I thought you will all find the following article very useful …

” Using Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) as a communication tool can offer trainers a useful insight. Christine Knott gives her tips on using the discipline to sell more effectively. “

Identifying the “preferred” language

The selected words in sentence construction will give a good indication of someone`s ‘preferred’ language. Some of us use visual words such as: ’see,’ ‘looks,’ ‘picture this,’ and other colourful and bright words! A visual may say ‘Can you see what I mean?’ …

Here is the link for rest of the article if you would like to read it all.

http://www.trainingzone.co.uk/topic/strategy/selling-nlp 

Share This

Goals & Targets Settings Training From Christine

I accompanied Christine on a training session last week.  It was a motivating and constructive experience for me as well, as for the trainees. It was delivered at the Oldham Enterprise Factory to the current group of student entrepreneurs. Christine was invited to talk to each group and shared her experiences of starting a business. One of the most interesting parts of the day was when Christine outlined the power of the goal settings and I thought I would share it with you.

The section was titled ‘What do you have to do to make your business a success?’

Quite simply the message was …

‘Know your destination and the plan your route’.

Like the others in the group I was writing down my destination which is my goal appeared very loose. Christine encouraged all of us to add The SMART Formula to our goals.

SMART stands for:

Specific

Measure-able

Achievable

Realistic

Timely

Specific means to be clear about your goal. If it isn`t specific it could take you longer to achieve or at worst you may never achieve it, because it is too ‘woolly and loose’. Specific is the difference between saying, ‘I want to lose weight’ and ‘I will lose a total of 20lbs’.

Measurable means to have something against which you can chart your progress. Beyond The Box is keen on measurements, because if it can be measured it gets done. To add a measurement the phrase could be ‘I will loose a total 20lbs in 3 months. If you know you will be achieving your goal in 3 months time, you can plan your timetable to meet your set date and you can measure your success and achievements against it to ensure you are on the track. If you are not on track, you can make changes to ensure you revert back to it as quickly as you can.

Achievable is an important factor when you are setting goals. If your goal is totally unachievable, you are setting up yourself for failure. Make your goal achievable. I will loose a total of 20lbs per week and I will do this by eating a healthy diet and taking regular exercise.

Realistic means just that is it realistic to loose 2lbs per week? Yes, it is. But to loose 14lbs per week is probably unrealistic for most of us!

Timely - is it the right time to put your goal into action? Is everything in your life focused towards supporting your goal. For instance if you are like me, there is little point in starting a healthy eating plan when you are under pressure of work. That would not be timely for me!

I have already started to think about the goals I want to plan and by following this simple formula it makes the journey really exciting.

The secret for me was when Christine asked us to travel forward in time to the date we had set for achieving our goal. It was quite exciting when we were told to imagine that we now had our goal and think about how we felt. What was different now when we owned it and how much were we enjoying it! What an amazing experience!

Such a lovely surprise that one of the ladies attending the course sent this e-mail to Christine the day after attending her course, clearly Nicole was as inspired as me!

Here is Nicole`s e-mail …

Hi

I attended your lesson at the business factory yesterday and I just wanted to let you know how good it was.

I can`t tell you how positive I left afterwards so much so I felt confident enough to go and ask for some work experience at my local florist, something I had been putting off doing because I was too scared and embarrassed (don`t ask why!)

The lady was really nice and has allowed me do 2-3 hours on my day off which I am so happy about.

I also was proactive and set up a facebook page last night, putting my photos up of work I had done and from this (approx 20 mins after I had set it up) I have provisionally got a wedding booked in for November.

So ‘THANK YOU’ for your excellent talk I was elated the whole day.

All the best and success,

Nicole

Here is Christine while she is answering to the inquiries of the trainees during session.

Have you heard of any other ways of achieving your goal??? If you do, please drop me a line about it!

Share This

Hi Everyone,

Here I am!  My name is Urun and I am the new Communication Officer for Beyond The Box.

Make sure you check our blog and web site regularly to see what are we up to!!

I am here to update you all with our news!

Share This

Here is another BTB appointment !

