Book SummaryWay of the Wolf, by Jordan Belfort

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Way of the Wolf

Way of the Wolf explains sales trainer Jordan Belfort’s Straight Line method of selling, which is designed to efficiently move a prospect from doubt to certainty about buying. It provides a conceptual framework plus a collection of principles, techniques, and psychology that he says anyone can use to sell anything in any industry.

Belfort is best known as The Wolf of Wall Street—the name of his first memoir and of a Scorcese movie depicting his high-flying life as a broker in penny stocks before pleading guilty in 1999 to securities fraud and money laundering. He served 22 months, then became a motivational speaker and sales trainer. Belfort rethought his ethics and refined his selling method, which he says will shorten sales cycles, dramatically increase closes, and lead to referrals and long-term customer relationships—while bringing the seller success and wealth.

(Shortform note: Based on online reviews, many users believe the method works. Others, however, contend that it relies on pressure tactics, making it useful only in B2C (business-to-consumer) sales as opposed to B2B (business-to-business) sales where customers dislike pressure.)

Straight Line vs. Other Sales Methods

The Straight Line System, as described in Way of the Wolf, is a condensed version of Belfort’s training courses. It differs from popular sales methodologies, such as The Challenger Sale and SPIN Selling, in several ways:

• It prioritizes the seller’s interest in closing expeditiously over the customer’s interest in ensuring the best solution. While it does mention meeting customer needs, most of the book focuses on techniques for moving the customer to a sale.

• The Straight Line method, originally designed for telesales, takes a one-method-fits-all-sales approach. However, B2B sales may differ from B2C sales in size, complexity, number of stakeholders, and length of the sales cycle. So, sales methods like Challenger and SPIN Selling tailor their approach and solutions to the customer.

• Compared to other sales methods, the Straight Line system is simple and straightforward.

Create Certainty

Belfort introduces his system by explaining that every prospect (potential customer) falls somewhere on a certainty scale of 1 to 10 when it comes to their feelings about three things: the product you’re selling, you as the salesperson, and your company. Your goal as a seller is to efficiently move the prospect on a straight path toward certainty about all three points and a sale.

Belfort argues that all sales are alike in that the seller’s objective is always to move the prospect from uncertainty to certainty about buying, regardless of product, price, or differences in the prospect’s needs, problems to be solved, values, or objections.

To close a sale under the Straight Line method, you must create level-10 certainty or confidence in the prospect’s mind on all three essentials, which Belfort calls the three tens.

The First Certainty: The Product

• The first certainty or requirement for a successful close is that your prospect love the product at a level 10 on the certainty scale. At the opposite end of the scale—a 1—she’ll strongly dislike the product, and you won’t be able to change her mind.
• However, at a 5, she’ll be ambivalent and can be moved toward a 10.
• If your prospect is below a 5, you can’t close a sale immediately, but you have an opportunity to increase her certainty score by persuading her that your product will improve her life.

The Second Certainty: You as the Seller

• The second requirement is that your prospect find you completely likable and trustworthy. If she views you as unlikable or acting from self-interest, she’ll be at a 1 and uncloseable.
• A prospect will fall near the middle of the scale and can be moved if she finds you basically trustworthy although she dislikes you, or she likes you but doesn’t trust you.

The Third Certainty: Your Company or Brand

• The third requirement for a successful close is that your prospect feel positively about your company or brand. If she believes something negative—for instance, that your company doesn’t stand behind its products or that they’re cheaply made—you’ll need to increase her confidence.

Customer Certainties Overlap

Although Belfort refers to the three certainties in the same order throughout the book (product, seller, company), he doesn’t say whether the seller must address them in that order during every sales conversation.

You’ll likely work toward certainty on all three aspects simultaneously—for instance, your compelling pitch for the product would help create client certainty, not only about the product, but also about you as an expert and about the company as the producer of a great product.

Or, you might vary your emphasis depending on the circumstances and customer. For example, if the customer has already made up her mind to buy a laptop computer, and she’s comparison shopping, you’d focus on establishing certainty that your brand and company offer superior quality and service rather than on the general benefits of owning a laptop.

Two Types of Certainty

A seller must create certainty in the prospect’s mind on two levels: logical and emotional.

• Logical certainty: To reach logical certainty, a prospect asks whether things add up intellectually. (Does the product meet my needs? Is the price fair? Is it backed by a guarantee and service?)
• Emotional certainty: The prospect is emotionally certain when he has a gut feeling the product will improve his life. You can create emotional certainty by future pacing—helping the client visualize how much better life will be with the product. (Shortform note: This...

Way of the Wolf Summary Shortform Introduction

Way of the Wolf explains sales trainer Jordan Belfort’s Straight Line method of selling, which is designed to move a prospect from doubt to certainty about buying. He argues that to close a sale, the seller must create absolute certainty in the prospect’s mind (10 on a 1-10 scale) about three things: the product, salesperson, and company or brand. The book offers techniques for creating these certainties and closing virtually every qualified prospect.

