Have you ever noticed that some people get an almost ‘magic’ response, just by using certain words?
Words which NLP practitioners variously refer to as ‘power words’ or ‘magic words’ can be used to elicit certain emotions and responses that may help overcome customer objections and close the sale.
This isn’t magic of course, it’s simply a selection of words commonly associated with pre-programmed habitual responses, some of which can be particularly helpful and influential when used as part of sales conversations.
For example, to invoke positive emotions, words like believe, change, success and happy are often effective, while words such as imagine, truth, secret and expose can trigger curiosity.
Adding extra emphasis to these words can make them even more powerful. For example, repeating key phrases like “you’ll love this product”, in subtly different ways can help steer your customer in the desired direction.
“FREE”:
People love the word “free”. You can give practically anything away for free, no matter how small, and you’ll grab people’s attention. Things which are free are often more attractive than alternatives that if examined rationally would actually be better value. This is because we’ve programmed ourselves to automatically associate the word ‘free’ with ‘good’. As you’ll learn later in the programme, giving away unexpected, no strings attached, free gifts can be a powerful weapon of influence too. We don’t like feeling as though we’re in someone else’s debt, and so (if used correctly) free gifts can trigger an innate need for customers to reciprocate.
“INSTANT”:
More than ever in this fast-paced world, people hate to wait. The frontal-cortex of your brain is the region that fires-up when you’re making complex plans and difficult decisions, whereas your reward centre sits within your mid-brain. Several MRI studies have shown it’s our frontal cortex that’s activated when it comes to waiting for something, whereas words like “instant,” “immediately,” or even ”fast” are triggers for more rewarding mid-brain activity.
“EXCLUSIVE”:
Everyone wants to be in the ‘in’ crowd. When something is exclusive – only available to a select group – people want it even more. You can exchange the word exclusive for other words or phrases that mean the same thing too, and they can be just as powerful, such as members only, invitation only, first, insider.
“LIMITED”:
We all hate missing out.
“EASY”:
People like an easy life, which is what makes phrases such as “easy to use” so powerful.
So there you are, a selection of words which you can sprinkle into your sales conversations to help you close that sale!