A tip when talking to a bride in the market for a DJ would be to find out what excites her about weddings and her engagement. Find out about her desired outcome. In our example of the disc jockey, he/she could say this to the bride “Have you ever been to a great wedding before and seen a packed dance floor and an incredible DJ?“ Based on experience she more than likely will say, “YES.” Follow up with, “What was it about that DJ you really liked?” Whatever she tells you becomes your echo strategy, the phrases which you will repeat back. She may say, “I loved the way he played no cheesy line-dancing and goofy stuff. I liked how professional he looked and sounded and that he seemed to play more modern dance music instead of old typical wedding music.” Echo back her buying strategy; say something like, “So you are looking for a professional, well-presented, smart DJ who is mature enough to treat your guests with respect. One who does not play goofy and cheesy line-dancing style music, instead giving a more danceable, modern feel to the dance floor, embracing the sophistication of you and your event?” This becomes a powerful, undeniable truth to which the bride can only reply, “Yes” and nod her head as you subtly point to yourself and your services. Bingo! She has already found what she was looking for emotionally.
Similarly, you can also add on a tactic of negative hallucination which works like a charm and which goes something like this: “Now imagine you are at one of those weddings you feel embarrassed to be at. We all know how tacky and terrible the decor and the venue are, but focus now on the disaster at the DJ booth and on the dance floor. What do you see that is so alarming?” The client will usually start by saying, “I see” and, in answering your leading question, will paint a detailed picture of the wedding she absolutely does not want. She has now given you your negative hallucination sales script. People will always pay more for the cure than the prevention. People will pay more to fix the bad situation they find themselves in now, and you can create a visualization of that bad situation even though they are not actually in it. As a hypnotist, I have learned that inspiring the imagination is actually a far greater strategy than relying on knowledge and information alone.
To recap, get your client to imagine themselves with the perfect product and services and to describe it to you. Get them to then visualize the worst-case scenario and what they definitely don’t want. Build rapport; empathize and also sympathize; and provide your prospect with undeniable information to help them make a decision. Ensure that you open the floodgates of communication and get your client to speak as freely and as often as possible. Elicit from them what they really want and need and shine light on these desires through imagination. Be helpful and be the absolute authority on the subject of the service you are selling. A few questions you can follow up with are:
What features and benefits of my services do you NOW want?
What other companies WERE you considering?
What is it about the other company that you now ONLY find interesting?
You have now used assumptive language and questioning and are assuming the sale as complete. You can skillfully dude any clients into the close no matter what the product or service. Combined with your presence and appearance; Language and tonality and upmost knowledge, on your subject you can make a sale every time with ease.
Here is something to think about, which of course is true! (Yes, I am using hypnotic suggestions right now.)
Everything begins first with a thought. Some people think that those thoughts are just random, but I know they are not. We have millions of thoughts circulating throughout our minds every minute. What if we could somehow influence and persuade people using those thoughts? What if we could reprogram someone’s thoughts to make them believe their thoughts were their own, even though they weren’t? What if in fact we had suggested and implanted those thoughts, completely, from start to finish? It’s a scary thought, I know! But what if I could program someone’s subconscious mind to such a degree that I could predict not only their thought patterns but also the outcome and actions of those patterns? What if I truly could own the thoughts of others whether they knew it or not? Welcome to “Selling Hypnotically: The Art of Suggestion,” where anything is truly possible.
High achievers and successful people control every thought they have; every single thought creates a response, and successful people understand this. Some of the greatest salespeople on the planet understand this concept right from the beginning of a transaction with others. As you work with other people in a selling capacity or even in your personal relationships, it is possible to influence people to come closer to you or to push them further away without even knowing it. Are you ruining your sales or relationships without even knowing it by the words and actions you use? It is possible that you are unaware of the impact of what you are saying or not saying? Are you comfortable with the knowledge that everything you say is planned and deliberate, or could be from this point forward?
Here is a concept to ponder: “To the outside world, you are what you do.” In other words, you are what your actions demonstrate to others even if you know your true self to be different. All actions, though, begin with a thought; therefore, to change you must change your thoughts. Thoughts are not random; those who can control their thoughts can change their habits, behaviors and effectiveness. People don’t always know your intentions or what you are thinking; therefore, other only see and judge thoughts that transform into actions.
You are totally responsible for what you get or don’t get in your life, whether that is health, wealth, relationships, success, or more. If you believe in what you are selling and you believe in your products and services, you are surely obligated to persuade others to use or purchase those products and services. If you walk the walk and understand you are influencing and using persuasion and suggestion every single day, then you must ensure you are totally aware of your own thoughts and what you want the actions of others to be.
