Review of Way of the Wolf: Become a Master Closer with Straight Line Selling by Jordan Belfort
Updated: May 7, 2020
I’m the Wolf of Wall Street. Remember me? The one who Leonardo DiCaprio played on the silver screen, the one who took thousands of young kids, who could barely walk and chew gum at the same time, and turned them into world-class closers using a seemingly magical sales training system called the Straight Line? The one who tortured all those panic-stricken New Zealanders at the end of the movie because they couldn’t sell me a pen the right way? You remember.
Overview
The book is a mix of the history of Jordan’s backstories and a mix of his training. You will get all sorts of psychology and influence strategies mixed in the book. Some of these ideas and concepts are explained while some are not. This book is a condensed version of his live training.
I blame Leonardo DiCaprio for such a masterful portrayal of Jordan Belfort in The Wolf Of Wall Street. In the movie, you got the feeling that he was a likable guy, a little rough around edges but deep down inside he was a good guy. When you read this book you’ll get a strong feel for who Jordan Belfort actually is: a sales Shark. You´ll find in him a strong charismatic leader and salesperson who lost his moral compass in the way to success. It's interesting that at the beginning of the book Jordan does apologize for his actions and reminds you, the reader, to do the right thing for the buyer, your client. Leaving his character aside, which you may love or hate, and trying to offer an objective review, what you really need to know is that like in any book, anything you learn will take time for you to practice and master.
Content
Way of the Wolf has twelve chapters. Jordan Belfort explains his Straight Line Selling system in this book. This is the system that he used when he was making millions at Wall Street. And this is the same system that he is teaching at seminars after his conviction and parole. His explanation is clear for the most part. As a result, I found this book to be very informative and insightful about the sales process.
· The importance of the first impression and how to make it count
· The importance of self-belief
· Getting into the groove where you are ready to sell
· Body language and what works
· Sales funnel and qualification
· The conversations with the prospect
· Sales scripts and how they exponentially improve selling
· Art and science of looping i.e. handling objections
Pros
Way of the Wolf is a great book on sales that covers the front-end masterfully.
As far as the content is concerned, Jordan Belfort’s system is well articulated and structured. Every aspect of the system is detailed out with examples. Along with these numerous real-life examples, there are plenty of do´s and don´ts.
The presentation of this content is also entertaining. Jordan’s writing draws you and keeps you engaged throughout. The liberal use of his stories also adds to this feeling of engagement.
Cons
It lacks the closing end of the sale. If someone wanted to rely solely on the information presented here, they will not get very far. The first few chapters waste some time on products he recommended. The book also became a drag when it came to the chapters dealing with NLP and olfactory simulation
Verdict
We recommend this book for people who want to persuade others better when they sell. This book is written in Jordan's voice so you get the stories as well as his common catchphrases. It´s also a great study guide to read along if you decide to take one of his seminars. For some advanced salespeople this book won´t provide as much value (although the straight line persuasion will show you another angle on your sales pitch) as entertainment which I believe it's still worth it.
Here's a link if you want to get a copy. We also recommend the AudioBook as it is narrated by Jordan Belfort himself and a lot of his charisma and success come from his tonality.