Among the various successful sales techniques used daily, conversational hypnosis is definitely one of the most interesting. Exactly what is “conversational hypnosis”? And, how can it be used to significantly boost sales for your business?

What is conversational hypnosis? Conversational hypnosis, often referred to as covert hypnosis, is actually a communication style. Some people use conversational hypnosis without knowing that they are using it. People use the communication style for various reasons, but it’s well known as a way that successful sales executives communicate with their clients. By purposely applying conversational hypnosis, the salesperson is able to project their message in a way that encourages the client to agree and cooperate.

In order for conversational hypnosis to be effective, you have to build rapport with the client. You must converse in a way that causes the client to identify with you and want to build a relationship with you. At that point, you can begin to implement carefully chosen words or specific body language to slightly influence the client’s actions.

A key element in using conversational hypnosis is to be able to influence people without the use of words. For an example, an air conditioner salesperson may want a customer to know how hot the outside temperature is. Rather than say the obvious, he can simply make a point of looking at the thermometer on the wall. Most likely, when the salesman looks at the thermometer, the customer will too. The salesman has told the customer how hot it is (and how much he needs an air conditioner) without saying a word.

Another approach, which is more verbal and direct, is to tell someone not to do something or think of something. As you may know, this automatically makes you do or think of what was spoken of. This approach is often referred to as reverse psychology. You may have heard parents talk about using reverse psychology to get their children to do what they want them to do, but reverse psychology is an important factor in conversational hypnosis. Reverse psychology can be effective because when a particular phrase is used, the mind has to process the phrase by using some point of reference.

Some salespersons prefer to use a straight-forward approach with some customers. They may say something such as “Think about how nice it would be to have clean, fresh, odor-free carpet.” They plant the idea in the customer’s mind that all the customer needs to do is purchase his carpet cleaner to get fresh, clean, odor-free carpet. All the customer can think about now is how nice that would be. The customer has been influenced by the salesperson’s words and thinks favorably about the product.

Can you think of times when you’ve been susceptible to conversational hypnosis? Perhaps your son or daughter has unknowingly used conversational hypnosis techniques to persuade you to buy them a new video game, or new clothes. At other times you may have been susceptible to conversational hypnosis methods used by TV advertising, ads on the internet, or when speaking to telemarketers on the phone.

One thing that can’t be overlooked about conversational hypnosis is the role it plays in the increase of sales. Many sales executives have proven it is an effective method for convincing customers to see things from the salesman perspective, rather than their initial perspective. Once the technique is mastered so it is undetectable to the customer, conversational hypnosis will help you seal more sales for you and your company.