Anybody who's into sales would definitely be familiar with the pressure of getting that deal that would allow you to meet your target. The adrenaline is all over the place and the pressure to achieve your targets is definitely immense.
Knowing what the customer thinks of you and your product definitely makes it easier for you to effectively adjust, adapt, and customize your approach to the customer and finally get the deal of your dreams. For this particular task, a good knowledge of the NLP shall give you a clear insight of what the customer expects from you and what you can do to meet that expectation.
What Does Neuro-linguistic Programming Do?
Essentially speaking, NLP utilizes the natural structure of the brain and neurology to produce the needed behavior from other people. Words play a big part in this scheme as the tools for conquering all your beloved clients out there.
With the use of NLP, you get to make the other person feel comfortable with you and more importantly, trust you with the deal that you are offering. This involves mirroring your customer with the perfect verbal speed that would allow you to speak the customer's language. Such a process also requires the recognition of attitude biases and language preferences.
As soon as the customer becomes comfortable you, expect rapport to instantaneously develop and use it as a tool to gain the upper-hand on the situation. NLP is also good for conditioning the mind of the customer into buying whatever it is you are selling. The approach is very subtle and without even feeling a thing, the customer just relents to the power of NLP.
Knowing Your Customer Through NLP
How many deals or potential business have been lost because the customer felt the seller did not know what he was talking about or should not be trusted? A lot, and you do not want to be one of them. This works not only for the new customer, but also for the loyal ones who might have been just too lazy to choose another company or just have not found a better one for them. When that time comes, it shall be the end of you. Bellow are some NLP tips that you could use to make your customers think the way you need them to think.
Know How They Think
Every customer has his or her way of processing information, but they all receive it based on what they see, hear, or think as they talk to you. What a lot of people fail to realize is that we all have the same way of receiving information and processing it. We all make internal pictures of the words we receive, repeating the words to ourselves or just talking to ourselves, and having internal feelings about the words we receive.
What Happens When We Sell?
Because you would like the other person to buy what you are selling, the logical strategy is to talk about the product and sell it by giving the good features or benefits that the customer can get by buying your merchandise or service.
In the process of expounding and informing your target customer, there are words used that give away exactly what you are thinking of in your head. Such words include “tell,” “phrase,” explain,” “sound,” and “read” among others. You go ahead by giving the worst-case scenarios of life without the product that you are selling and backing it up with the benefits and you get from buying them. What baffles you after is the fact that you receive the dreaded “I'll think about it” phrase after, what you thought was an excellent presentation of your product.
Simply put, you chose some words that evoked the wrong feelings in your customer. These words might have reminded the customer of a similarly unfortunate incident, or it might have triggered a bias or preconceived notion about the product. Whatever it is, the words caused the customer to understand your message the wrong way. Which is the reason why words should always be carefully chosen in any presentation.
Matching Modalities with the Customer
To be able to read the mind of the customer, you need to be aware of the three ways people take information. They are visual, hearing, and feeling. Such are what we call modalities. With the awareness of the modals, you get to choose the best one for the customer and that is through their feelings.
For example, when you sell insurance, you want to capitalize on the emotions of the person. You do not ask the person to tell you what would happen to the family of the person if he or she is not around anymore. You zero in on the emotions by asking how the customer would feel if the customer is no longer able to provide for the family. By doing that, you invoke images of family members possibly crying, worrying, confused, angry or even suffering. These strong emotions shall get your message across effectively and shall get rid of the put offs that you do not want your customer to feel about you. Chances are high that they will buy from you instead of avoiding you.
More NLP Tips
Below are some NLP strategies that can help you be read and understood the way you need your customers to.
Positivity Works
Otherwise known as anchoring, this is the process that is meant to create a pleasant and positive environment for your product or service. Such an image creates that much desired spark between you and your customer and that image is definitely a powerful one.
Subtlety is Key
When you ask the questions for identifying the customers needs, there should be more effort in coming up with questions that are so subtle that they would never make the customer feel intimidated or threatened. Do not be afraid to ask questions about the issues of the customers on the product that you are selling. Be specific with the features and benefits that are ideal for the said customers.
When you sense that the feedback you are starting to get shall lead to objections, or when there is that feeling that the learner needs to express some negative feedback on what is being sold, try interrupting the customer's patterns of thinking to overcome any of the objections that are running in his head. Like when the customer gives you that feeling that price shall be a big factor in making the customer buy the product, distract the customer by countering such thoughts with questions asking about the benefits that they are expecting to get from the money that they are going to shell out. Customers need to know what's in it for them so use this as a diversion for the imminent rejection of your proposal.
Authority Figures
A person of authority is always the best one to close the sales. Such authority brings with it the ease for the customer to follow your every command and this effectively reduces the objections the customer might give to your product or service. A good way to maximize this technique is to let the seller present the customer with quotes from well-known people who use the product or service that is being offered.
These are just some NLP techniques you can use to seal the sales deal by reading your customers’ minds. If you want to learn more breakthrough techniques, join us in of
Jacky Lim’s Strategic Selling Workshop. Jacky Lim is one the best NLP practitioners in Singapore. Jacky has mentored a number of sales professionals and executives who are already successes in their own fields.
Call us now or simply out our inquiry form to book the seat reserved just for you!
