Hypnosis
has been a taboo word for far too long. And many people see it in a
mystical light. Yet what they do not realize is that hypnosis is a
naturally occurring state experienced by everyone every single day. And
it is only in recent times, that business professionals have discovered
the power of hypnosis and boosted their sales and their businesses.
So what
specifically is hypnotic selling? It is a process to trance your
prospect with the product or service you offer as the solution to their
need or want. If you are wondering if this is manipulation, it is not.
To successfully become a hypnotic salesperson, it is imperative to have
the customer’s interest at heart. Your focus should congruently be on
servicing the customer rather than just closing the deal.
Know Your Prospect
Hypnotic
selling works because it helps you listen and pay attention to the
prospect in an entirely new way. You begin listening to not only their
word choice, but also the type of language they use. The reason for
success with this type of sales approach is because it was modeled after
successful salespeople. It is exactly what top performers are already
doing. So this takes the guesswork out of it and gives you specific
tools and strategies to integrate into your own selling style.
Your Prospect’s Language
Let’s take
a closer look at the three possible types of language a prospect might
use. Even though I’ll explain them as individual types, it is important
to note that we incorporate all three styles, just at different times.
When you reflect back the client’s language, you create immediate
rapport. Also, learning a prospect’s individual style gives you keen
insight into their model of the world, which then allows you to tailor
your presentation.
The
Visual Prospect:
When you
hear words like “see, appears, looks,” or phrases like “picture this,
looks clear, bright future,” these are all visual words. This means we
are accessing images in our minds to make sense of the words. These
images may be still or in a movie-like sequence. They might be bright or
dim, clear or fuzzy, in color or black and white. This kind of prospect
will probably will move and speak quite rapidly.
The
Auditory Prospect:
There may
be times when hear words like “listen, sounds, clicks,” or phrases like
“sound okay, listen to this, rings a bell,” these are all auditory
words. Here we are accessing sounds to make meaning of the words we
hear. These sounds may be loud or quiet, clear or muffled, high or low
pitched, pleasant or unpleasant in tonality. This prospect will speak
more melodically.
The
Kinesthetic Prospect:
Sometimes
you may hear words like “feel, grasp, grip, hold,” or phrases like “take
hold of, heavy feeling, or gut response,” these are all kinesthetic or
feeling words. This means we are accessing our feelings to make sense of
the words. These feelings may be heavy or light, cool or warm, pressured
or tingling, moving or still. This kind of prospect will speak and move
quite slowly as he or she feels each word.
Ten Tips on Effective Hypnotic Selling
Executives
and sales professionals alike always ask me what is the fastest way I
can learn these skills aside from attending one of your Hypnotic Sales
Trainings. And my reply is always the same; there is no substitute for
training and getting the experience under your belt. However if there
were ten tips that I would want to impart to you at a training or
otherwise, it would be the following:
-
Find your own
charismatic persuasion state. Before you ever approach a
prospect make sure you are in an optimal state of mind. A quick
mental exercise you can do is think of times when you were humorous,
highly influential, enthusiastic, and confident, along with times
when you were communicating effectively and absolutely certain about
yourself. Step into a combination of these states before you take
one step towards your prospect.
-
Step into their
trance. When you go into a company you are stepping into their
world, and their world has its own pace and its own rules. So make
sure you meet them where they are. If it is a high energy place,
increase your own energy level. If it is slow and laid back, slow
down with them. This will allow you to step into the rhythm of their
environment.
-
Establish Rapport.
Once you meet your prospect, get rapport with them. Match and mirror
their movements. Sit like they sit. Speak only as fast they speak.
Surprisingly, people like themselves. And more importantly people
like to see themselves in others. And by matching and mirroring, you
are unconsciously saying to them, “I am as you are.” However, be
subtle with this process. Underplay it and they won’t even notice
it. Avoid matching or mirroring anything that is idiosyncratic to
them such as a limp or a twitch. That kind of overt behavior might
break rapport.
-
Bring them into your
trance. When you feel you have established a fair amount of
rapport, then it is time to bring them into your world. Get them to
focus in on you, so they are no longer distracted by their
surroundings. In the old days of hypnosis, a hypnotist would have
you look at spiraling wheel. Hypnotic sales professionals create the
same kind of trance like state with their presentations.
-
Get them into a good
state. As their attention fixates upon you, they might still be
in the state of mind of their last activity. If it was a pleasant,
that’s fine, if not, then make sure you get them into a good state
of mind (good mood). People make decisions inside of mental states.
It is important to get your prospect into a great state of mind so
when they decide to go with your product or service; they will
always associate good feelings to that decision. This is the
first rule to eliminate buyer’s remorse.
-
Find their emotional
triggers. People buy with their emotions and justify and
rationalize with logic. So it is imperative to discover their
emotional reasons for buying. Is it to move away from the pain of
not having your product or service (perceived benefit) or pleasure
of having it? Or perhaps a little bit of both. Once triggers or hot
buttons are discovered, hypnotic sales professionals utilize them to
persuade the prospect to buying their product or service.
-
Become a storyteller.
We all love stories. Through stories you can convince someone of
anything because it is always done in a covert manner. Tell them
stories of previous customers and how happy they were for using you
or your service or product. Don’t say it like a testimonial; instead
share it with them like a drama. Watch some TV; drama sells!
Hypnotic sales professionals are master storytellers.
-
Be the first to bring
up objections. When a prospect brings up a concern, it is called
an objection. If you bring up the objection, then you can frame its
positive attributes and make your product or service more
compelling. Hypnotic sales professionals are quite familiar with the
common objections associated with their industry, product, or
service, and they prepare themselves ahead of time to inoculate
their prospect from these objections.
-
Show them alternate
futures. Use your stories to paint them a picture of what it
would be like to not have your product or service. This goes back to
discovering their emotional triggers. If they are moving away from
the pain of not having your product or service, then really be
descriptive with this possible future. If they prefer to move
towards the pleasure of having your product or service; then paint
them a picture of how great it will be when they are using your
product or service. This is the second rule to eliminate
buyer’s remorse.
-
Thank them and
reinforce their decision. Always make sure you thank them
because without them you would not be there. Customers are the
lifeline to any successful business. Plant a seed for their next
purchase and while they are still in that great mood, suggest they
share their experience with their associates and friends. This is a
hypnotic way to ask for a referral. Two things will happen as a
result of their sharing of their experience. First, it will
reinforce their good decision about using your product or service.
Second, they will automatically enter into this great mood every
time they talk about you, your product, or your service. And when
their friends or associates inquire about the great mood, you will
get free publicity. This is the third rule to eliminate
buyer’s remorse.
Where do you begin?
One begins
to master hypnotic selling by starting with the first tip and really
getting that down well. The process to master hypnotic selling is the
same way you would eat a watermelon; one bite at a time. The key here is
to integrate it into your own style, not to become a robot. Add your own
flair once you have mastered each skill set.
After you
practice each tip, you will notice an apparent increase in your sales,
improved relationships with old and new customers, and more referrals.
Now as you are starting to understand the secrets of top performers
using hypnotic selling, consider what it would be worth to you.
Calculate the value of the life of a customer. Aren’t these skills worth
your investigation?
If you
aren’t sure if I used hypnotic selling techniques throughout this
article you may want to read it again!
