Unit 8

To Trust, Perchance to Buy

[The author, Donald J. Moine, has a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Ontario,
where he conducted a study of salespeople in various fields. Dr. Moine found the best
salespeople use hypnosis techniques: they mirror the thoughts, tone of voice, speech
tempo and mood of customer — to persuade the customer to buy there product.]

Getting in Sync

1 The best salespeople first establish a mood of trust and rapport by means of
“hypnotic pacing” — statements and gestures that play back a customer’s observations,
experience, or behavior. Pacing is a kind of mirror-like matching, a way of suggesting: “I
am like you. We are in sync. You can trust me.”

2 The simplest form of pacing is “descriptive pacing,” in which the seller formulates
accurate, if banal, descriptions of the customer’s experience. “It’s been awfully hot these
last few days, hasn’t it?” “You said you were going to graduate in June.” These
statements serve the purpose of establishing agreement and developing an unconscious
affinity between seller and customer. In clinical hypnosis, the hypnotist might make
comparable pacing statements. “You are here today to see me for hypnosis.” “You told
me over the phone about a problem that concerns you.” Sales agents with only average
success tend to jump immediately into their memorized sales pitches or to hit the
customer with a barrage of questions. Neglecting to pace the customer, the mediocre
sales agent creates no common ground on which to build trust.

3 A second type of hypnotic pacing statement is the “objection pacing” comment. A

customer objects or resists, and the sales agent agrees, matching his or her remarks to
the remarks of the customer. A superior insurance agent might agree that “insurance is
not the best investment out there,” just as a clinical hypnotist might tell a difficultly
subject, “You are resisting going into trance. That’s good. I encourage that.” The
customer, pushing against a wall, finds that the wall has disappeared. The agent, having
confirmed the customer’s objection, then leads the customer to a position that negates or
undermines the objection. The insurance salesperson who agreed that “insurance is not
the best investment out there” went on to tell his customer, “but it does have a few uses.”
He then described all the benefits of life insurance. Mediocre salespeople generally
respond to resistance head-on, with arguments that presumably answer the customer’s
objection. This response often leads to the customer to dig in his heels all the harder.

4 The most powerful forms of pacing have more to do with how something is said
than with what is said. The good salesperson has an ability to pace the language and
thought of any customer. With hypnotic effect, the agent matches the voice tone, rhythm,
volume, and speed rate of the customer. He matches the customer’s posture, body
language, and mood. He adopts the characteristic verbal language of the customer
(“sounds good,” “rings a bell,” “get a grip on”). If the customer is slightly depressed, the
agent shares that feeling and acknowledges that he has been feeling “a little down” lately.
In essence, the top sales producer become a sophisticated biofeedback mechanism,

1
sharing and reflecting the customer’s reality — even to the point of breathing in and out
with the customer.

5 I have found only one area in which the top salespeople do not regularly pace their
customers’ behavior and attitudes — the area of beliefs and values. For example, if a
customer shows up on a car lot and explains that she is a Republican, a moderately
successful salesman is likely to say that he is too, even if he isn’t. The best salespeople,
even if they are Republicans, are unlikely to say so, perhaps because they understand
that “talk is cheap” and recognize intuitively that there are deeper, more binding ways of
“getting in sync” with the customer.

The Soft Sell

6 Only after they have created a bond of trust and rapport do the top salespeople
begin to add the suggestions and indirect commands that they hope will lead the
customer to buy. One such soft-sell technique is using their patently true pacing
statements as bridges to introduce influencing statements that lead to a desired response
or action. For example: “Your are looking at this car, and you can remember the joy of
owning a new reliable car,” or “You are 27 years old, and we figure that your need for life
insurance is $50,000.” These pacing and leading statements resemble the way a
hypnotist leads a client into hypnosis: “You are sitting in this chair, and you are listening to
my voice” — the unarguable pacing statements — “and your eyelids are getting heavy
and they are beginning to close.”

7 There does not have to be any logical connection between the pacing statement
and leading statement. They can be totally unrelated; yet when they are connected
linguistically, they form a “sales logic” that can be powerfully effective, even with such a
presumably analytic and thoughtful customers as doctors and college professors.

8 The power of these leading statements comes from the fact they capitalize on the
affirmative mental state built by the undeniably true pacing statements with which the
customer is now familiar. Customers who have agreed with salespeople expect,
unconsciously, further agreement, just as customers who have disagreed expect further
disagreement. The “traditional” truth of these pacing statements rubs off on the leading
statements, and, without knowing it, the customer begins to take more and more of what
the sales agent says as both factual and personally significant. Using hypnotic language,
the agent activates the customer’s desire for the product.

9 Average sellers combine pacing and leading statements less frequently and with
less skill than do their superior colleagues. They also speak in shorter, choppier
sentences, and thus fail to create emotional web of statements in which the truthful and
the possible seem to merge.

