You can lose the deal in just 4 seconds...

There are 3 truths you must prove in the first 4 seconds or else you'll lose the sale...

Author

Jordan Belfort
March 08, 2024

You Only Have 4 Seconds to Win the Deal

Whether it’s your fiancé’s parents, a future employer, or the next customer to pick up the phone, you only have 4 seconds to make a good first impression. In the next 5 minutes, we’re going to show you how.

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Today’s Rundown

  • Most Sales are F**ked in 4 Seconds (Story)

  • 3 Steps to Create Instant Rapport (Insight)

  • Take the 4-Second Expert Challenge (Action)

Most Sales are F**ked in 4 Seconds 👏

(This section contains a business story that you need to know)

From the Desk of Jordan Belfort:

As human beings, we’re fear-based creatures. We’re constantly sizing up our surroundings and making snap decisions based on how we perceive them. Is it safe? Is there danger nearby? Am I about to get ripped off from this f**ker?

This type of snap-decision making goes all the way back to our caveman days, and it’s wired into our reptilian brains. When we saw something back then, we had to size it up instantly and decide whether to stay or run.

It was only after we were sure that we were safe that we’d start debating whether or not it made sense to stick around for a potential benefit. That quick decision-making instinct is still with us today. The stakes are much lower because we don’t typically face life-or-death situations every day.

Still, the process happens just as quickly. In fact, it happens in less the four seconds over the phone, and in only a quarter of a second when you’re in person. That’s how fast the fight-or-flight part of the brain reacts (if only you could have judged your no-good ex this quickly).

Think about it: it only takes a quarter of a second for a prospect to make an initial decision about you when you meet them in person. We know this because scientists have conducted experiments where they hook people up to a certain type of MRI machine that reveals how the break works as it’s processing information.

Here’s exactly what happens in their mind when you start talking:

  1. The subject’s visual cortex lights up almost instantly;

  2. A quarter of a second later, their prefrontal lobe lights up (this is where the judgement center of the brain is located;

  3. A decision gets made (it happens that quickly).

Key takeaway: From the moment a decision-maker lays eyes on you, you have less than 4 seconds to be perceived in just the right way. As such, there are 3 ways to make a good first impression and start building rapport.

3 Steps to Create Instant Rapport 💸

(This section teaches business insights to implement into your life)

👉 INSIGHT: There are 3 truths you must prove in the first 4 seconds or else you risk losing the sale.

Whether in person or over the phone, there are three truths you need to establish in those first four seconds of an encounter, if you want to be perceived just the right way. You need to be…

  1. Sharp as a tack (you have to act and sound like someone who can help them fulfill their needs and desires)

  2. Enthusiastic as hell (you need to genuinely believe in the value of what you’re selling and describe it passionately)

  3. An expert in your field (you need to translate features of the service or product into proven benefits and value for the prospect)

Those three things absolutely must come across in the first four seconds of a conversation. Otherwise, you set yourself up for a major uphill battle. This is true in a job interview, with a customer, or staring at a dumbstruck father-in-law who just saw you unironically order an apple martini. 🍸

Now, in truth, if you screw up in the first four seconds, you have another ten seconds, at most, to play catch-up ball, but after that, you’re completely f**ked. It’s a lost cause. You can’t influence anybody after fourteen seconds.

Take the “4-Second Expert” Challenge 🎓

(This section provides actionable tactics you can apply right away)

When you immediately establish these three things, they roll up into one simple fact that the prospect’s mind…namely that you’re a person worth listening to and not just another schmuck in a suit.

Our challenge to you is to line up these three truths in the first four seconds. This is what makes you a perceived expert in their mind as quickly as possible and gets you started building rapport. Answer these questions to get started…

  1. How are you sharp as a tack? (Prove you are a born problem-solver that can help them achieve their goals as quickly as possible)

  2. How are you enthusiastic as hell? (Prove you have bottled, under-the-surface enthusiasm and avoid over-the-top bullshit)

  3. How are you an expert in your field? (Prove you are someone who knows their shit so you can answer all questions confidently)

Once the prospect has come to this positive conclusion about you, their brain will instantly extrapolate your value to its logical end, which is: You can help them achieve their goals and get them what they want in life.

Wolfy Memes of the Week 🤣 

BITE-SIZED READS FOR THE ROAD 📚

[Read] Unlock all of the secrets that make up the Straight Line Selling System in Jordan’s 2017 book, Way of the Wolf. 

[Watch] On YouTube, in only 6 minutes, Jordan breaks down “The First 4 Seconds of a Sale” as part of the Sales School program.

[Read] Learn more about the prefrontal contribution in decision-making (memory, value, and free-choice) from the Frontier's group.

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Publisher: Jordan Belfort

Editors in Chief: Brock Swinson and Davis Richardson

DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly for educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.