Which is also basically what hypnosis is supposed to
convince you to believe (unless you’re facing a bad, bad person). Well, that is
what your customers want to hear when they call your support line for a
problem, or when you happen to have the product that will drastically improve
their lives. The key is to use arguments that seem perfectly logical to
illustrate what you’re saying. Do not use words like “I believe”, but base your
arguments on external, objective elements: this will work on your customers’ persuasion
on a subconscious level.
What do you think, manipulative? Maybe it's only manipulative if you know that the agent is deliberately working you. But people are willing to concede so much ground so often in so many different situations that it seems relatively easy to give ground to people if for no other reason than to hear a voice take you serious. I don't know. I mean from a psychological standpoint, people do get lonely.
The author of this piece, by the way, is one Miruna Mitranescu. Never heard of her. She continues:
For instance, use logical connectors to structure your
argumentation: “as”, “because”, “that is why.” In this great post on
Kissmetrics’ blog [behavorial analytics and engagement platform, indeed], “3
hypnotic power words," [imagine, you, and because] Bnonn Tennant asserts that “Because” is actually a
hypnotic word and gives a pretty convincing example:
This is expertly illustrated by Robert Cialdini in
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, where he cites a study you’ve probably
heard of, performed by Ellen Langer at Harvard. Langer asked to push in line at
the library to photocopy some papers:
Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine
because I’m in a rush?”The number of people who agreed: 94%.
Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox
machine?” – The number of people who agreed: 60%.
You’d be inclined to think the difference was because of
the reason she gave. But a further experiment indicated otherwise…
Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine
because I have to make some copies?
The number of people who agreed: 93%. Notice that no real
reason was given this time. In other words, "because I have to make some copies" is not a distinctive reason that someone else might say, oh, sure, go ahead. Versus saying "because I am in a rush," well, others will recognize that as a need since we've all been there. And a person waiting in line has already signed off on his time to wait, effectively giving up the urgency of being in a rush at least for now. Ms. Mitranescu explains
Obviously, everyone waiting for the Xerox
machine had to make copies. Yet nearly as many people agreed as when a real
reason was given.
These techniques are often used by politicians. For
instance, in his Denver acceptance speech, Obama declared: “We need change” –
an assertion with which pretty much everyone would agree to – and added “that
is why I will become your next president”, creating a logical link between the
two assertions.
Tip #1: Improve customer support by using logical arguments
to illustrate your answers.
Listen to your customers carefully and engage with
questions. In order to determine what kind of personality you are and
what types of hypnosis a professional will use, hypnotists often start by
asking subtle questions.
Read this:
Indeed, the key to tell what your customers want to
hear more is to let them talk so you can understand them better. Even more
importantly, you should manage your timing so they don’t get the feeling
they’re giving away too much information without getting something in return.
I recognize this technique.
When you feel you have gained some sympathy from your
customers, engage them with questions – the reason for asking is to encourage
your interlocutor to tell how good they feel: it makes this feeling stronger.
Tip #2: engage with meaningful questions to your customers
to gain sympathy
Find a “happy place” for your customers
Hypnotists often let you slip into a “happy place” of your
own by telling you a story. This is very important when phoning your customers
– even more than other means of communication such as emails – because you are
taking a very valuable amount of their time to talk with them. Always remember
that people like to hear a story and feel they understand its whereabouts.
Every Thursday, Dan Martell, CEO of Clarity, picks up the
phone to call 25 to 30 users and asks how the company can make a better product
to suit that user’s needs. Dubbed “smile and dial,” he gathers direct feedback
but he isn’t just doing customer development—he’s inspiring word of mouth. How
often do you receive a phone call from a company that isn’t trying to directly
sell something? Almost never. Dan delights his users with genuine interest and
conversation. This manual, human touch is memorable and sharable.
Tip #3: storytelling is central to a successful phonecall
with customers
Watch your tone
Ever heard the saying “bewitching voice”? Some people get
the gift of a voice that would make anybody do anything, just like a spell… And
most hypnotists get this gift, only they work for it. Forget pinching voices
and speaking fast: your #1 concern is to enunciate, speak at a rather slow
pace, lower your tone, smile, and sound confident.
Stressing certain words also changes the meaning or the
tone you give to certain sentences. For instance, here is an example with the
phrase “What would you like us to do about it?”
Say it defensively (emphasizing the words “would you”):
“What would you like us to do about it?”
Say it with curiosity (emphasizing the words “like us”):
“What would you like us to do about it?”
Say it with apathy (not emphasizing any of the words):
“What would you like us to do about it?”
Being aware of this technique can help you a lot on working
on your tone.
Tip #4: a slow and clear voice can make you sound more
confident to your customers
Breathe.
Hypnosis sessions all start by a long series of breathing
exercises. These exercises, like yoga, basically aim at relaxing you. During
our work-day, we rarely take the time to focus on breathing, arguing that it is
no priority to our productivity. Well, knowing that just a few but regular deep
breaths can lower your oxygen consumption, get you more energized, repair cells
faster, decrease stress and anxiety, and ultimately, increase your empathy,
don’t you wanna give it a try?
When hesitating on an answer over the phone, consider
pausing as a valuable moment: it gives you time to gather your ideas and
relieve the stress rush. Both of these tips just require the time-span of a
breath, about 2 to 3 seconds.
Tip #5: breathing is no waste of time when
phoning your customers