Getting what you want is not greedy or selfish. Getting what you want is being able to influence others. We all sell and promote every day of our lives. Some claim not to realize this fact; however, you have been persuading others since you were a child, and YOU KNOW IT!!
When you get something you really like, you get into the habit of needing to have it. Can you imagine life without your cellphone? You have to have it because you feel you need it, but years ago you didn’t want or need it because you didn’t know this fact to be true yet. What if you could get your client or prospect to believe in the fact they have to have your product or services? Better yet, if they have already used your services or products in the past, what if you can get them to accept as a point of fact that they must have them again? For example, I know people who have purchased a particular brand of car and now must always have that brand of car.
Persuasion and selling hypnotically are the ability to get others to accept your suggestions and act upon them. They must trust you and feel safe and secure that you are the right choice.
The process of selling hypnotically is broken down in this book and includes:
Rapport Building
Confidence
Discovering Outcomes
Consultation and Education
You must have a supreme level of confidence, the absolute knowledge that the other person will say “yes” to your request. You must have so much confidence and belief that it will become difficult to say “no” to you. The more confident you are, the more likely the prospect or client will think that you have a great deal for them. Learn to project a high level of confidence and act as if you are unstoppable.
We will talk about communication later so that I can help you understand that your wealth and success in life are directly linked to the communication you have with yourself and others. Take responsibility for the messages you send AND receive. Be responsible for all aspects of your communication. Get back what you send out and ask questions that elicit a “yes” answer. Make sure you excite and educate so that the client is motivated to say “yes” to you. The o
nly compliment someone can give you when you are selling hypnotically is to say “yes” to you.
To return to the example of the disc jockey service selling a wedding package, get creative with your descriptive communication when talking to a bride and groom: “Imagine a DJ service that’s so much fun that your guests feel fantastic and you feel safe and secure knowing you have the best DJ service in (city), where the results are built in.”
Imagine trying to get someone to design you a flyer without telling them what you want it to look like. They’ll design their own idea of a flyer and it may not be anywhere near what you want. Therefore, you must tell the bride what she needs to feel and imagine so that her subconscious mind will believe it to be true. Once the bride feels this then she will understand that these are her own thoughts and will defend them by hiring you, even though you and I both know the may not necessarily be entirely her own. Are you excited yet? Is this resonating with you? Can you see the immense power that lies within? Yes, you do, because you are smart and creative; you know that you already possess these skills and that I am merely polishing and refining them for you through my choice of words. You do know that I am talking to you though right now, and I commend you for that recognition.
Chapter 3
What is Hypnosis?
What is hypnosis? This is such a simple question. However, the answer is not so easy. There is no universally accepted definition of hypnosis, but we have plenty of examples of hypnosis in action.
Have you ever been so involved in a task that you have lost track of time? Have you ever driven from one place to another and arrived safely, but with no remembrance of the journey? Have you ever read a book and become so involved in the story that you can see the situation and hear characters speak? These are all everyday examples of altered states of awareness. Hypnosis is another example of an altered state of awareness. It is a perfectly natural state of heightened suggestibility.
According to Webster’s dictionary, it is “a trance like state that resembles sleep but is induced by a person whose suggestions are readily accepted by the subject.”
The word hypnosis came from the Greek god of sleep (Hypnos), but you are not actually asleep when you are in hypnosis. You are in a heightened state of awareness. You have complete control of your actions and may leave the hypnotic state whenever you want to. Hypnosis is a pleasant state of relaxation combined with much focused concentration.
When you hear the word hypnosis, you may picture the mysterious hypnotist figure popularized in movies, comic books and television. This ominous, goateed man waves a pocket watch back and forth, guiding his subject into a semi-sleeping state. Once hypnotized, the subject is compelled to obey, no matter how strange the request. Muttering “Yes, Master,” the subject does the hypnotist’s evil bidding.
This popular representation bears very little resemblance to actual hypnotism. In fact, the modern understanding of hypnosis contradicts this conception on several key points. Subjects in hypnotic trances are not slaves to their “Masters”; they have absolute free will. And they are not really in a semi-sleep state; they are actually hyper-attentive.
The earliest definition of hypnosis was given by Braid, who coined the term “hypnotism” as an abbreviation of “neuro-hypnotism,” or “nervous sleep,” which is opposed to normal sleep and defined as “a peculiar condition of the nervous system induced by a fixed and abstracted attention of the mental and visual eye, on one object, not of an exciting nature.”
Therefore, Braid defined hypnotism as a state of mental concentration that often leads to a form of progressive relaxation, termed “nervous sleep.” Later in his “Physiology of Fascination” (1855), Braid conceded that his original terminology was misleading, and argued that the terms “hypnotism” and “nervous sleep” should be reserved for the minority (10%) of subjects who exhibit amnesia. He substituted the term “monoideism,” meaning concentration upon a single idea, as a description for the more alert state experienced by the others.
