How to Sell a Feeling

To be totally in tune with the needs of your customers or prospective customers you have to listen to them. Listen to them ? it sounds easy enough to do but not everybody gets it right. What you must always bear in mind when you are selling something is that you are not selling an item or object ? you are selling a feeling.

I was taught this particular lesson whilst working for a friend who was very much into NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) which studies the structure of how humans think and experience the world. One small part of this vast subject centred on how people can be persuaded to relax and immediately place their trust in you if you use the language they want to hear; how do you know what they want to hear? It's simple, they will supply the clue, and as I stated previously ? you just have to listen to them.

The method is simple; there are some people that are audio dominant and will react to what you say to them; there are others that are visually dominant and will respond more to what they see. The crucial point is that you have to get the language right to get either of these two groups wanting to buy from you. The following examples illustrate how this is done.

Imagine you are working in a store that sells music systems and your first potential customer walks in and says to you, "I would like to look at a CD player please."

The use of the word 'look' suggests that they are visually dominant so your reply must be in the same vein by using 'sight' words such as; "Ok sir/madam, let me 'show' you this one." or "Could you 'see' this in your lounge?" or "The finish on this model 'looks' great."

The person may not even switch it on but could still end up buying it because it looks good. Using these types of expressions will create a comfortable feeling in the buyer because they perceive you to be on their wavelength; the probability of them buying from you should increase significantly.

For the audio dominant person, the same technique is applied but this time using 'sound' words. This time a person walks in and says, "I would like to listen to a CD player please." "Ok sir/madam how does this one 'sound' to you?" or "Can you 'hear' the difference between this one and the other?" Again, listen to what they are saying and tailor your conversation to suit.

If you use 'sight' words with an audio dominant person, it will create an uncomfortable feeling for them that will possibly result in them leaving the store without a purchase. The same obviously applies to using 'sound' words with a visually dominant person; it causes conflicting feelings because the language doesn't feel right to them. This takes us back to the earlier point that you are selling a feeling and not an object.

It is worth noting that a vast number of people worldwide regard the use of NLP in business as essential but equally there are those who are not entirely convinced of its effectiveness. I have seen and indeed occasionally used the language technique myself but with only a moderate degree of success. I am sure there are far superior and experienced NLP practitioners out there who cannot only close a sale at nearly every attempt, but make it look easy at the same time.

Give it a try and see if it works for you. You may not get any results or you could be a roaring success. Either way, it should be interesting, and with a bit of effort and persistence ? who knows?

John Sheridan is a professional proofreader of hard copy items and website copy. He also writes web copy and occasionally accepts small copy-editing assignments. He can be contacted at: john@textcorrect.co.uk

Website: http://www.textcorrect.co.uk

This article is the property of the author and may only be reproduced in its original form.

In The News:


pen paper and inkwell


cat break through


How Pareto?s Principle Impacts Your Sales Success

Pareto's Principle {the 80/20 rule) is vividly illustrated in the... Read More

Do You Know the Emotion Behind the Objection?

Prospects have many reasons (you might think excuses) for not... Read More

Stop Selling! for the Million Dollar Contract

During the introduction of the "Stop Selling!" philosophy, we typically... Read More

Three Types of Salespeople

"There are three kinds of salespeople; those who make things... Read More

How To Achieve Excellence In Sales

Most people are always striving to better themselves. It's the... Read More

How To Win Business By Networking

In sales we do tend to become focused upon our... Read More

Qualifying vs closing

The art of effective question asking (qualifying) determines the effectiveness... Read More

How to Make Training and Development a Power Agent for Change

Does this sound familiar? With high expectations, you sent your... Read More

Generate Sales with Lead Generation Marketing Tools

One of the best projects to undertake as an online... Read More

The #1 Lead Generation System of Top Sales People

Developing an abundant supply of targeted referrals is the number... Read More

Catapult Your Business?How to Get Customers to Chase You Instead of the Other Way Around

I was thinking about the statement:The Small Business Administration tells... Read More

Dramatically Increase Sales With The KISS Test

We've all heard the term KISS at one time or... Read More

The Dos and Donts of an Elevator Pitch

The dreaded question: "What exactly does your company do?" It's... Read More

The Top Five Traits of a Successful Salesperson

If you're looking for a successful salesperson to hire, a... Read More

Multiply Your Sales

When Thomas Edison's light bulb finally burned for 45 straight... Read More

The Business of Closing the Sale Without Killing It

You must be able to coordinate your sales talk to... Read More

5 Ways to Increase Business Sales by Contacting Your Existing Customers

One of the best ways to increase your sales and... Read More

How Business Coaches Avoid the Yearly Training Feeding Frenzy

What is it with appraisals? In September and October there... Read More

Change Takes Time

I am writing this at the Philadelphia Airport on my... Read More

More Sales - You Must Keep Asking

I bought a second pair of reading glasses from my... Read More

When Youre In sales Always Aim Higher

Yesterday I did a sales training program for a great... Read More

How to Sell a Feeling

To be totally in tune with the needs of your... Read More

Getting People to Buy Without Selling

In my youth I landed a job selling encyclopedias door... Read More

5 Powerful Tips To Persuasion!

Having excellent persuasion skills is one of the most important... Read More

Sales Letters - How to Write Them

You could just send out your brochure to potential customers... Read More

Putting Benefits Before Features

Having spent so many years in retail, I always enjoy... Read More

Spend More Time Selling

On average a sales person spends less than two hours... Read More

Visual Science of Selling

Statistics state that 55% of people judgments are made based... Read More

The 6 Secrets To Sales Success

There is no magic pill, trick, teqnique, system or secret... Read More

Yikes - My Feet Hurt! 8 Tips for Trade Show Exhibitors

Yikes - My Feet Hurt!Concrete. Tiles. Cheap carpet. Walking, walking.... Read More

The Pipeline: Curious, Desperate, Inspired?

You do have a "Pipeline" don't you? You know, the... Read More

When The Clock Strikes Twelve!

I just finished reading another sales copy ending with the... Read More

Psychology of Converting a Prospect to Money

If you want a truly successful business, you need to... Read More