10 One of the most subtle soft-sell techniques is to embed a command into a

statement. “A smart investor knows how to make a quick decision, Robert.” “I’m going to
show you a product that will help you, Jim, save money.” Salespeople ensure that their
embedded commands come across by changing the tone, rhythm, and volume of their
speech. Typically, as they pronounce the commands, they intuitively slow their speech,
look the customer directly in the eyes, and say each word forcefully. A clinical hypnotist
does the same thing deliberately. “If you will listen to the sound of my voice, you will be a
able to relax.”

2
11 The placement of an individual’s name in each sentence seems like a trivial matter;
yet the position of a name can make a significant difference in how strongly the sentence
influences the listener. Placed before or after the command portion of a sentence, it gives
the command an extra power.

12 By changing their speech rate, volume, and tone, the best sales agents are able to
give certain phrases the effect of commands. “If you can imagine yourself owning this
beautiful car and imagine how happy it will make you, you will want to, Mr. Benson, to buy
this car.” The two phrases beginning with “imagine” become commands for the customer
to do just that. Owning the car is linked to the leading statement of how happy it will
make the customer. Finally, the statement carries the embedded command: “Mr. Benson,
buy this car.”

1200 words

A. Analysis of Ideas and Relationships: Circle the letter next to the best answer.

1. The main point of this article is that:

a. the most successful salespeople use a lot of hypnosis techniques.

b. salespeople should study hypnosis to improve their sales skills.

c. the best salespeople are unethical and will do anything to sell their products.

Please explain your answer.

2. “The best salespeople first establish a mood of trust and rapport by means of
‘hypnotic pacing’ — statements and gestures that play back a customer’s
observations, experience, or behavior.” What is hypnotic pacing?

a. Statements and gestures that play back a customer’s observations, experience, or

behavior.

b. A mood of trust and rapport.

c. Observing the customer’s behavior and gestures.

3. “The simplest form of pacing is ‘descriptive pacing,’ in which the seller formulates
accurate, if banal, descriptions of the customer’s experience. ‘It’s been awfully hot
these last few days, hasn’t it?” How is the second sentence related to the first
sentence?

a. The second sentence is a general statement, and the first sentence is an example of
descriptive pacing.

b. The first sentence is a general statement, and the second sentence is an example of
descriptive pacing.

c. The first sentence introduces a topic, and the second sentence introduces a new
topic.

Please explain your answer.

3
4. In paragraph 2, sentence 4 (“The statements …”), these statements refers to:

a. the previous sentence.

b. the following two sentences.

c. the previous two sentences.

5. In paragraph 2, the two sentences “You are here today to see me for hypnosis” and
“You told me over the phone about a problem that concerns you” are examples of:

a. hypnotic suggestions.

b. the soft-sell technique.

c. descriptive pacing.

6. Which statement is NOT necessarily true?

a. The best salespeople mirror their customers’ political and religious beliefs.

b. The best salespeople pick up their customers’ speech patterns and use them in their
pacing statements.

c. The best salespeople put subtle commands into their soft-sell statements.

7. According to paragraph 6, “You are 27 years old, and we figure your need for life
insurance is $50,000.”

“You are 27 years old” is an example of :

a. a pacing statement.

b. a leading statement.

“we figure your need for life insurance is $50,000” is an example of:

a. a pacing statement.

b. a leading statement.

8. The writer of this article suggests that:

a. the best salespeople set up an atmosphere of agreement through their pacing

statements, and this leads the customer unconsciously to expect that they will agree
on other things as well.

b. most customers, particularly well-educated customers, recognize soft-sell techniques,

and they do not respond to them.

c. the best salespeople do not use the customer’s first name because they realise that
people object to this form of intimacy.

Explain your answer.

9. Which part of statement “I’m going to show you a product that will help you, Jim, save
money” is the embedded command?

a. the whole statement.

b. the last four words.

c. the last three words.

4
10. In an embedded command, the customer’s name is most effectively used:

a. right before the command: Jim, save money.

b. right after the command: save money, Jim.

c. either right before or right after the command.

B. Interpretations of Words and Phrases: Circle the letter next to the best answer.

1. “We are in sync” is another way of saying:

a. we are alike, particularly in our way of thinking.

b. we are going to like each other.

c. we don’t have the same ideas, but we respect each other’s ideas.

2. The best salespeople create a common ground upon which to build trust.

a. a pleasant physical environment

b. a friendly atmosphere

c. an area of agreement

3. Mediocre salespeople jump immediately into their sales talk.

a. move smoothly into

b. rush too quickly into

c. gradually begin

4. “… insurance is not the best investment out there.”

a. in that area of the country

b. available

c. at this time

5. The best salespeople do not respond to resistance from the customer head-on.

a. directly

b. indirectly

c. precisely

6. If the sales agent argues with the customer over an objection, the customer often digs
in his heels all the harder.

a. forgets the objection and goes on to other matters

b. sees that he was wrong to object and admits it

c. objects even more strongly

7. What does it mean when someone says, “That rings a bell”?

a. That sounds familiar to me.

b. That is a good idea.

c. That is a bad idea.