The American Psychological Association (APA) published the following formal definition in 2005:
Hypnosis typically involves an introduction to the procedure during which the subject is told that suggestions for imaginative experiences will be presented. The hypnotic induction is an extended initial suggestion for using one’s imagination and many contain further elaborations of the introduction.
A hypnotic procedure is used to encourage and evaluate responses to suggestions. In hypnosis, one person (the subject) is guided by another (the hypnotist), to respond the suggestions for changes in subjective experience, alterations in perception, sensation, emotion, thought or behavior.
Persons can also learn self-hypnosis, which is the act of administering hypnotic procedures on one’s own. If the subject responds to hypnotic suggestions, it is generally inferred that hypnosis has been induced. Many believe that hypnotic responses and experiences are characteristic of the hypnotic state. While some think that it is not necessary to use the word “hypnosis” as part of hypnotic induction, others view it as essential.
Hypnosis is natural state of selective, focused attention and even though it is completely natural and normal, it remains one of the most fascinating phenomena of the human mind. Hypnosis is known by different names in different cultures and times. It has been recognized for thousands of years and used for many purposes. It is a state of consciousness which one can naturally enter so that beneficial suggestions may be given to one’s subconscious mind.
Hypnosis is scientifically verified and effective technique that can promote accelerated human change. With hypnosis, we can create desired changes in behavior and encourage mental and physical well-being. It is an effective way of making contact with our inner (unconscious) self, which is a reservoir of unrecognized potential and knowledge.
As long as there have been human beings, there has been hypnosis. Hypnosis is experienced by everyone, whether by accident or intentionally. It is the state of consciousness you enter and exit throughout your day-to-day experiences; it feels very much like day-dreaming, i.e. the mind state between sleeping and waking.
Hypnosis is considered to be a “state of selective thinking” in which you are in control and can choose to experience only what is relevant to the task at hand. It has also been described as guided concentration, a state of heightened suggestibility (alpha state) in which your brain wave vibrations slow and allow you access to the subconscious mind. The brain goes through various states from time to time. It passes through various levels of consciousness and wave states. This makes you feel sometimes tired or sleepy, and sometimes enthusiastically awake. Every mood has a corresponding change in body and brain.
Hypnosis is a completely safe and naturally relaxed state that we enter everyday when waking and going to sleep. We also enter hypnosis at other times, like when daydreaming or while we are watching television. In fact, any activity that requires us to focus can lead us to hypnosis.
The hypnotic state is mainly associated with quieting or tuning down of the conscious mind. This helps our performance in almost any area. It also facilitates our absorption of positive and beneficial suggestions, which ultimately allow us to change our habits. It is an altered state of mind in which the subconscious mind is in control and the conscious mind is detached.
Hypnosis is a natural state of focused attention, and even though it is 100% natural and normal, it remains one of the most fascinating phenomena of the human mind. Your ability to enter this unique state of consciousness opens the doors to countless possibilities for healing, self-exploration and change. When you enter into an absorbed state of hypnosis, you can use your thoughts, experiences and talents in ways not usually available to you. This is because the focused state of hypnosis allows changes to intentionally be made “automatically”—changes which you could not ordinarily, consciously make.
Hypnosis is undoubtedly the single most powerful and under-utilized resource in sales and personal development.
&n
bsp; Some facts about hypnosis:
You are not asleep.
You are in complete control.
You can leave the hypnotic state when you want to.
You are not unconscious.
You cannot get stuck.
You can remember everything.
You are totally aware of what is going on.
There is no “hypnotized feeling.”
Hypnosis is a state in which you are more receptive to favorable suggestions.
Hypnosis mobilizes the ability to move into or away from sensory experiences.
Chapter 4
What is Psychology?
Most of us use a certain level of what we term “psychological knowledge” regularly. This is the daily self-talk in our heads about “getting more done,” “calming down,” etc. When we reward our children or even our pets with candy or treats for their good performance, we are unknowingly using the principles of behavioral psychology.
Psychology is a vast scientific field and my purpose is merely to give a definition and make a distinction and then draw a line under it. For effective sales it is useful to understand the basic principles of psychology and to examine and understand how selling and hypnosis fit in. I have spoken to many psychologists over the years and we have come to many of the same conclusions.
Psychology is the field of studying mental processes, emotions and behaviors. Psychology has a close relationship to scientific fields including biology and medicine, and it is closely linked to behavioral and social sciences like philosophy, sociology and anthropology.
Psychology has developed deep concepts related to the processes and functions of the human mind. Research is regularly carried out regarding the behaviors and mental processes of people in different situations. The psychologists who perform such research are called research psychologists and they work in close collaboration with organizations or research institutes.
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