AuthoritativeCompetency Definition

AUTHORITATIVEJordon Belfort convinces the client that he is a force to be reckoned with – that he is an authority figure who exudes confidence and is a highly competent and knowledgeable professional. He ensures that he appears as the expert in a sales situation thereby quickly gaining the respect and trust from the prospect.

BEHAVIOURS OF JORDAN BELFORT OBSTACLES TO SALES SUCCESS

• Becomes an ‘expert’ in the product and can therefore easily translate features of the service or product into benefits and value

• Offers a unique perspective during sales conversations - demonstrates extensive knowledge and understanding of the market, industry, product, prospect and competitors, and is prepared for questions. Has developed a clear knowledge of the prospect’s business objectives and personal agenda

• Gets to the point in the conversation where he stops gathering information and starts to appear the expert, i.e., re-framing intelligence, providing opinions and business advice

• Admits to things he is not so good at, i.e., shares what he does not do so well, which gives his products or service genuine expertise and credibility – thereby builds trust

• Creates an impression of ‘scarcity’ by offering to fit in prospect meetings efficiently around other meetings, i.e., not making a special trip to see that client in isolation

• Retains the best intelligence or strategies in a client meeting until the client’s level of certainty has been elevated to appropriate levels

• Likes to be in charge, take the lead and control the flow of dialogue

• Provides own opinions, answers, suggestions and ideas based on area of expertise - assists the client in their issues and provides solutions

• Unable to answer challenging questions about own product or service, and demonstrates little understanding of the market, competitors, commercial environment and personal agendas

• Initiates a sales conversation by focusing on own history, past successes, current or past customers, features and benefits of own product or service

• Always agrees with the prospect in an attempt to be likeable rather than sharing business insights and offering valuable advice

• Consistently ask the prospect for information through fact finding questions rather than offering own intelligence and insights

• Backs away or apologises if the prospect does not immediately agree with own input or offers an alternate viewpoint - avoids conversations or discussions that make expose a lack of knowledge

• Uses data, examples or anecdotes that aren’t related to the client’s needs, position or industry – uses industry buzzwords interchangeably

• Demonstrates an arrogant, condescending or a ‘know it all’ attitude towards the prospect

• Demonstrates hesitancy in answering questions and making decisions

• Gives the impression that will go out of his way, travel anywhere, give up unlimited time etc, in order to secure a meeting with a client

DRAFT v4 FOR DISCUSSION