5
8. The salesman said, “These figures will help you get a grip on the efficiency of their
car.”

a. hold on to

b. pick up

c. understand

9. What does the expression “talk is cheap” mean?

a. It is not good to talk.

b. Talk is better than action.

c. Words without action don’t mean much.

10. The truth of the pacing statements rubs off on the leading statements.

a. does not influence or affect

b. influences or affects

c. is contradicted by

C. Synonyms: From this list, choose a synonym for the word in bold type in each
sentence. Use appropriate tenses for verbs and singular and plural forms for nouns.

a strong natural affection to mirror

it would appear that persuasive sales talk

unoriginal and boring average

gently persuasive selling techniques to match

an atmosphere of trust obviously

1. The best salespeople try to build rapport with their customers before they try to sell
them anything.

2. They do this by making statements that play back the customers’ observations and
experience.

3. Sometimes they start off by making accurate but banal statements about the weather,
for example.

4. The best salespeople try to create an affinity between the customers and themselves
so the customers will trust them later on.

5. Only after establishing an atmosphere of trust do the best salespeople begin their
sales pitch.

6. Mediocre salespeople, on the other hand, begin their sales pitch immediately before
trust has been established.

7. The best salespeople try to pace the language, speech, and body language of their
customers.

6
8. They use patently true pacing statements (“What a beautiful sunny day”) to introduce
influencing statements (“A great day to buy a car, Janis”).

9. They use soft-sell techniques, which are composed of influencing statements and
indirect commands.

10. Presumably these hypnosis techniques work well in selling — because the best
salespeople certainly sell much more than mediocre salespeople do.

G. Word Forms: Choose the correct word form to fit into each sentence referring to
the chart as necessary. Use appropriate verb tenses, singular or plural forms for
nouns, and passive voice where necessary.

Noun Verb Adjective Adverb

agreement to agree agreeable agreeably

agreed

commander to command commanding commandingly

command

comparison to compare comparable comparably

hypnotist to hypnotize hypnotic hypnotically

hypnosis

investor to invest

investment

logic logical logically

memory to memorize memorized

memorization

resister to resist resistible irresistibly

resistance irresistible

trustee to trust trusting trustingly

trust trusted

truth true truly

1. trustee, trust, to trust, trusting, trusted, trustingly

a. Who is the ————————— of that estate?

b. She is warm, ——————————— person.

c. Can you —————————— her with this information?

d. Pick out your most ——————————— friend and discuss this matter with him or
her.

7
e. Friendship is built upon ——————————— .

f. He looked at her ——————————— .

2. hypnotist, hypnosis, to hypnotize, hypnotic, hypnotically

a. Would you like to be —————————— ?

b. His voice had a —————————— quality to it.

c. He kept repeating the same words and phrases ——————————— .

d. Some doctors use ——————————— to relax their patients.

e. Would you ever go to a ————————— ?

3. comparison, to compare, comparable, comparably

a. These two products are ——————————— priced.

b. I wish you wouldn’t —————————— me to him.

c. There is no ——————————— between us.

d. This model is ———————————— to that one in price.

4. agreement, to agree, agreeable, agreed , agreeably

a. One reason he is such a good salesmen is that he has a very ——————————

personality.

b. Don’t sign the ———————————— without reading the small print.

c. I found myself ———————————— with everything she said.

d. He reacted ———————————— .

e. We were ——————————— that the conditions of the contract were fair ad

equitable.

5. memory, memorization, to memorize, memorized

a. I have a very bad ——————————— .

b. She has great powers of ————————————— .

c. How long will it take you to ——————————— this speech?

d. A ———————————— speech is sometimes rather boring to listen to.

6. investor, investment, to invest

a. Land is a good ———————————— .

b. Do you want to ———————————— some money in this land?

c. How many ——————————— are there in that investment club?

7. resister, resistance, to resist, resistible, irresistible, irresistibly

a. I am afraid that she was ————————————— attracted to him.

b. I couldn’t ——————————— laughing behind his back.

c. In the 1960s, he was a war —————————— .

d. She thought she was ——————————— , but in fact she was quite
——————————— .

e. He has no ——————————— to respiratory infections.

8
8. logic, logical, logically

a. Let’s look at the matter ——————————— .

b. From the point of view of —————————— , it doesn’t make sense.

c. She has a very ——————————— mind.

9. truth, true, truly

a. Is what he says really —————————— ?

b. Go ahead and tell me the whole —————————— .

c. It is —————————— wonderful news!

10. commander, command, to command, commanding, commandingly

a. Your wish is my ———————————— .

b. He has a ——————————— presence.

c. She spoke ————————————— .

d. He ————————————— the troop to retreat.

e. Who is the —————————— -in-chief?