The Psychology of Selling: Increase Your Sales Faster and Easier Than You Ever Thought Possible pdfdrive com

—MARK CAINE

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6
THE POWER
OF SUGGESTION
Whatever we plant in our subconscious mind and nourish
with repetition and emotion will one day become a reality.
—EARL NIGHTINGALE
H
uman beings are greatly influenced by the suggestive elements in their
environments, especially the human elements. The suggestive influence of a
calm, confident, relaxed salesperson is very powerful. This is why the most
successful salespeople are usually those who are the most tranquil and
easygoing. They are usually well dressed, well groomed, and professional
looking in every respect.
Top salespeople have a calming, soothing effect on customers. They have
confidence in themselves and in their product or service. As a result, we feel
confident in listening to them. We feel convinced about the things they say and
about the product or service they offer.
The External Environment
Each person is strongly influenced by his physical environment as well. Your
environment has a tremendous impact on how you think, feel, and behave. Small
changes in your environment can bring about immediate changes in the way you
react and respond to what is going on around you.
For example, normal room temperature is about seventy degrees Fahrenheit.
But if you raise or lower this temperature by five degrees, it can dramatically
change your level of comfort and the amount of attention you give to what is
being said. If you are too hot or too cold, your discomfort will lead you to be

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being said. If you are too hot or too cold, your discomfort will lead you to be
irritable, demanding, and impatient.
The People Around You
In your suggestive environment, perhaps the most powerful influence of all is
the people that you deal with. You are very strongly influenced by the way
people respond to you and behave when you are around them.
Much of your reaction to other people is initially subconscious. Everyone has
experienced meeting a person and instantly having a negative or positive
reaction to him or her, even before a word has been exchanged. The reason for
this instant assessment is that your previous experiences with many other people
are stored in your subconscious mind as part of your permanent memory bank.
When you meet a new person, your subconscious connects the dots and gives
you an instant assessment of that person, based on your previous experiences.
You respond subconsciously to other people; customers respond
subconsciously to you. Everything you do prior to the sales presentation, and
everything about you when you meet the prospect, either increases or decreases
the quality of the suggestive environment and determines whether or not you
make a sale.