Most of you are probably familiar with the name Jordan Belfort, particularly because of the movie, Wolf of Wall Street; however, most of you probably wouldn’t think of him as a salesman. Belfort is most famously known for his role in a stock market manipulation scheme that defrauded investors by placing their money into penny stocks. As a result of his behavior, Belfort was convicted on multiple securities fraud charges and ultimately served nearly two-years in prison. Despite his unethical behavior, I think we can still learn some valuable sales lessons from Belfort, as he was extremely effective at finalizing sales. In a recent interview, Belfort gave some tips on how to approach sales and how to become a better salesperson. The first tip he offered was to keep up the tone of the conversation. Belfort stressed that it’s necessary for the salesperson to demonstrate confidence while speaking in order to keep the prospective buyer intrigued. Building off the element of confidence, Belfort turned his attention to knowledge of the product. He stressed that it’s vital for a salesperson to know all the ins and outs of the product and be able to answer any potential questions from prospective buyers. Next, Belfort discussed the terms “payment threshold” and “pain threshold”. By these terms, he’s essentially referring to the fact that a salesperson should to try to uncover the underlying need of the prospect that isn’t being meet, essentially causing him or her pain. If the salesperson is unable to do this, it is unlikely the sales process will be finalized. The final point Belfort stressed is that individuals do not buy with logic; rather, they buy with emotions. By this premise, he’s suggesting that even if a prospect needs the product, it does not necessarily mean that he or she will buy it. In essence, the buying process is contingent upon multiple factors, such as conversation, mannerisms, and feel. In conclusion, despite Belfort’s dishonorable behavior, there are still some valuable takeaways from this interview, particularly as most of the techniques discussed align with the class material we are learning.
Source: https://www.nexchange.com/article/4474
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