diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 6c852a1e9..43dd9aeaa 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ pyspec:
 
 # installs the packages to run pyspec tests
 install_test:
-	python3 -m venv venv; . venv/bin/activate; python3 -m pip install -e .[lint]; python3 -m pip install -e .[test]
+	python3 -m venv venv; . venv/bin/activate; python3 -m pip install --upgrade wheel pip setuptools; python3 -m pip install -e .[lint]; python3 -m pip install -e .[test]
 
 # Testing against `minimal` or `mainnet` config by default
 test: pyspec