Have you ever been sold to so subtely that you didn’t realise until you thought about it. Where, you had no intention of making a decision, but found yourself nodding along, and before you knew it, you had signed a commitment for far more money than you intended to spend (if you intended to spend any at all)?

That’s what happened to me when I went to my first ever workshop run by Chris Howard, who, at the time, was teaching NLP techniques around the world. He came to Perth and I was given a free ticket to a three day workshop.

I went, and before I knew it, I had committed $35,000 I didn’t have to fly across the country for the next two years, again, using money I didn’t have, to learn all there is to know about the use of NLP.

I’m so glad I did. The tools and techniques I learned were astounding and, quite literally, changed my life, because NLP is a powerful method that can be used in every situation in life. I suppose if I were to nutshell what NLP is, I would say it is the application of a wide range of techniques that each, on their own, accelerate a change of mindset in the subject.

The skill is in applying the right technique seamlessly so the subject is unaware they are being “manipulated”. So in every workshop we were cautioned to only use our new found manipulative skills “with integrity”, to “benefit the subject”, and “only with their permission”.

In the corporate setting, NLP can be used to improve communications in the workplace. It can also be applied as an immensely powerful training tool, and enhance sales results.

At the personal level, it can be used to change relationships and improve health and wellbeing.

In fact, anywhere where you want to persuade someone to take a particular course of action, the many tools and techniques of NLP come in handy, from the application of Ericksonian Hypnosis right through to simple reframing.

The obvious use of NLP is in Life Coaching, where people use hypnosis and coaching tools to help others get over any blockages and limiting beliefs holding them back in their life. A second obvious use is in sales, and many outbound telemarketer scripts are written by an NLP practitioner, to help the marketer keep the person on the line long enough to say “yes”.

The application of NLP is my secret weapon in the preparation of tender responses. It unfortunately is only applying about 2% of what I learned, however is very effective in articulating value propositions to greatest effect.

For those who have heard that NLP is a “pseudoscience”: it probably is. Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that are claimed to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Scientific inquiry requires the same result is consistently achieved, and this is not possible where the result is achieved at the hands of practitioners with varying skill levels. Since the techniques I use work how they are supposed to, I’m indifferent to the pseudoscience claim.

If you would you like to know more about how NLP can be used to skyrocket your sales please leave a comment and let me know.