6 Physiological Cues for effective sales
Alan Stewart on Aug 05 2007
Physiological Cues
Posture:
Visual – Erect
Auditory – Often Swaying
Kinesthetic – Rounded
Head:
Visual – Up
Auditory – Tilted
Kinesthetic – Down
Breathing:
Visual – High in chest
Auditory – Mid Range
Kinethetic – Low in abdomen
The attributes of tonality and physiology for each of the modalities become easy to remember once you see that there is a simple connection.
If you look closely at the Visual attributes for physiology and tonality, you’ll see that everything is up. The voice speed is up, the pitch is up, the body is erect, the head is up, and the breathing is high in the chest… it is all up.
At the other end is Kinesthetic, where the attributes can be grouped as down. The voice is lower and softer, the body is rounded, the head is down, and the breathing is low in the abdomen… it is all down.
From here, it doesn’t take much to realize that the attributes for the Auditory Modality are mid-way between the Visual and Kinesthetic Representational Systems. In short, we would say Auditory is in the middle.
You’ll remember that on an earlier another post, people who use an Auditory Digital Modality (self talk) may have attributes similar to any of the above three. When it comes to Tonality and Physiology, they are most likely to have similar qualities to the Kinesthetic Representational System.
I would hate for you not to appreciate how powerful this concept is because I have simplified the technology. Time and time again I have seen Sales People improve their selling ability, teachers enhance their teaching skills, and couples overcome misunderstandings because they finally understood and applied this information.
Conversely I have seen others lose sales, install learning disabilities, and create major arguments because they had no idea on how to ‘stay in process’.
For example, imagine this dialogue between a visually inclined teacher and a kinesthetic student:
“Sir, I can’t quite grasp what you’re saying.”
The teacher replies “Let me show you once more.” After attempting to show the student again the teacher then asks, “Do you see what I mean now?”
“No, I still feel like I can’t do it.”
The teacher replies with slight frustration, “Look, you just need to watch more closely when I’m showing you.”
The next time you’re in a selling situation, determine what modality your client or customer favours and then sell accordingly.
For example, let’s say you sell cars and a potential buyer walks into the car yard. Everything about the buyer, in terms of tonality and physiology, is up. You also notice they use visual predicates when they speak with you. You therefore determine they are visually inclined and use a visual slant in your sales presentation. Show them the interior and exterior of different cars, do comparisons on looks and colours, let them see the glossy coloured brochures, etc.
Write down all the ways you would sell to an Auditory and then a Kinesthetic Customer.