From clucking like a chicken anytime someone claps their hands to being forced to buy Coca-Cola through subliminal messages at the movie theater, there are many ways a person can be put into a hypnotic state.
Being in any state of high suggestibility is a form of hypnosis. It might not be the kind of hypnosis you first think of when you hear the word, but it is indeed a way of being hypnotized, so to speak.
You see, being in any state of mind where you are consciously unaware of the purposeful goings-on constitutes you being hypnotized. For instance, if you are unknowingly being pushed a product or a message subconsciously that can have the power to change your mind about something or set you on a different path than you consciously would otherwise.
This is when suggestibility turns covert. Instead of being able to notice the hidden agenda, you simply go along with it, unbeknownst to you any ulterior motives.
Not to say that the ulterior motives are always negative. In fact, many times covert hypnosis of this manner occurs to share positive messages or to govern a group to do good.
Environmental causes
There are many companies and products that are going green for the environment. In selling these items, companies want to, of course, capitalize on their green initiatives. Instead of being too obvious and showy about the positive influences on the environment a product has, subtly discussing it can help the message go further.
The subtle referencing of how a product or service can help not only the customer but also this beautiful earth can do wonders for sales. Most people will be more willing to buy a similarly priced product if it will also give back to others or mother nature herself.
All of this can occur on the subconscious level, if given the chance. All parts of a person’s mind will have similar moral standards that a particular person tries to follow. So if the suggesting of a product’s good deeds enters the mind subconsciously, it will be taken into account similarly as for the person being conscious of the message.
The governance of suggestibility
Your subconscious is physically (and of course mentally) unable to reason new information on its own—that’s what the conscious mind is for. Therefore, anything that is presented to you solely subconsciously is immediately believed to be true.
When we sleep our brains file away any information from the day. Our brains know what is useful information, what is a memory to be kept long term, and what is more minor information which can be filed away in the recycle bin of the mind.
Your brain, therefore, picks up any information it deems to be true and useful in the moment—such as anything taught subconsciously that day—and files it away as important and truthful information. This means a few days later when you feel like something feels right and true, but you can’t quite place why you know that or where you learned it, it’s possible the information was passed directly to your subconscious.
Having information govern the way you go about your daily life without you even realizing it is how covert sales hypnosis works. Using this kind of power to too much of an extent is a moral question as to whether it’s the right thing to do. But safely placing products or keywords in the minds of customers, allowing them to connect the dots as to whether it’s something they want to buy or partake in, is a much more ethical way to use this type of mind trick in sales.
Advertisement influence
Influence from things like advertisements of products can be very persuasive. The key here is to get into the minds of your intended audience - not by putting them in some deep trance, but by framing your product and message to their perceived ideals and values.
Framing your product in this way and showcasing, either through visual images or with carefully chosen verbiage, how their lives would be better by using the product, can help them identify their need for it.
To do this type of influencing it is very important to not take an in-your-face approach. To send your message into the subconscious mind the message must almost be a side note, a background piece that is barely detectable.
This is done by having a few things going on at once. A customer's or audience’s attention is in one place, while you are placing certain messages in another place where the subconscious mind can easily pick it up, but the conscious mind hasn’t caught on yet.
Product placement
If this sounds familiar, it is because it is a trick many magicians use. A magician finds a way to set up the end result of a trick or illusion by all the while making suggestions that the audience doesn’t even realize.
The magician will say certain words repeatedly or frequently point to a certain color, all to suggest to the unassuming parts of the mind a specific response. When used in sales and advertising, this type of suggesting can result in desired products being quite successful.
One key way sales can be driven up, up, up is through product placement. Strategically placed items, either in real life, on a print or digital advertisement, or even in speech, can set up a safe zone in the mind of a client or customer. Once they see these things in action, in every day safe places, they will come to the assumption that this product is the norm.
Repetition comes into play here again, similar to a magician’s trick. Repeatedly having a product shown in the same way, or in multiple positive ways, can strengthen the subconscious mind’s response, allowing the memory of the product to be even more ingrained in the mind.
Usage of keywords in sales
Using certain slogans or phrases over and over again in sales can be too much for a customer. They will quickly see what is going on and be turned off by the impersonal nature. The key here is finding a way to share a company’s or product’s message in a covert way.
This is really a type of communication intended to enter the subconscious mind without being recognized. While that might sound a little bit on the shady side, as long as there are no ill intentions, it’s not akin to forcing someone to do something against their will.
The subconscious and conscious mind both take on information, like a little information gathering center. One helps the other paint a bigger picture as to what is going on around a person.
With the right subtle advertisements, slogans, and other auditory and visual cues, an informed salesperson can go far with sharing their product on a subconscious and conscious level.
