When the economy get rough, the tough get smarter

OK, so we all know it's a tough economy right now. So how do we move constructively beyond that reality? The people who are succeeding are either using more effective skills or they are learning new ones to apply.

Whether you are selling a product or business service or perhaps searching for a new position, the language of influence from Neuro-Linguistic Programming might be one of the best tickets you can use to succeed in these difficult economic times.

If you just asked yourself, "What is Neuro-Linguistic Programming?" you are not alone. For more than 20 years, I have been explaining that Neuro-Linguistic Programming means our brain's program, our thoughts and actions, using words and images. NLP is a technology that shows us why we communicate well with some people and not with others and how to change that communication gap.

NLP seems to take the cover off our brains and shows our unique programming. By using NLP, we can actually change the way we talk, so people who are different from us can understand and even like us. And all of this is possible by knowing some of the NLP principles and techniques.

One really essential NLP nugget is to listen and observe the words someone says, such as verbs and adjectives, and then use a few of their key words to help relate to them better. People who naturally do this usually have an easy time establishing relationships and communicating.

Typically, our friends talk like us. We enjoy talking or texting with them because they are like us. Using each other's words makes it easier to relate. This one NLP nugget can be used to make new friends in a grocery line, coffee shop or at a party.

As I thought about potential business and personal applications, I realized this technique can also be very valuable if you are interviewing for a job, selling a product or just wanting to influence your children to eat their vegetables. We communicate to understand and to influence others.

So what do you do if you want to communicate better and influence others? First you become an avid observer by listening to people's verbs and adjectives. Then when responding to something they said, use a few of those specific verbs and adjectives in your own comments back to them.

In NLP, we call that "matching." You are literally matching their words and using them to extend the conversation. When you do this, people want to talk more with you. They begin to unconsciously think you are like them. The more you do it, the more likely you are to have a better relationship.

I immediately saw more business applications for this and other NLP nuggets. People could communicate better with their co-workers. Good people could be hired because they built a good relationship with the hiring manager. More productivity could occur because people see more similarities, teams could become more cohesive, and sales people would sell more successfully.

I began to ask myself: If you developed this skill, what could you achieve in your work and your personal life? What if you could show others how to do it? I began to see many applications and I wanted to learn more. I became extremely curious about NLP because it was the first communication technology that could explain how successful people can communicate so well to so many different kinds of people globally.

After much study and lots of practical application, I became a certified NLP master practitioner and trainer, which means I have been formally trained and tested to teach people how to successfully communicate, quickly build new relationships and influence from a point of integrity. Successful business people use these skills to create results. How they specifically do that is the question NLP answers in explicit detail.

NLP originated from the video study of experts in communication and therapy in the 1970s. Some people are more successful than others because of their influencing capabilities. They know just the right strategies and phrases to use so people enjoy learning and buying new useful products. When learning NLP, these skills are broken down into manageable parts and techniques so everyone can learn to influence more effectively.

Over the last year, I have conducted sessions for the ReviewJournal.com's Job Seekers Workshop entitled "Go From Unemployed to Employed, Using the Right Words." These job seekers told me they were having difficulty getting hired during this tough economy. I saw that the job seekers were ineffective at selling themselves and their skills. They focused on using words and phrases that worked in the past but, in today's market, those words fail to separate them from their competition.

Job seekers are attracted to this workshop because they realize their strategies are not working, and they are looking for new ways to get an edge over their competition. During the training we look at the job seekers current nonpersuasive words and then give them new phrases from NLP to help them make an impression and ultimately get hired. We also look at their nonverbal communication to see what they could do to communicate better and to build a solid relationship during the interview.

Company decision-makers are looking for that candidate who has something extra. It's more than just the knowledge and experience. The NLP techniques I show the job seekers help them influence the decision-makers both verbally and nonverbally.

Participants who attended NLP sessions from the ReviewJournal.com workshops have told me they experienced successes in using the NLP techniques and many have become employed. Upon completing the workshop session and my seminar, Sell More Now!, a lady told me she was offered a job, which she attributed to her newly learned NLP skills.

In my consulting business, I create and conduct customized NLP workshops for experienced sales people and business leaders to make more sales, positively influence significant people and motivate others to get out there and sell more now. The participants of my programs are usually very competent at what they do but they want more results. They have found that NLP gives them new methods to create those results.

I have found that an effective long-term selling relationship starts from a perspective of integrity, identifying what the client desires or needs, and whether they can afford the cost now or in the future. From this position of integrity, selling is really just educating the client while using influencing words. Then clients see a product's advantages and disadvantages so they can make the best decision.

By learning NLP phrases and methods, our seminar participants have commented that the sale moves to the close quicker and smoothly. And if you are in sales, life just got better and easier for you.

To meet a company's requests, I customize the Sell More Now! workshop for its sales teams to learn how to use the relevant and significant NLP language skills to sell more. One of the participants summarized it well by writing: "With the state of our economy, we all need effective ways to increase our business." These participants are professionals in the areas of consultative business-to-business sales, tangible and intangible sales, and retail sales.

I have been training sales people in the Las Vegas Valley and across the country since the early '90s on how to use NLP skills and techniques to effectively influence others. The design of every Sell More Now! workshop has been built with practical hands-on NLP statements to match each of the attendee's product or service.

Together, we practice the skills and techniques on their tangible and intangible products and services. Job seekers come to our public program to learn more about how to influence hiring managers during interviews.

Participants attending my workshops report learning as many as 20 new techniques that they use immediately. We look at words, phrases, how to read and use nonverbal language, and other NLP nuggets, including the use of multiple strategies at once.

The results indicate they have made larger sales and exponentially more sales following the training. Here's a statement one participant said, "My regional sales director was blown away with my sales presentations, not to mention my record-breaking numbers after I took Sell More Now! the first time. I returned for a refresher course and realized some important components that will boost my effectiveness to a whole new level."

The best sales people quickly learn these techniques, successfully use them and come back wanting more. People quickly see their future opening up using these skills and techniques.

In a tough economy, having that influencing edge can help you get the job or sell more. I often say to participants: "Remember, just because the economy is down, doesn't mean that you can't become one of the winners. You just need to have an extra special set of skills and techniques like NLP."

These skills have multiple applications whether you are presently employed or looking for your next position. In a down economy, landing a new job requires more than just being persistent; it means being able to use better-than-ordinary selling skills. When looking for a new position, you must act like a sales professional. After all, you are selling your most important product, which is you.