The Vision to Sell
When we go to the topic of NLP and sales, we really do not lack mechanisms that use the communication and persuasion models of NLP. Numerous books have been given the task of translating NLP processes to sales.
From Laborde's work, Influencing with Integrity, to Bagley and Reese's Beyond Selling (1987), we have many books that directly address the topic of influencing people. From Lisnek's work on negotiation, Winning the Mind Game, to the work of Bandler and La Valle (1996), Persuasion Engineering, we have different works that address other facets of the sales process. We also have books that focus directly on sales, Succesful Selling with NLP, by O'Connor and Prior (1995), Selling with Integrity, by Sharon Drew Morgan (1997) (although she forgot to give credit to NLP, as she did in her book above) and Selling to Humans, by Plotkin (1995).
Apparently many people have grasped the vision of using the NLP communication model, as well as other processes to influence, persuade, match someone else's world model, use the language that engages in their Meta-Programs, speaking hypnotically to make a person's unconscious want to buy, etc.
And why not? If we, as neurolinguistic creatures, experience what we do based on the World Model that we carry in our heads, and NLP has several processes to detect, pair (match) and use that World Model, then why do people who work in sales shouldn't you use more effective strategies? After all, selling only means that we offer a highly valued or needed product in exchange for something of equivalent value (such as money). And, given the nature of civilization as an interdependent community that develops and grows based on a fair exchange of goods; Selling like this becomes an expression of what Korzybski calls time-bondage. When we say sell we can direct our attention to creating and evolving towards "always-new" forms of expression,more than wasting time reinventing the wheel trying to operate in a totally independent way. Instead, we can specialize, exchange ideas, each build on what someone else invented, exchange goods, share information, etc.
Sales assumptions
With this vision of selling, as a civilized way of offering, haggling, negotiating and exchanging goods (A Mental Line Reframing), we have a new and positive frame of reference for this activity. And, for an activity that has been disfigured by circus advertisers, by the stereotype of the "used car salesman," the big-mouthed furniture salesman from the TV commercial, yelling his final sale with 40, 50 and 80% that you You have to get right now, unrealistic promises, obnoxious people, etc., a lot of people who work in sales need a positive framework for what they do.
Now, in the field of sales, numerous Sales Models have come and gone in recent decades.
Some of the older texts actually present sales in terms of manipulating people, providing information on how to play with a person's emotions in order to achieve an "immediate" emotional purchase. But things have changed in our culture. Buyers have become more sophisticated and have discovered that they do not like many of the facets of the sale: The pressure, the tricks, the wiles, the intimidation.
So a kinder, gentler model eventually evolved, a Dale Carnegie-like presentation, softening things up with a more low-key approach. Salespeople were introduced to techniques on how to listen and ask questions. They were taught to first find out a bit about what the customer wanted. And yet the assumption behind the questions remained the same as in the old Pressure Selling Model: The customer needs what you have. The model just assumed that. So the sales skills simply provided an avenue for the salesperson to get that job done.
Those two Pressure Selling Models work and continue to work for many people. But again, as human consciousness continues to evolve to become more and more sophisticated, or weary and overloaded with commercialism, telemarketing, etc., another new Sales Model has emerged.
The Customer Facilitation Model or the Sales Consulting Model has emerged. Ploktin (1995) and Morgan (1997) have presented this paradigm in terms of NLP. Kevin Davis (1996) in his book Getting Into Your Consumer's Head has done this in the general field of sales. This style of selling begins with an entirely different set of assumptions and beliefs.
Davis (1996, p. 15) has described this customer-based selling approach. The table below summarizes the main differences between the traditional approach and the new one.
Traditional approach Customer-based selling
- It presents a unique solution. Identify customer needs Explain features and benefits. Provides information on product uniqueness Aggressive sales pitch. Give the client time to learn and overcome objections. Help the customer overcome their fears, close the sale and withdraw. Provides future values and results. Manipulates. Influences.
The two books that present this Customer Facilitation Model, in relation to the subject of sales, are those of Ploktin and Morgan. In "Selling With Integrity," Morgan begins by articulating principles or presuppositions of selling facilitation (ch. 3). If you didn't know them, you might think that she invented them and yet they simply represent the basic communication and relationship concepts of NLP, structured according to the SCORE Model format. And in general, its six principles, which define the purchasing facilitation process, include: "a process of asking and listening that makes it easier for the buyer to discover the best way to meet their needs" (p. 23).
These principles will undoubtedly sound very familiar to NLP ears.
Buying / Selling Principles
"You have nothing to sell if there is no one to buy." This elegantly reminds us not to start with our map to sell, but to check the territory first. In other words, activate your sensory acuity, open your eyes, ears, skin, etc. and look around. Do you see any buyers? Don't hallucinate a buyer in every person in front of you. Don't assume that. Lots of people give the impression that they show signs of "buying activity," but they're just passing time. They did not go out to buy. Here we need to check and not impose our map on the other person. We first have to qualify people to see if they have a need or want what we have to offer. Doing something else sets up the seller for frustration and disappointment, and leaves the buyer feeling manipulated and pressured.Not good.