About the Author

Belfort is a motivational speaker and sales trainer, a former stockbroker, and a felon. He pleaded guilty in 1999 to securities fraud and money laundering in connection with operating a stock scheme that defrauded investors of over $200 million. Belfort served 22 months of a four-year prison term, and he was ordered to repay over $110 million to victims; as of 2018, the government said he still owed $97 million.

He wrote two memoirs, The Wolf of Wall Street, published in 2007, and Catching the Wolf of Wall Street in 2009. Both books have been published in more than 40...

Way of the Wolf Summary Prologue and Chapter 1: The Key to Selling Is Certainty

Jordan Belfort created the Straight Line sales system following the Black Monday stock market crash in 1987, when he took over a small brokerage firm, Stratton Oakmont, in New York.

The idea of efficiently moving customers in a straight line from uncertainty to certainty about buying came to him as he analyzed why he was far more successful at selling than his brokers were. He realized that he succeeded by staying focused on the single objective of closing while his brokers were distracted by customer objections and tangents.

As Belfort describes it, he sketched out and taught the Straight Line system to his 12 inexperienced salespeople by inventing it as he went along. Once they applied the system, they became hugely successful—the firm ultimately grew to around 1,000 brokers doing business worth $1 billion.

Belfort believes that with his system and his extraordinary teaching talent, he can turn anyone into an exceptional closer. He acknowledges that he initially used the system unethically and illegally (he urged his brokers to pressure clients to buy). But after getting out of prison, he...

Shortform Exercise: Reflect on Your Certainty Scale

For every decision, your certainty about what to do falls somewhere on a scale of 1-10, with 1 as most uncertain and 10 as totally certain. As you work through information and emotions, your certainty moves up or down on the scale.

Recall a recent decision you made to buy something significant—for example, an appliance, clothing, a car, electronics, or even a pet. What was your certainty level between 1-10 on the product, salesperson, and company or brand?

Way of the Wolf Summary Chapters 2-3: Build a Straight Line and Stay on Track

In these chapters, Belfort gives an overview of how to build a straight line and keep the prospect moving toward a close rather than getting sidetracked. He goes into the steps in more detail and provides tools in later chapters.

Straight Line Steps

Building the Straight Line or creating a framework for the sales conversation involves four steps or basic principles:

1. Take control of the sale immediately.
2. Build rapport by asking questions and using a friendly, interested tone and body language (more on this in Chapters 4 and 7-8).
3. Gather relevant information.
4. Transition into making your sales presentation, in which you move the prospect toward all three certainties and a close, using the looping technique.

Step 1. Taking Control in the First Four Seconds

Belfort says that the first step—establishing your authority and taking control of the sale—must happen in the first four seconds of the sales conversation—or you’ll fail to close. (Shortform note: Taking immediate control may be more important in B2C than in B2B sales, where business customers tend to resist pressure.)

According to Belfort, you must **establish three things about yourself in the...

Way of the Wolf Summary Chapters 4, 7-8: Techniques—Tone and Body Language

After outlining his system in the opening chapters, Belfort discusses tools and techniques to move a sales conversation through the four Straight Line steps (control, rapport, information gathering, presentation) mentioned at the start of Chapter 2. The first tools are tone of voice and body language.

By some estimates, tone and body language comprise more than 90% of communication while the words you use make up only around 10%. (Shortform note: There’s no scientific evidence supporting the exact percentage breakdown—and many authors and speakers quoting numbers have mischaracterized mid-1960s research by Albert Mehrabian.) In any case, communicating nonverbally via tone and body language is a critical element of selling, affecting the customer whether you’re trying to or not. Belfort advocates using nonverbal communication to create trust and increase certainty.

Both tone and body language influence the client unconsciously; in contrast, words (apart from tone) influence the conscious brain. To understand how this works, you must first understand the brain’s conscious...

Shortform Exercise: Practice Your Tones

In this exercise, practice using different tones in several hypothetical (but common) sales situations.

Imagine you’re calling a new prospect. Start by saying, “Hi Sophie! I hope you’re doing well today.” What tone(s) are you using and why? What should be your next statement and tone?

Way of the Wolf Summary Chapters 9-10: Techniques—Questioning

Tone and body language work closely with the next technique—questioning. In the Straight Line System, questions and answers are not idle small talk or tangents. As noted in Chapters 2-3, your questions must be focused and have two purposes: to build rapport and to gather information. Integrating your questions with proper tone and body language makes them more effective.