Welcoming our new Communication Officer Ms. Urun Kilic

http://www.how-do.co.uk/north-west-media-news/north-west-marketing-services/beyond-the-box-appoints-communications-officer-200905265464/

Share This

Here are some great top tips from me for you to create the best rapport on the telephone. Check out the link below to see my article on behalf of Beyond The Box posted on callcenterhelper.com.

http://www.callcentrehelper.com/top-tips-for-building-rapport-on-the-telephone-2646.htm

This topic should be of particular interest to all in the business world.  Do let me know your own thoughts on the subject,  perhaps from your own personal experiences!

Share This

Those who know me well are aware of my interest in letter writing,  business or personal. I still get a flutter of excitement when a personal letter drops through the post. Sadly email doesn’t hold the same thrill factor but the I do like the fact that it enables us all to keep in touch to a much greater level, and that is a good thing. When delivering communication courses I always include a section on written communication with reference to writing the content in the style of the reader. Lynn Gaertner-Johnston the founder of Syntax training has written a lovely article about just that - taking into account your reader when you write. Lynn has included some great tips on how to recognise different styles which is really easy to follow and interesting too!  I know which style I fall into

Take a look at it here and maybe you can spot your own style. Feel free to get back to me to let me know how much you enjoyed it: http://www.syntaxtraining.com/articles_biz_writing1.html

Share This

I am just in the process of collating some information about how we use the telephone. Considering all of the modern day inventions the telephone for me is by far the best. I am currently working from my friend’s apartment in Spain and they set me up to use SKYPE on my PC. It still leaves me astounded how we can speak to, and hear clearly someone in another country. I used the SKYPE this morning to call Joanne at the office and the conversation was as clear as if I was standing next to her.

So as I mentioned I started to take a look at some articles that would enlighten me more about how we use the telephone.

I came across a really straightforward piece that reminded me of a few tips when talking on the telphone.

I am particularly mindful of point 3 which suggests we unplug the phone for a period of time in order to concentrate.

It made me think about the occasions I have called people and they have answered only to tell me they are in a meeting and can’t talk. If that is the case why asnwer the phone in the first place?

Then I realised I am equally guilty of the same thing. Why do we do it? I can only speak for myself in this situation - I’m too nosey! I see a number on the phone that is not familair to me and just have to answer it! It could be the contract that leads me to an early retirement! To date it never has been - as you can see I’m still working. It may be someone I know and just failed to recognise the number, it may be someone selling something, it may be a social call. Whoever it is you can guarantee that if I’m busy I say - sorry busy at the moment I’ll call you back, or in a meeting can you call back later. The message it sends to the caller is ‘I’ve ansered the phone but now I know who you are, I have realised you are not important enough to interupt what I’m doing’. What a great put down and fabulous route to making someone feel inferior. In the same situation I know my thought has always been, why did you answer the call then. Who were you hoping to speak to? Not a good message to send out.

I shall certainly be thinking twice about putting ‘free from telephone’ time aside in the future. I shall also be thinking about how I answer if I am actually busy. My inital thought is to say something in the vein of:

‘Thanks for contacting me, though I am tied up at the moment I didn’t want to ignore your call.  I just wanted to check if it’s OK to call you back in about an hour when we can talk at length without interuption?’

No doubt I will improve on this phrase as I start to use it. It has two benefits that come to my immediate attention

1) I’m sure it will go someway to letting the caller know they are important and that I haven’t dismissed them and made them feel uncomfortable.

2) My natural nosiness can be nurtured!

The last point made in the linked article gives another timely reminder to - which of the six will help improve your telephone talk, let me know your thoughts?

You can find it here:   http://visualizationmeditation.com/telephone-can-be-a-time-waster/138/

Share This

One of my favourite aspects of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) is ‘Representational Systems’. The discovery that some people communicate in visual mode, some in auditory and others kinesthetically suddenly created a huge ‘penny drop’ for me.

As a high visual it was a huge surprise to me to hear that some people cannot ’see pictures’ or visualise a conversation to digest what is being communicated to them. The representational system tells us that:

Visuals use words in phrases such as

It looks good to me,    I can see what you mean,   Is it clear to you?   Picture this

Auditories would say:

It sounds good to me,  Can you hear what I’m saying,  Is this ringing any bells?

