The Secret to Closing More Sales: How Neuro-linguistic Programming Can Help You Influence Anyone
Discover the power of NLP and how it can help you overcome objections, build rapport, and close more deals.
If you are looking for a way to boost your sales performance, you might want to consider Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP). NLP is a set of techniques and principles that can help you communicate more effectively, influence others, and overcome mental barriers. In this article, we will explain what NLP is, how it works, and how it can benefit you as a salesperson.
NLP stands for Neuro-linguistic Programming, which, for our purposes, means using language to program your mind. It is based on the idea that your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the way you use language, both internally and externally. By changing your language patterns, you can change your mental state and your results.
NLP was developed in the 1970s by Richard Bandler and John Grinder, who studied successful therapists and communicators and modeled their methods. They discovered that these experts had certain ways of using language that enabled them to create rapport, elicit information, persuade, and motivate their clients. They also found that these experts had certain beliefs and assumptions that supported their success.
NLP can help you as a salesperson in many ways. Here are some of the benefits of NLP for sales:
NLP can help you build rapport with your prospects and customers. Rapport is the feeling of trust and connection that makes people more open and receptive to your message. You can use NLP techniques such as matching, mirroring, pacing, and leading to establish and maintain rapport with anyone. For example, you can match your prospect's body language, voice tone, and words to create a sense of similarity and harmony. You can also pace their current reality and lead them to a desired outcome by using statements like "I understand how you feel...and what if I could show you a way to solve your problem?"
NLP can help you elicit your prospects' needs and wants. By using NLP techniques such as meta-model questions, sensory acuity, and presuppositions, you can uncover your prospects' problems, goals, values, criteria, and motivations. This will allow you to tailor your solution to their specific situation and appeal to their emotions. For example, you can use meta-model questions like "What exactly do you want?" or "How do you know that?" to clarify your prospect's vague or general statements. You can use sensory acuity to notice subtle cues in their facial expressions, eye movements, and gestures that indicate their preferences and states. Presuppositions can be used to imply or assume something without stating it explicitly, such as "When you buy our product today..."
NLP can help you influence your prospects' decisions. By using NLP techniques such as reframing, anchoring, storytelling, and embedded commands, you can persuade your prospects to take action and buy from you. You can also use NLP techniques to overcome objections, handle resistance, and close the sale. Reframing can be used to change the meaning of a situation or statement by presenting it from a different perspective or context. You can use anchoring to associate a positive emotion or state with your product or offer by using a word, gesture, or image. Storytelling is a powerful way to capture your prospect's attention and imagination by using metaphors, anecdotes, or case studies. Embedded commands can help deliver a direct instruction or suggestion within a sentence or phrase by using voice tonality or punctuation marks.
NLP can help you improve your mindset and attitude. By using NLP techniques such as affirmations, visualizations, submodalities, and swish patterns, you can program yourself for success. You can also use NLP techniques to eliminate limiting beliefs, fears, and negative emotions that might hold you back. For example, you can use affirmations to repeat positive statements about yourself or your goals in the present tense with emotion and conviction. Visualizations allow you to imagine yourself achieving your desired outcome in vivid detail with all your senses involved. Submodalities change the way you represent something in your mind by altering its size, color, brightness, distance, etc. Swish patterns can help replace an unwanted state or behavior with a desired one by first creating a mental image of both and then quickly switching from one to another.
NLP is a powerful tool that can help you achieve more sales and satisfaction in your career. If you want to learn more about NLP and how to apply it to your sales process, I recommend you check out some of the books and courses available on this topic.
To see what we recommend, check out Mastering Sales With NLP (affiliate link) by our friends over at Transform Destiny.