In using questions to gather information, you have two goals:

• To qualify the prospect (determine if he has the means to buy your product and at least some interest), and determine where he falls on the certainty scale
• To learn about problems and concerns hindering a sale so you can address them and move him to level 10 certainty

As noted in Chapter 1, you can’t sell to someone at a very low level of certainty about your product, you, or your company. This chapter discusses how to quickly weed out non-buyers, and then to develop rapport and ultimately make sales to your remaining prospects.

A marketing professional department helps to lay the groundwork for your sales conversation by:

• Identifying potentially good prospects (leads)
• Designing a strategy and message for reaching and hooking...

Way of the Wolf Summary Chapter 11: Techniques—Always Use a Script

Sounding unprepared or saying the wrong thing will ruin any chance of a sale; use a script to avoid such mistakes. Belfort argues that a good, well-practiced script can make a rookie salesperson sound like an expert, but that even the most experienced salespeople, himself included, should always use a script. When combined with the right tone and body language, a Straight Line script functions as a template for a perfect sale.

Despite the benefits, salespeople may be reluctant to use a script because they think they’ll sound unauthentic, like a bad telemarketer. However, Belfort notes that scripts, when well-written and delivered, can be memorable and convincing, as everyone knows who has seen a great movie or Netflix drama. Further, when it comes to selling, he says even an average script can greatly increase your closing rate—and you’ll continue to improve with practice.

Elements of an Effective Script

Belfort offers a set of principles that he claims make Straight Line scripts superior to all others:

1) Don’t overload the script: Don’t try to cram most of your product’s benefits into the early part of the script, or you’ll overwhelm the prospect and make her tune...

Shortform Exercise: Write Your Own Script

Practice writing and delivering a script.

Think of a product and write a short script for selling it by phone (for example, a pet-sitting or window replacement service). Introduce yourself and your topic and explain why you’re calling.

Way of the Wolf Summary Chapter 12: Techniques—Handling Objections and Closing

When you ask for an order, you’ll get a definitive yes, definitive no, or maybe. The first two are easily addressed: Either process the order or say goodbye.

The third answer is more challenging because the prospect has objections to buying—this is where the looping process introduced in Chapters 2-3 comes into play. In this chapter, Belfort discusses how looping works step-by-step. It’s essentially backtracking to re-present your case each time he raises an objection, then moving forward with the sale again.

Here’s a big-picture view of Belfort’s looping strategy for handling objections:

1. When you ask for an order the first time and get the first objection, sidestep it and backtrack to uncover the prospect’s underlying uncertainty.
2. Address the uncertainty by re-presenting your case logically and emotionally (looping).
3. When you moved the client to a 10 in all three key areas, ask for the order again.
4. If the client raises another objection, this time acknowledge it rather than deflecting it. Use your acknowledgment statement as a segue for re-presenting your case logically and emotionally.
5. Ask for the sale again.
6. If the client raises yet another objection,...

Way of the Wolf Summary Chapters 5-6: Create a Success Mindset

As critical as learning the Straight Line System is to increasing your sales success, there’s another necessary element as well: managing your mental state. To sell successfully, a salesperson needs to be in top form mentally, or in a confident, upbeat state of mind during every sales conversation. No one can be “on” all the time, so Belfort recommends two strategies to create a positive mental state at key moments in selling, such as when opening a sales conversation, presenting, or closing. The two strategies are:

• Future pacing
• State management

Future Pacing

When he took over Stratton Oakmont, Belfort knew that his sales staff would do a better job of selling if they acted and felt confident.

He regularly urged them to act “as if” (as if they were rich, supremely confident, and knowledgeable) because when they acted that way, people would treat them that way—and eventually they’d achieve the status because their actions changed their state of mind to one conducive to success.

Then he took the idea a step further and taught his salespeople future pacing, not only as a sales technique (in which you paint a picture for the prospect of a better life with the...

Way of the Wolf Summary Shortform Commentary: Sales Methodologies

The Straight Line System is one of numerous sales methodologies. Here’s a brief overview of some of the top methodologies, ending with a commentary on how they compare with Straight Line.

Before outlining the methods, it’s necessary to define two terms. A sales methodology defines the techniques and skills (the how-tos) for moving a prospect through the sales process (the series of steps for closing a deal, such as prospecting, qualifying, presenting, objection handling, and so on).

Your sales methodology must fit your organization’s culture, as well as your product or service and target customer. The six most frequently cited sales methodologies are:

1. SPIN
2. Challenger
3. Sandler
4. SNAP
5. Conceptual
6. Solution

SPIN Selling

The SPIN Selling sales method uses questions to uncover a prospect’s needs and pain points. Introduced by Neil Rackham in the book SPIN Selling 30 years ago, it challenged the traditional hard-sell technique of jumping immediately into a sales pitch.

Key technique: Based on an analysis of over 35,000 sales calls, the method asks four types of questions with the acronym SPIN about the customer’s Situation, Problems,...