6 Best Sales Lessons from Jordan Belford (The Wolf of Wall Street)
Learn How to Sell from The Wolf of Wall Street
If you ever saw this movie, you might already know who Jordan Belford is.
This movie is based on a true story and will surely open your eyes.
There was a person, Jordan Belford, who had his own company, Stratton Oakmont.
You know all the other parts of the history from the movie.
However, the basis of this movie is from the book that Jordan Belford wrote while he was in jail.
After a while, he started studying people to sell. And still, after many years of closing his company, he continues doing this.
That’s why I’d like to share the best lessons you should know that Jordan Belford shares with us.
Learn to Influence and Persuade
Before selling anything to anybody, you need to learn the first lesson.
Lesson #1 — Influence and Persuade People
People will only give you the money once people trust you. It would help if you believed in what you were talking about.
Here, it is good to work on your voice and tonality and learn anything about the topic you are talking about.
Are you selling a product or a service? It’s amazing! Learn each detail and become an expert in this product who knows everything.
People want to feel they are talking to an expert they can trust.
When you go to the doctor, do you listen to him and his advice?
Yes, because he is an expert in his area. That’s why you need to become one in your area as well.
But before telling anybody this, you need to learn basic techniques to tell people things that will make them trust you.
The best book on this topic is “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie.
Convey Confidence
The second lesson of this journey is to learn confidence.
Start believing in what you are talking about.
If you don’t trust yourself, nobody will start charging you.
That’s why working on your voice tonality and body language is so important.
You have information you want to share with your customers, but you must pick the right way to tell it.
People often have doubts about anything and don’t trust almost anybody.
Make the person feel safe after making him trust in the following three things:
- You
- Product
- Company
These items are essential.
Without them, the person will wonder why I need to buy it from someone I don’t know, who sells a product I’ve never heard about, and from a no-name company.
That’s why you must show that you know what you are talking about and that customers can trust you.
Lower the Water Line (Customer Uncertainty)
Any time at your sale point, the customer may feel uncertainty.
It’s a usual thing when someone doesn’t trust you.
Take even your friends and parents. They may not even charge you if you propose eating or buying something.
So, then, why should somebody who never saw you trust you?
At this point, you should understand what fears your customer has.
He probably needs clarification about the payment process or guarantee.
Ask and listen more at this point.
You won’t be able to sell your product without understanding what your customer wants and what points stop him from getting a deal.
Make sure that your customer needs your product. And then try to explain why it’s a good choice for him.
After that, give additional information to make the person understand why your product is a good choice.
Control the Sale
People often talk about nonsense.
Even in your dialog about selling something, the customer may start discussing related topics but go far from the main subject.
Control this dialog.
Listen, and then, with your questions, take your customer back to the topic. It’s important to talk only on the main subject.
If you go too far, then your dialog will end with nothing.
You have to go forward from the start point to the end, give answers to all questions, make your customer understand what you are selling, and then decide if he needs it.
Remember that it’s not your friend to talk about fishing for hours.
You have a limited period to achieve the main goals:
- Understand if the person needs your product
- Make everything to make this person love your product
Look for a Match and Reflect Them
This lesson is more on the topic of psychology.
These are lessons Jordan Belford took from neurolinguistic programming (NLP). I’ve written an article on this topic as well.
It would help if you connected well with the people you talk with.
I will explain it in several words. It would help to synchronize your voice tonality, body language, and behavior to make people trust you.
One good example is imagining you have energy and a smile. Then to the room come two persons. One person is sad, and the other one is relaxed and smiles like you. Who would you like to talk with?
Here is the same thing. You need to feel yourself and act like the person you are talking with.
You may get these lessons from the NLP and the person who invented this area of psychology, doctor Bandler.
Control Yourself
The last lesson is the most important one.
You need and must control everything about yourself. Start controlling the following things:
- Reaction
- Emotions
- Words
- Behavior
- Body language
- Voice tonality
These six items are essential. And you can add more if you want.
The main point is to learn how to control everything under your control.
Each of your actions may lead to success or failure. It’s under your control.