Kinesthetics would say:

It feels good to me,  What are your thoughts,  I’ve got a handle on that now,  Shall we touch base.

Listen to the words that others use and communicate with them in their chosen style. Example if you hear people using a lot of visual words in their dialogue, use visual words in your responses, likewise with auditories and kinesthetics. Doing this will help build rapport with the person you are having a conversation with. If you are unable to determine which style they prefer they may be comfortable with more than one so include all three styles in your communication.

Follow this link to check out some more info on this subject particularly in respect of how it can help build better business relationships:

http://www.pertinent.com/articles/communication/spilgrim8.asp

Share This

The majority of Beyond The Box’s  interpersonal and communication training programmes make reference to the use of emails and their impact on communication. The written word has to rely soley on the words selected, puncutation and how the sentance is constructed.

When the written word is used as a communication tool body language and the way the words are spoken are no longer evident as ways to help the receiver understand the message being sent. When the spoken word is used collectively both of these mediums account for approximately 93% of the communication process. That means we rely on the 7% accounted for in words.

Good punctuation comes into its own by making the sentance logical and when used incorrectly it can change the meaning completely. Many of you may have read the book ‘Eats shoots and leaves’ by Lynn Truss. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Eats-shoots-leaves-Tolerance-Punctuation/dp/1861976127 

which explains the importance of using punctuation.

Emails are an important and major part of both our personal and working lives. They can enhance both of these areas or have the opposite effect by alienating friends and customers alike.

You may want to check out this article by Chris McClean for more information.

It’s worth taking a look. 

http://www.pertinent.com/articles/communication/chrisCom1.asp

Share This

I am still amazed at the number of times I go into a store to make a purchase and end up selling it to myself. How do I do this? I end up giving the salesperson all the answers to the questions he doesn’t ask me. I do wait to be asked it’s not as if I jump in and present my needs on a plate before giving an opportunity to be asked anything. If I waited much longer in some stores I wouldn’t be able to sand the silence between us. 

This isn’t always the case I admit some salespeople are highly interactive and have mastered the art of good questioning techniques leading to great customer interaction. In these instances the shopping experience is so much more enjoyable and I leave with the product I really need rather than a poor excuse. This happened on one occasion when I was buying a laptop in PC World. The salesperson was brilliant, uncovering every need I had and recommending the right product for the job.  Sadly I can’t say I have the same experience everywhere and I amazed at the light hearted way many salespeople accept the first answer they hear when they do engage in questing in techniques to identify customer needs. So many key generic features appear on most manufacturers products. The key differentials and the ones that could identify if the product is the right solution for the customer. Sadly the questioning stage of the sale rarely drills deep enough to identify it they would be of use and it needs to. When customers arrive in store many are totally unaware what today’s products can do for them to make their life easier, save time, money improve their carbon footprint etc. Quite simply ‘we don’t; know what we don’t know’! and we need the salesperson help us identify if we can make use of them. It could mean the difference between owning the right or wrong product and difference to the retailer in trading up to more marginally attractive sales – everyone benefits!  

The NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) Metal Model offers a perfect example of how important it is to drill down to fully understand the customer needs. It uncovers the information omitted in any answer due to deletion distortion or sheer generalisation. 

Deletions – Important information is left out of the conversation 

Distortions – Information is twisted in such a way that choices are limited 

Generalization – One example is taken to represent all and this limits possibilities 

ExamplesDeletions – This camera isn’t right for me. Response – What stops it from being right for you? (we can identify what isn’t right so we don’t present it on the next model) 

Distortions – Your service is no goodResponse – What leads you to believe that? (Their belief could be based on someone’s comment, or past your history. If you know what you are dealing with you can re educate correctly)  

Generalization – I’m always on the phoneRespond with – ‘If we can define always I can help you find the best tariff for your mobile phone. How often is always? (Always can be anything to anybody if we can clarify we are in an excellent position to offer the correct product) 

Drilling down with questioning techniques will speed up the sales process and ensure that your customer leaves with the right product for them a winner if you want them to return.

Share This