"The relationship comes first, then the task." Ah, this sounds like basic NLP. After all, when we interact by communicating and relating to anyone, for whatever purpose or task (be it education, therapy, law, medicine, raising children, etc.), we first check to see where we stand in relation to that person and which one. that person's with respect to us. In other words, we always pace, pace, pace, and then we lead. We start by matching that person's model of the world and with the tools of NLP, we can do this physically, emotionally, and conceptually.
Indeed, the attitude of NLP is that the individual, as a person, matters more than any task or product that we would like to take that person to buy. We take this attitude, in fact, because, after all, people tend not to like being treated as numbers or as objects. And you? And this also continues to be true in every field: teaching, psychotherapy, medicine, etc.
"The buyer has the answers, the seller has the questions." This correlates with the refrain Bandler often repeats: 'People are not bad, people are working perfectly well. Of course, what they do may not be much fun, but they do it over and over again, methodically and regularly! '
The Customer Facilitation Approach, to sell, proposes to avoid approaching people from the position of a "superior expert", who knows what he or she needs! Instead, we recognize and respect a person's internal resources, skills, competencies, uniqueness, etc. And this, consequently, leads us to ask a large number of questions (Meta-Model questions, Meta-Programs questions, SCORE Model questions) in order to discover the Current State of the person and her Desired State. Consistent with this, we also recognize that the person only has a "problem," if he or she experiences a gap between the Present State and the Desired State.
"Serving is the goal; discover is the result; a sale may be the solution. This introduction to the idea of service may seem strange at first. However, such an idea really speaks about the state and meta-state of resources, of the seller. When when selling, we adopt a service attitude towards what we sell, be it a product or a service, then we adopt more the position of an explorer than that of the "know-it-all" who is going to tell people what they need. Even more recently, Jeffrey Gitomer (1998), author of The Sales Bible, has written a comprehensive paper on the extreme importance of first-class, memorable customer service, with the shocking title Customer Satisfaction is Priceless; Customer Loyalty is Priceless.
This corresponds to the idea of abundance frame, in NLP. When we come from the framework that we live in a world of plenty and opportunity, and not one of famine, then we don't have to make a sale, we don't have to pressure a given person. Rather, we feel freer to explore, to facilitate, and to discover. To do this, we use a large number of Meta-Model questions. This enables us to engage a person in discovering her model of the world, in order to specify goals, objectives, intentions, etc. And we do this as a service in consideration of the uniqueness of the person. If the discovery leads us or the person to consider our product or service, then it enriches both parties, in a win-win way.
"People buy (typically) when they can't meet their own needs." I changed this from "only" to "typically" because, while many of us will buy when we cannot meet our needs, we have also bought things that do not meet needs and just wanted to spend our money. Other reasons and purposes move us. And this comes true with great force with those who become compulsive shoppers.
However, we typically only buy when we cannot satisfy a need. This explains some of the negative feelings that as sellers we may encounter when we sell. People often show up to examine products or services, make decisions about what to buy, etc., only when they have been motivated to "get away from" that they need to buy because they cannot satisfy the need on their own. The tires are flat and they have to replace them. The transmission has been closed. Employees are grumpy from all the stress they face and need training in stress management skills.
There are times when we have to connect with others, in order to gain more information, new skills, products, etc. People (and companies) typically only seek external resources after they have exhausted their internal resources.
"People buy using their own buying patterns, not the seller's selling patterns." This highlights the difference between some of the old sales models, and the new ones. Under the old Put It Pressure approach, sellers assumed that people bought, or should buy according to how they sold. Doing this guarantees frustration.
The NLP approach recognizes that everyone moves through the world with their mental maps of the world and therefore uses their own strategies for shopping. People have their strategies to feel motivated, to put their decisions into practice, to interact with salespeople, etc.
So we start with the person's buying patterns, rather than using our preferred way of selling. Since people operate on the world from their own models: their values, beliefs, frames of reference, interests, reasonings, etc., they inevitably and inescapably use their own strategies, Meta-Programs (perceptual filters), learning stories and Meta -State. When we try to impose our sales strategy on a prospect, regarding how to think, feel, respond, etc., this only makes the process more difficult. This only increases the possibility of "resistance." This only blinds us to that person's process.
In addition to these sales principles, Ploktin (1995) added some others. Among others, he included:
- Customers are human beings who should not be categorized. Value and respect beliefs, values, experiences, dreams, hopes and limits. Dialogue includes questions and answers, give and take, and finally, synergy. The meetings include both feelings and facts. (page 15).
Sales Skills
With this expression sales skills, we arrive at some of the key values of NLP for sales excellence. If we can count on buyers who use their own unique purchasing strategy, then the more we know about those structures, the more it will help us improve our skills. So first we want to learn about how to spot, recognize, and then use the buyer's strategy to get motivated, gather information, make decisions, make a commitment, connect, etc. The faster we do it, the faster we will be busy fine-tuning our skills to meet him or her in their model of the world.
