Is Sales Really a Numbers Game?

You know when you're in a crowded elevator, or waiting on line at a coffee shop, and someone is trying to sell you something? You might find yourself asking "Are sales really a numbers game?" before they completely wrap their spiel around your ears. The answer is yes, because sales are all about expectation.

In this blog post, we'll go over some of the best strategies for meeting and exceeding expectation. Your job as the seller is to set the bar as high as possible and create expectations that will exceed those of your buyers. The goal is not living up to their expectations—it's making them work for you!

Write an introduction to an informative and factual blog post titled "What Is NLP?". Your introduction should grab the attention of your readers. The introduction should include:

1)          Your name, contact information, and blog address.

2)    A brief overview or thesis of the post. This can be a sentence or two, but it is important to remember that this introduction is your first impression of the post to your readers. The information you present in this portion must be factual and informative so that when your blog visitors read further into your post they will continue to trust you as an expert on the subject.

3)          At least one example of your expertise. I suggest that your first example is a video link to a presentation you had recorded for others. This not only shows a demonstration of your expertise, but it also proves your credibility as an expert by thrusting the compelling and entertaining nature of your work into the conscience of your audience. A video showing you in action is the best way to demonstrate this because it visually shows you as an expert in action.

4)        A link to more information about NLP. This should be a link to your Wordpress blog where you have a webpage specifically dedicated to NLP. Your Wordpress page should be filled with useful and appealing links for your readers.

5)       A call to action for the readers to learn more about NLP and/or follow you on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, or Google+.

When you are finished writing your introduction, reread it carefully and make sure that it includes all of the information necessary above.

The first portion of your post will be the body paragraph. In this paragraph you will be sharing information about yourself and the NLP field, then emphasizing the benefits to your readers of learning more about NLP.

A body paragraph is a 30-60 second speech or monologue. When you are writing in Word, start typing a new paragraph as soon as you have finished writing the previous one and stop at the end of that paragraph. This is very helpful when you are writing blog posts because when you reread your work for corrections later on, it becomes easy to go back to the beginning of the post and rewrite what you said there.

In the rest of the post, you will be writing short paragraphs and sentences called sub-headings to describe the body paragraphs. You can use these sub-headings to link separate sections together in your blog post. Your posts about NLP will tend to be centered around a thesis statement that is summarized under a single paragraph, then expanded upon in more detail in subsequent subsections.

Incorporate all of your information into the body paragraph by using transitions such as:

I use many techniques for sales excellence such as...

After creating your introduction and setting expectations for your readers with this introduction, you are now ready to start writing your first post!

Name three negative emotions people often experience when they are trying to sell something. Share an NLP solution for each.

1.          Fear

2.          Boredom

3.          Loneliness

Name three more emotions that relate to sales and explain how they can be used to motivate others. Share an NLP solution to help manage these emotions.

1.          Pride (lack of humility)

2.          Anger (lack of calmness)

3.          Fear (lack of confidence) Name the four main traits that people want when they are in a relationship with other people and why they are important in relationships with others, such as salespeople, clientele, or employees. Share an NLP solution for each of them.

1.          Trust

2.          Self-Esteem

3.          Security

4.          Affection What is body language? What is its purpose? How can NLP techniques be used to alter body language to better suit the needs of the subject? How can using voice inflection be used to heighten the impact of a sales presentation? How do you apply voice inflection in order to increase both conscious and unconscious motivation in others, such as employees or clients? Discuss NLP strategies for managing time and managing stress for sales professionals, including yourself and your clients/employees.

NLP techniques can be used to handle time and stress in the work environment. When people are working with others, they must adjust their level of energy, their level of focus, and their level of confidence. These are all essential to the success of a salesperson or sales team.

When you are having a meeting or conference call with your employees, try to have some sort of physical or mental activity that you can participate in while you are talking to your employees. For example:

1)          If you have a really large office, move around to get distracted from sitting still for extended periods of time.

2)          Use part of your meeting time to exercise.

3)          Read something during your weekly sales calls with your team.

4)          Take a walk during your lunch break or an afternoon break and listen to a sales book on tape or on the radio or just listen to some music that is unfamiliar to you.

When you are managing stress, be mindful of the energies in which you are vibrating while communicating with other people, even if they are not conscious of their voices or mannerisms. It is possible that those around you can read more into you than what you have expressed verbally because our bodies have greater capabilities than our minds do. Simply being mindful of the feelings you are carrying with you can help to reduce stress and increase mental clarity.

Major NLP techniques for managing stress:

1)          The contracting strategy. Contracting is a way of expressing yourself that is built on the idea that you will say what you want or need to say, and then only complete what is desireable in your life once everything else that needs to be completed has been accomplished.

2)          Inner child work. This is a process of reconnecting to your inner child in order to live in an energetic state that is much more joyful than the one we normally operate in.

Conclusion:

I hope you enjoyed learning about NLP and that these few blog posts were helpful in getting you started with NLP. Please stay tuned for more posts on my blog and follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+ to get notification when more posts are published.

For further reading:

1)          Richard Bandler - An Introduction to NLP (free ebook)  https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-new-unconscious/201007/an-introduction-nplp-part-1

2)          An Overview of Neuro Linguistic Programming by Eric Tivers (a simplified summary of NLP)  https://implicitlearning.wordpress.