Sales. It's A Matter Of Mind. Part Four

Last issue we discussed how you can change a behavior simply by visualizing yourself performing a new or improved activity (like a successful sales call), the reason this is possible is due to the fact that your subconscious mind does not know the difference between a real and an imagined activity. Imagining, visualizing and hypnotizing your brain creates the SAME response as doing the actual activity.

So, what do you see yourself doing? Your subconscious mind is watching, listening and awaiting your direction.

We all recognize the phrase ‘what comes up must come down,’ as the Law of Gravity. But did you know there are Laws of Mind as well?

I apply three different Laws of Mind with my hypnosis clients. We have already talked about the Law of Concentrated Attention in past articles so today I would like to introduce a new law so you can better understand why your mind functions the way it does and why it can be difficult to change a behavior. Here is a description:

The Law of Dominant Effect is based on a subject’s ability to only focus their mind on one attitude at a time, (and it can be either positive or negative). The stronger attitude has the dominant effect, or in other words, stronger attitudes and emotions can replace weaker ones.

The Law of Dominant Effect in Action.

Try this:
Read this first to become familiar with the instructions, then, close your eyes and perform the visual in your mind. Using your imagination see an image of a vacation spot, hold the image in your mind, take in all of the detail of your surroundings, are you aware of any sounds, feel yourself there in your mind. Now open your eyes. Look at your present surroundings. What happened to image of your vacation spot? It disappeared didn’t it? The Law of Dominate Effect can be as simple as redirecting your attention to something else.

In real life: Let’s say you want to stop a habit such as smoking. Well the worst thing you can do is to think about smoking. When you re-focus your attention on something else the thought of smoking goes away. The idea is to get your mind off what you don’t want and on to what you do want.

Reason why this works: Your mind can’t hold two opposing thoughts. Please note: those thoughts can be either negative or positive but not both. So you can’t at the same time think about wanting to reach a goal and also have the thought that you don’t have enough experience to achieve it. The stronger of the two thoughts always wins.

How does apply to sales?
Since the law of gravity works without us thinking about it, the law of dominate effect does too, so it is a good idea to consciously get a clear picture of the vision you want to achieve and to be very specific about it. I cannot stress enough how important it is to strongly implant in your mind how you see your goal; you can do this with the use of visual aids.

Once you have that goal in mind, write it in the present tense, as if it is already happening and give yourself a deadline if needed. Focus on your goal, see it, feel it happening now. A very good mentor of mine once said, “act as if”. I am suggesting you do the same.

Next time we will introduce the Law of Reversed Effect and how it effects intentions vs. reality.


Valerie Grimes, CHt is a hypnotist and mind coach in practice in Irving since 2002. She works with individuals to improve sales by uncovering the true causes of under performance. You can contact her at: yourmindcoach@verizon.com, or 972-974-2094

Part 3. Sales It's A Matter of Mind.

Last time we discussed the Law of Concentrated Attention and how it relates to success in sales, to recap:

What is your thought right now about your ability to succeed in business and in sales? The Law of Concentrated Attention states, “What you focus your concentrated attention on, over and over spontaneously tends to become a reality.” Or, another way to say it is: “What you expect to happen, happens.”

Retrain Your Brain

One of my favorite things to teach people is how their thoughts are making them better at something or sometimes worse at something. I’d like to challenge you to do something differently this week: spend time visualizing and imagining the correct outcome of a sales experience

What if you avoid new clients, imagine seeing yourself open and receptive to them. What if you don’t like representing a new product, see yourself absorbing the details of that product like a sponge.

Improvement In Sales Skills

So, why are we able to make behavioral changes by only visualizing an activity? It is because your subconscious mind does not know the difference between a real and an imagined activity. Imagining, visualizing and hypnotizing your brain creates the SAME response as doing the actual activity. So going back to the Law of Concentrated Attention, doesn’t that make sense?

I would like to point out the difference between the “real activity” and the “hypnotic practice session”. When you are doing the real activity, you are doing it RIGHT and WRONG. Every time visual a sales success you are also creating a new neuro pathway in the brain that support that activity. Your brain doesn't know which one is right or wrong. So as you may have already realized, the fastest improvement in any skill is the repetition of doing it correctly, in your mind. You can certainly use hypnosis to speed up the process.