The matter does not end there. The skills for an effective sale also include my own skills, necessary for my own sales strategy. This will include skills in managing a power state, facilitating another person's strategies, communication skills, questioning skills, rapport building skills, etc.
Let's consider skills to manage our state (of mind). In order to achieve the proper status for selling, a person needs to have a way of framing and reframing (reframing) the mere activity. The salesperson needs to give it a positive meaning so that they can function in a way that is consistent with their values, beliefs, and identity. Thinking of sales as manipulation, as an unethical game with people's emotions, stretching the truth just to get a sale, pressuring someone to give their money for something they don't need, etc., obviously won't put anyone in a state of many resources. We need to do better than that. We need to reframe the meaning we give to selling.
Mastering sales also involves skills in Meta-states and our ability to manage meta-states. After all, in the Customer Facilitation Sales Paradigm, the seller will need to adopt a meta-level position with respect to the buyer, very early. As sellers, we first want to find out why the person wants to buy, what values, needs and results would be served by the product, how the customer wants to gather information, make a decision, etc.
When we do this, we invite and guide the client to move to the content. We ask seemingly harmless questions about the content of what the customer wants, needs, uses, desires and thinks. And getting the customer to get into the content allows us to move it into the process or structure. This enables the salesperson to notice the way the customer processes. It allows us to realize its higher frameworks on values, criteria, identity, etc. Thus, at the beginning the seller works with the structure and we do this through questions, to facilitate the buyer becoming aware of their needs, desires, current situation, desired result, etc. At this stage of the process, we sell by acknowledging the person, trying to understand them, and asking good meta-questions:Where stay you in this moment? How do I get there? What is missing? Where do you want to go?
Here too Robert Dilts' SCORE model becomes very powerful for the buying and selling process. Morgan uses questions from the SCORE model in his book, though he doesn't give Dilts credit and doesn't even call him by name. These meta-level questions facilitate the buyer to move from the Present Conscious State to the Desired Conscious State.
What do you plan to do with your current resources? What systemic aspects do you need to satisfy? What criteria will you use to choose an external solution? How will you know when to apply the changes? At what point would you seek outside resources? What would you consider to be a solution? What aspects will you have to handle when introducing an external solution? How would you know that we have met your criteria to provide you with the external solution? "
The acronym SCORE stands for:
- Symptoms of the present state. Causes that have created or contributed to the problem. Consequence or desired result. Resources needed to achieve the desired result. Effects or consequences of applying the resources to the present state.
This strategic way of moving through the process from present state to desired state has been called the purchase decision funnel since the 1980s. Using it keeps the salesperson at a level where they can meta-think about the entire process. And doing so allows us to stay oriented and focused.
As we begin at a meta-level of customer content, we focus on facilitating their discovery process. Here the emphasis is on relationship, rapport, and discovery. This is where we become friends with the customer's discovery and decision process. Once the client discovers that he really has a need ("There is no sale without a buyer"), he exhausts all his internal resources ("People only buy when they cannot satisfy their need themselves") and enters the "Our space »(Morgan) or feels in rapport with us (« Put the relationship before the task ») and feels supported in the buying process (« People buy using their own buying style, as they discover their answers ») This is when we can go down from our meta-level. At that point,we can start selling our product or service. As marketers, we can move from meta-position to the primary level of content. "Here's what I've gotten that can fill your need!" It comes to the moment of leading, to present the content of my product or service.
Thus, we begin by creating a collaborative relationship, through pacing, questions, and understanding. This establishes a win-win interaction. As a salesperson, I start by taking charge of the structure and direction of the conversation. By doing this, we allow the customer to maintain control of the content. Using search and exploration questions, which help the buyer to realize what they need or want, the conversation becomes well formed in the sense that it truly helps the customer to understand and make informed decisions.
Invigorating Sales Excellence
Since NLP models the structure of excellence, and explains the nature of such magic, it only makes sense if the models, skills and especially the attitude or spirit of NLP can powerfully enrich the human experience of selling. Since it is inherent to sales, the one that includes information gathering, communication of values and benefits, motivation, decision-making, induction of states, management of states, amplification of states, use of states, etc., makes us have of truly multiple avenues to drive sales excellence. Thus, selling from the NLP model invigorates this activity in many ways: Using the presuppositions of NLP about human functioning, about communication and relationship,applying the principles of NLP about the magic structure of words and symbols, and working on meta-levels with respect to client processes.
Bibliography
Morgan, Sharon Drew (1997). Selling With Integrity: Reinventing Sales Through Collaboration, Respect and Serving. San Francisco: Barrett-Koehler Publishers.
Plotkin, David N. (1995). Selling to Humans: A New Approach to Exchange. Cotati, CA: Influence Training Systems.
