemble rooms that remain cold when the original source produces no heat.

Questions & Answers

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

Transfer certainty by entering the encounter completely confident in the product, then explaining what the prospect does not yet know. Discuss the product’s features, benefits, value proposition, effectiveness, relevant testimonials, and ability to meet needs or eliminate pain. These explanations raise the prospect’s certainty until the purchase makes sense and the prospect becomes confident enough to buy.

Q: What emotion should a salesperson primarily transfer?

Certainty is the primary emotion a salesperson should transfer during persuasion, influence, selling, and closing. The prospect normally begins less certain than the salesperson because the prospect has less information about the product. By communicating strong product knowledge and explaining its value clearly, the salesperson helps the prospect become progressively more certain that buying is the right decision.

Q: Why do prospects begin with less certainty than salespeople?

Prospects begin with less certainty because they do not know everything the salesperson knows about the product. They may be unfamiliar with its features, benefits, effectiveness, customer testimonials, value proposition, cost-benefit ratio, or ability to resolve their needs and pain. That information gap places them lower on the certainty scale at the beginning of the encounter.

Q: How does product familiarity affect a prospect’s certainty?

Product familiarity can determine where a prospect begins on the certainty scale. A prospect considering a well-known product may already feel relatively confident because some useful information is familiar. A less familiar offering, or one associated with an industry the public views suspiciously, may produce nervousness and doubt, causing the prospect to begin the encounter with substantially lower certainty.

Q: What is the certainty scale in the Straight Line System?

The certainty scale describes confidence from one to ten. One represents total uncertainty, while ten represents absolute certainty and strong enthusiasm for the product. A prospect may enter around the middle of that continuum, depending on existing knowledge and perceptions. The salesperson should begin at ten and use persuasive explanations to move the prospect upward toward a buying decision.

Q: Why must a salesperson enter with absolute certainty?

A salesperson must enter with absolute certainty because the Straight Line System only transfers certainty, it does not generate it. The salesperson is the original source of the emotion being communicated. Without genuine confidence in the product’s features, benefits, value, effectiveness, and ability to help people, there is no certainty for the sales method to carry to the prospect.

Q: How does the boiler and ductwork metaphor explain selling?

The boiler represents the salesperson, who produces the certainty needed for the encounter. The ductwork represents the Straight Line System, which carries that certainty to the rooms, representing prospects. Even the best ductwork cannot heat a room when the boiler produces no heat. Likewise, a strong sales process cannot transfer certainty that the salesperson does not already possess.

Q: What information can raise a prospect’s certainty enough to buy?

A salesperson can raise certainty by explaining the product’s features and benefits, how well it works, why its cost-benefit ratio and value proposition are attractive, and how it can meet needs or eliminate pain. Relevant testimonials also support confidence because they show that other customers received benefits. Together, these points can make the purchase feel sensible to the prospect.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Selling is presented as the transference of emotion, with certainty identified as the primary emotion a salesperson must transfer. Prospects usually begin with less certainty because they lack the salesperson’s knowledge about the product, including its features, benefits, value proposition, effectiveness, testimonials, and ability to address needs or pain.

• A prospect’s initial certainty depends partly on familiarity and reputation. Someone considering a well-known product may begin relatively certain, while someone evaluating an offering from an industry viewed with suspicion may begin much less certain. In either situation, the salesperson’s responsibility is to raise certainty by sharing relevant, persuasive information.

• The Straight Line System is described as a transfer mechanism, comparable to ductwork carrying heat from a boiler into rooms. The salesperson is the boiler that must generate certainty, while the system delivers that certainty to prospects. Even an excellent method cannot transfer confidence that the salesperson does not possess at the encounter’s start.