A good stage hypnotist preconditions his audience to believe that he has hypnotic powers. Doing this makes hypnotizing people much easier.
One of the keys to selling, is to “pre-condition” your prospects so they are already sold on you before you ever meet with them. 99.9% of salespeople don’t use this strategy and many of them have never even heard of it.
The single most effective way to influence and persuade people is to use massive amounts of social proof. Here are a number of ways you can immediately utilize the power of social proof:
- Testimonials. These are vastly underused by salespeople, but good testimonials can make a dramatic difference in your closing percentage and income. Consider binding actual testimonials letters into a booklet.
- Referrals. Getting your current clients to enthusiastically refer you to their friends and acquaintances is a powerful form of social proof. Marketing guru, Jay Abraham, tells the story of a dentist who makes giving referrals a condition of doing business with him.
- Name dropping. Who are you already doing business with or who could you do business with who is well respected and known within the industry you are selling to? This can be an actual celebrity or it can also be someone who is famous only in the industry.
- Write an article or column or get your own radio show. Although this strategy may not work for every salesperson, it’ll work for most. A financial services professional could write a weekly column for his local newspaper, a real estate agent could write an article about “The Top 10 Secrets For Buying The Home Of Your Dreams For Thousands Less Than The List Price.” Put on your thinking cap and then take action.
- Be a social pillar. If you contribute your time to your community or to a certain cause, you will gain a strategic advantage over your competition…and do a lot of good.
The bottom line is that you want to use as many forms of social proof as possible so when you finally meet with the prospect, they will be sold on you.
(As always, your comments are welcome and I read all of ’em.)
Kick butt, make mucho “DEE-nero!”
~Dave Dee
P.S., In just a few days I’ll be releasing details about my upcoming “Psychic Salesperson” event coming up this Summer. This event will be PERFECT-O for ANYONE involved in selling their products and/or services. It’s going to be uplifting, it’s going to be fun, and when we’re done you will feel more powerful, more equipped, and more confident than any time in your entire life. Stay tuned…