In this chapter, we introduce a group of words that will allow you to enjoy more influence over your prospects and make sure they jump to the conclusions you wish and think what you want them to think. You will discover ways to:

• bypass resistance;
• increase responsiveness;
• embed ideas and suggestions;
• effortlessly deliver powerful pre-suppositions and assumptions.

Awareness – what is it and what does it really mean? Does it mean anything other than just having knowledge? When sales professionals promote products and services to their prospects, face to face, via email or in a brochure, it is customary to inform and educate potential purchasers vis-à-vis the unique selling points of their particular product or service. Isn’t it?

For example, let us consider the retail homeware sector. A shopper, considering the purchase of a set of pans, might ask, ‘Why should I buy these? What’s different about them?’ The sales assistant could say something like:

• They have a special coating, unique to this manufacturer, which ensures nothing sticks to them.
• The high-quality manufacturing ensures they will last longer than any others at this price point.
• They are manufactured in Germany.
• They come in a range of colours.

Now, the potential buyer is perfectly informed and has sufficient information to make an educated purchasing decision. Let us now consider a firm of accountants, promoting their professional services to a self-employed local business person. They may say:

• We’ll undertake all your VAT administration. Provide us with your purchase and sales vouchers and we will administer everything else.
• We are local and, if you have immediate concerns, call us and we will send an account manager to your office immediately.
• Our company structure enables us to offer accounting services more quickly than any other firm.
• The majority of our clients are sole traders; we understand your needs.
• We have a team specialising in your industry.

Once again, the prospect has all the facts required to make a decision to either retain this firm or continue exploring the market.

As you consider these examples, you may have noticed the sales approach or part, at least, might be analogous to your own. You can see that the prospect receives a list of unique selling points. Most sales professionals realise the importance of providing appropriate information to guide their prospects towards making buying decisions

Does this approach border on a ‘hard sell’? The benefits are conveyed to the customer and there is no attempt to bypass resistance or increase responsiveness, other than, maybe, initiating curiosity. Which is a good start? I realise, as you continue to read, doubtless you have in mind how you would approach this sales scenario and have methods in mind that work for you. How does the expression go? If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. So, I expect you are curious to learn how to enhance your approach. Our objective in this chapter is not to suggest you discard any sales method that periodically produces results, but to augment it. By increasing your awareness of the effect certain words have on others, so you can integrate them into your sales style and way of working.

What are awareness patterns?

When we say ‘awareness patterns’, we are referring to a small set of words in the English language that imply awareness or knowledge and, compellingly, everything said after them is pre-supposed to be true.

When you use these words to describe the benefits of any product or service, the only open question is your prospect’s ‘awareness’ of the advantages of your offering.

Consider these examples:

I wonder if you noticed the awareness vocabulary in an earlier paragraph? For ease, here it is again; we have italicised the awareness pattern words:

As you consider these examples, you may have noticed the sales approach or part, at least, might be analogous to your own. You can see that the prospect receives a list of unique selling points. Most sales professionals realise the importance of providing appropriate information to guide their prospects towards making buying decisions.

Upon your first reading of this paragraph, it is unlikely you noticed the intentional use of awareness pattern words deliberately planted with the sole aim of gaining your acceptance of the messages contained in the paragraph. Can you recall how you felt as you read this? Did you question anything in the paragraph or agree with what was written?

Awareness pattern words include:

• notice;
• see;
• realise;
• aware;
• experience;
• discover.

• Most people already unconsciously use the vocabulary of awareness. As Brilliant Persuaders, you should deliberately choose these words when it is necessary to intensify an individual’s awareness or gain agreement about something that is important to you.
• Start describing your products and services actively using the vocabulary of awareness. Few will state they have not seen/realised, are not aware or have not experienced or noticed anything you say.

To reinforce awareness pattern words, consider these questions:

• Are you aware most people often assume that whatever someone says after the word notice is correct and hardly ever questioned? See! You have noticed the assumption in this statement, haven’t you? (Are you re-reading it?)
• Have you noticed most people never question what they are told when it comes after the word see? You can see the implications here, can’t you?
• Are you aware that questions containing the word realise are usually taken to be the truth, without question? Do you realise how important this question is?
• Do you realise that people automatically take what is said following the word aware as fact? Don’t they? I am aware you are aware this is true! Isn’t it?
• You have probably discovered how easy it is to start to use awareness patterns every day to maximise your sales, haven’t you?

Below are examples of questions with awareness vocabulary. With your product/service in mind, complete each question by adding the knowledge you wish your prospect to accept subliminally without question. Use them in your next sales presentation.

• Have you noticed . . . ?
• Can you see . . . ?
• Have you realised . . . ?
• Have you already realised . . . ?
• Did you realise . . . ?
• Are you aware . . . ?
• Have you ever experienced . . . ?

As you review these, you will notice they all go against everything frequently explained about questioning technique because they are all closed questions. Remember, in this case, our primary objective is to plant suggestions containing pre-suppositions that we are inviting our prospect to accept as true; we are not seeking the answers to the questions.

As you become aware of the influence you will enjoy by using awareness patterns in your presentations, I invite you to notice how easy it is to plant suggestions into minds of your prospects and clients. Once you start to use awareness vocabulary like this, you will realise quickly that the days of the ‘hard sell’ are truly over!

You will notice it is the ideas that follow the awareness words that we want you to believe. Even if you are not aware, have not noticed or realised anything, you have heard the suggestions and our mission is achieved.

Now you can see how efficiently awareness patterns will enable you to guide your prospects to think about precisely what you want them to think! (Just keep using them!)