Telesales technique: How to persuade customers over the phone with hypnosis tricks!

Hypnosis, on the contrary to common belief, is not necessarily done through eye-contact. Voice plays a strong part in hypnosis tricks. How can it be useful to my daily phone-calls, you ask? Well, even if these techniques are used mainly for the show, they rely on true convincement and persuasion tricks.

Here is how you can use hypnosis to improve your telephone conversations with customers, either when doing support, sales, or cold calling.

1.Convince your customers that “Everything is going to be just fine”        

Well, that is what your customers want to hear when they call your support line for a problem, or when you happen to have the product that will drastically improve their lives. The key is to use arguments that seem perfectly logical to illustrate what you are saying. Do not use words like “I believe”, but base your arguments on external, objective elements: this will work on your customers’ persuasion on a subconscious level. For instance, use logical connectors to structure your argumentation: “as”, “because” and “that is why”.

“Because” is a hypnotic word and there is a convincing example: (Source: study performed by Ellen Langer at Harvard)

·??????“Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine because I’m in a rush?” - The number of people who agreed: 94%.

·??????“Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine?” - The number of people who agreed: 60%.

You would be inclined to think the difference was because of the reason she gave. But a further experiment indicated otherwise…

·??????“Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine because I have to make some copies?"- The number of people who agreed: 93%. Notice that no real reason was given this time—obviously,?everyone?waiting for the Xerox machine had to make copies. Yet nearly as many people agreed as when a real reason was given.

Tip #1: Improve customer support by using logical arguments to illustrate your answers.

2. Listen to your customers carefully and engage with questions        

To determine what kind of personality you are and what types of hypnosis a professional will use, hypnotists often start by asking subtle questions. Indeed, the key to tell what your customers want to hear more is to let them talk so you can understand them better. Even more importantly, you should manage your timing, so they do not get the feeling they are giving away too much information without getting something in return. Be aware, though, not to comment so often that it seems you are just interjecting the same phrases as - “I see,” “right,” “OK” without really listening.

When you feel you have gained some sympathy from your customers, engage them with questions – the reason for asking is to encourage your interlocutor to tell how good they feel: it makes this feeling stronger.

Tip #2: engage with meaningful questions to your customers to gain sympathy

3. Find a “happy place” for your customers        

Hypnotists often let you slip into a “happy place” of your own by telling you a story. This is very important when phoning your customers – even more than other means of communication such as emails – because you are taking a very valuable amount of their time to talk with them. Always remember that people like to hear a story and feel they understand its whereabouts.

Here is a great example found in Ryan Hoover’s article “What’s missing from your growth hacking strategy?” Ryan Hoover’s article

Every Thursday, Dan Martell, CEO of Clarity, picks up the phone to call 25 to 30 users and asks how the company can make a better product to suit that user’s needs. Dubbed “smile and dial,” he gathers direct feedback, but he is not just doing customer development—he is inspiring word of mouth. How often do you receive a phone call from a company that is not trying to directly sell something? Almost never. Dan delights his users with genuine interest and conversation. This manual, human touch is memorable and sharable.

Tip #3: storytelling is central to a successful phone call with customers

4. Watch your tone        

Ever heard the saying “bewitching voice”? Some people get the gift of a voice that would make anybody do anything, just like a spell… And most hypnotists get this gift, only they work for it. Forget pinching voices and speaking fast: your #1 concern is to enunciate, speak at a rather slow pace, lower your tone, smile, and sound confident.

Stressing certain words also changes the meaning or the tone you give to certain sentences. For instance, here is an example with the phrase “What would you like us to do about it?”

a)??????Say it defensively (emphasizing the words “would you”): “What would you like us to do about it?”

b)?????Say it with curiosity (emphasizing the words “like us”): “What would you like us to do about it?”

c)??????Say it with apathy (not emphasizing any of the words): “What would you like us to do about it?”

Being aware of this technique can help you a lot on working on your tone. Improving Your Inflection on the Phone

When you deal with customers over the phone, you have a whole new set of etiquette rules. The minute you pick up the phone, body language disappears, and your tone of voice and the words you use become the entire story. In fact, almost the entire message you project to a customer over the phone is communicated through your tone of voice.?

For example:

·??????A monotone and flat voice says to the customer, “I’m bored and have absolutely no interest in what you’re talking about.”

·??????Slow speed and low pitch communicate the message, “I’m depressed and want to be left alone.”

·??????A high-pitched and emphatic voice says, “I’m enthusiastic about this subject.”

·??????An abrupt speed and loud tone say, “I’m angry and not open to input!”

·??????High pitch combined with drawn-out speed conveys, “I don’t believe what I’m hearing.”

It does not take long after a customer hears the tone of your voice to pick up on your attitude. In fact, your customers know within ten seconds of initiating the call whether they are talking to beauty or the beast.

Tip #4: a slow and clear voice can make you sound more confident to your customers

5. Breathe        

Hypnosis sessions all start by a long series of breathing exercises. These exercises, like yoga, basically aim at relaxing you. During our workday, we rarely take the time to focus on breathing, arguing that it is no priority to our productivity.

Well, knowing that just a few but regular deep breaths can lower your oxygen consumption, get you more energized, repair cells faster, decrease stress and anxiety, and ultimately, increase your empathy, don’t you want to give it a try?

Before picking up any phone-call, just take a long breath to start fresh. 5 Tips for Better Telephone Skills by Anne M. Obarski

When hesitating on an answer over the phone, consider pausing as a valuable moment: it gives you time to gather your ideas and relieve the stress rush. Both tips just require the timespan of a breath, about 2 to 3 seconds.

Tip #5: breathing is no waste of time when phoning your customers