Submitted by:
Valerie Grimes, CHt is a hypnotist and mind coach in practice in Irving since 2002. She works with individuals to improve sales by uncovering the true cause of under performance. You can contact her at: yourmindcoach@verizon.com.

Upselling And The Removal Of Your Mental Block About Upselling.

I can see the weight being lifted off someone's shoulders when they discover and then release the cause of sales avoidance. These days it doesn't matter whether you are a dental assistance, bank teller, mechanic or call center employee, you are in sales. And, the act of "up-selling" for a company can be the difference between a good month and great month (as one business owner related). Bank, dental, and even employees of CPA firms are being asked to sell, but the difficulty lies in that fact that those employees don't view themselves as sales people. And therefore feel ill equipped in personal skills to ask for the order. In order to turn an unpleasant task (cold calling) into a rewarding one you have to go back into the past and find the root cause of my mental block when it came to making sales calls. When you do, the choice is to remove it (rewire your brain) and replace it with a new habit of thought that works.

Sales. It's A Matter of Mind. Part 2

In my last blog we discussed the two parts of mind and how they work either for or against you in sales and in life, to recap:

The conscious mind’s job is to analyze, rationalize, contemplate and think. I call it THE THINKER.

The subconscious mind’s job is store huge libraries of information, as well as beliefs, habits, memories and the emotions attached to those memories. This part of our mind uses this information to direct our behavior. I call it THE DOER.

So what behavior are you expressing in the area of sales? If it is confident and positive you have no worries; however, if that behavior is self-defeating or counter productive, you may want to consider reprogramming your mind.

As yourself this question: What is your thought right now about your ability to succeed in business and in sales? Write it down on paper and get it out of your head.

Now examine what you have written. Let’s say you have written: “I feel it is impossible for me to reach my new quota.” Or, “The new service we offer is too expensive, people these days don’t have enough money for that.”

Just like there are laws of physics, there are laws of mind. The Law of Gravity states, “what comes up, must come down”. One of the Law’s of Mind, the Law of Concentrated Attention states, “what you focus your concentrated attention on, over and over spontaneously tends to become a reality.” Or, another way to say it is: “What you expect to happen, happens.”

Back to your original thought, “it is impossible for me to reach my quota.” If that is your focused thought, that is your result. It’s the law.

There are many books about how to “change your mind and change your life.” They are based on this Law of Mind. Your first step is realizing what you are focusing your attention on and then once conscious of that, begin to shift your thinking to something with a more positive tone. For example, you could say to yourself, “In the past, I’ve been held back by a low quota, this new quota gives me room to expand my abilities and reach new heights.” Notice how different that sounds? Which do you choose? Your mind is awaiting your direction. More next time.


About the author.
Valerie Grimes [CHt] is a clinical hypnotherapist in practice in Irving since 2002. She works with individuals to improve sales by uncovering the true cause of under performance.

In Sales, There Are Two Parts of Mind To Consider.

Did you know you have two parts of mind? They are designed to work together, but often they work in opposition. The result? You think one thing, but your actions don’t follow. It’s not the lack of willpower or conscious attention, but rather your subconscious mind's programming that causes you to behave in a way contradictory to your conscious desires.

This is a series of six articles designed to educate you on how your mind works, so you can program your mind to cooperate with you.

CONSCIOUS MIND VS SUBCONSCIOUS MIND

The conscious mind’s job is to analyze, rationalize, contemplate and think. I call it THE THINKER.

The subconscious mind’s job is to not only store huge libraries of information, but also to store beliefs, habits, memories and the emotions attached to those memories. This part of our mind uses this information to express our behavior. I call it THE DOER.

One part thinks the other part’s job is to carry out a thought, which sounds as if it should work; however, our old habits, beliefs and emotions are stronger than our conscious intention. More often than most people realize, the feelings carried in the subconscious can sabotage the conscious mind’s intent, even to land an order.

So how does the subconscious mind become fixated on beliefs and habits that no longer serve us? There are four ways: repetition, an idea presented to us by authority figures, events experienced under intense emotion, and identification with a parent or group.

Basically we are the total of everything we have ever heard, taught, or experienced…and it is all stored in the subconscious mind. The good news is that anything you learned, you can unlearn. Begin today by becoming aware of your thoughts and the subsequent behavior or action. Do they match up? What is your thought right now about your ability to succeed in business and in sales? Does your belief system support that thought? More next time.