PROFESSIONAL SALES TRICKS OF THE TRADE INCLUDING COVERT HYPNOSIS VIA ANALOG MARKING AND EMBEDDED COMMANDS

I have coined the acronym SCRAM to represent some of the standard hypnotherapeutic techniques used by successful salespeople, many of whom do it instinctively without any training.

...Smile, Create Rapport, And Mirror...

Smile is self-explanatory.

Create rapport by recognizing a customer's primary representational system (typically visual) and leading and pacing them in that direction by using visual terms initially: look at this . . . see how we can . . . watch how the . . . etc.If the customer is primarily auditory (perhaps she's carrying a violin case or is tapping her foot to the music playing in the store) use auditory terms initially: listen to the relaxing buzz this toy makes as you play . . . it sounds like a kitten purring . . .can you hear it? Etc.

Mirroring is simply reflecting a person's characteristics back at them, so if a customer has a southern drawl, mimic it to the best of your ability. Believe it or not, it's flattering. If a person talks fast, you'll need to give that person a lot of information in a hurry, or you'll lose her. Other folks become overwhelmed by too much information too fast. Hone your sensory acuity to maximize sales.............................................................

My invention, Top-no-sis, consists of a uniquely designed top, the Lsx, which processes energy into its angular momentum (spin), BY a process known as precession, as the player manipulates it on an acrylic board. As a result of skilled TOP-NO-SIS play, the top, unlike any other in the world, keeps spinning vibrantly. TODAY, we will explore the concepts of analog marking and embedded commands that hypnotherapists use covertly.

I demonstrated my invention at the FAO SCHWARZ 5th AVENUE toy store for many years . . . A group approaches my station . . . "Hi, thanks for stopping BY. I call this toy TOP-NO-SIS, and I'm here TODAY to demonstrate, autograph, and personalize it for you."

Twice now, in the above paragraphs, I have typed the words BY TOP-NO-SIS TODAY in caps, distinguishing them from the crowd. This is called analog marking, and it is an embedded command. One can do it by speaking those words a bit louder than the others, but in the store, I launched the spinning top a foot above the board and caught it again, as I vocalized each of those three words, effectively marking them. And people would buy Top-nos-is today!

You'll notice, of course, that by and buy, though different in derivation and spelling, sound the same (homophones). To the unconscious mind they are the same. It's called phonological ambiguity. Recognizing and responding to embedded commands is an unconscious reaction.

Another example: As a family approaches my station, I repeat the embedded commands mentioned above. ("Hi, thanks for stopping BY. I call this toy TOP-NO-SIS, and I'm here TODAY to demonstrate, autograph, and personalize it for you.") Then, one of the customers asks how long it might take to learn how to play?
"Well, starting from SCRATCH, hmm, who KNOWS, perhaps a day." Two out of the five people in the group scratch their nose! The unconscious mind cannot distinguish between knows and nose. Then, I focus my sales effort on those two people, the two who were most responsive to my embedded command. That, by the way, is how stage hypnotists choose the 'volunteers' who will be coming up to participate in the show.

Advanced techniques like analog marking and embedded commands take a bit of practice to master fluently, but you can SCRAM your way to better sales quickly. And to debunk a common belief—it is intelligence rather than weakness that correlates with suggestibility.