A Look at NLP for Sales People

I do apologize for not being able to post much to the blog, recently. I've been getting some great feedback from readers regarding past articles, so I'm looking forward to getting back to it in the near future.

I often get inquiries from people about whether NLP can be used for business purposes such as sales, and how and where they can find out more information. Here's a recent response I have to just such an inquiry. If you've been wondering about this, i hope this give you a good place to start!

Hi Dale,

NLP is a kind of a toolbox of techniques and approaches that can apply to all kinds of things, so, yeah, it can be a little daunting.

So the first thing I'd ask, is what areas do you feel you'd like to work on first? There are NLP approaches that can be applied to other people or to yourself. Off the top of my head some of the areas these could be applied might be:

·   Improving your own confidence and creativity to find leads and/or approach clients.
 

·   Using well chosen language to present your products in an irresistibly appealing light.
 

·   Using "rapport skills" facilitate powerful connections with clients.

·   Getting a clear insight into the client's needs (which he may not even be aware of!) by looking at the cues he gives off in his way of speaking and body language.

It's best to pick one area and work on that first, until you get solid results. The good news is that a lot of NLP techniques work quickly, and they're fun!

Depending on what areas you'd like to work on, I can make a lot of recommendations. For confidence issues, you might want to check out the old classic "Frogs into Princes" by Bandler and Grinder. A good, accessible book on ways to learn about a client's inner issues by decoding the way he moves his eyes, you can check out "Instant Rapport" by Brooks (it's a bit overly complicated, to my tastes, but very educational). Bandler and LaValle put out several products geared towards sales people which are excellent. I can't remember the exact titles, but they come under the Design Human Engineering (DHE) umbrella.

And while it's not really NLP, The books and tapes put out by Richard Dawson are the best I’ve ever come across on the topic of negotiation.

 

I hope that gives you a good place (or couple of places) to start with. I don’t currently do workshops these days, but I’m happy to answer questions, and I’m available for private consultations.

 

I can be reached at jeff@successwork.info, and my website is http://www.successwork.info/

 

Cheers,

Jeff