How to Read Your Client's Mind Part One by Michael Lovas Did you ever wish you could read someone's mind? Did you ever dream of knowing what made some prospects say "Yes"? Did you ever want to know how your childrens' minds work? Did you ever wonder why you can "click" with some people in seconds? And with some other people, you can't agree on anything? In this article I'm going to introduce you to some simple, easy and very effective ways of reading anyone's mind. I'm going to show you how to make sense of human psychology. Once you integrate these ideas and start using them, you'll find that many more people warm to you, your sales job becomes easier, and you quickly past sales and enter the realm of trusted advisor. Perhaps the most important benefit you can gain from the knowledge in this article is a broader awareness. Armed with this wisdom, you should be able to have a much wider range of flexibility in your responses to questions, objections and requests. In the book Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus, John Gray divides the world into two camps - men and women. Although it's a gross over-simplification, it is a logical starting spot for organizing people. Let's see how we can do a better job. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is probably the most widely used psychological assessment tool in use today, but it's loaded with problems. Although it's highly effective, it's also confusing as heck. First, there's too much to remember because it divides people into 16 different Type categories. Unless you're working with MBTI on a regular basis, you will forget the classification system. Are you an E or I? Are you an N or S? Are you a T or F? Are you a J or P? If you can't remember what your own Type Indicators are, it's a safe bet that you won't be able to figure out someone else's Type using that system. The biggest problem with using an assessment tool like MBTI (or the spin- offs such as DISK) is that you have to administer a written test to people in order to understand who they are. That's absurd in a sales situation. "Mr. Adams, please fill out this 160-question survey so I'll know how to sell my products to you."Nonsense. The key to being able to use a Personality Type Identification System is in the simplicity of the system. I've developed a system of understanding a person's psychology by reading the lines on their faces. The idea is logical and simple. When you have a general attitude, you make a face representing that attitude. When you repeatedly make that face, you create lines on your face. By recognizing what attitude caused the lines on your face, I can interpret your general attitude. I call this the system, "Facial Mapping." There are two problems with Facial Mapping. First, it's not exact. For that matter, a problem with all the Personality Assessments is that none of them are exact. Second, it doesn't tell you what the person's immediate state is. Bottom line in sales is this:sales are mostly made to people who like you. When was the last time you sold something to someone who didn't like you? In his book, You're Working Too Hard To Make The Sale, Bill Brooks sites this primary research: 6,852 decision makers were asked to remember the purchases they made from a salesperson they disliked 44% responded None; 30% only one. How do you make people like you? You use verbal and nonverbal techniques to build rapport with them. With that in mind, perhaps the major benefit of Facial Mapping is that by using it, you begin to pay more attention to your client, prospect, spouse, child or coworker. You quickly learn where they are at that moment. What their immediate state of mind is. That's really the biggest hurdle. So many financial and insurance professionals focus on their own knowledge instead of the other person's immediate state of mind. What to look for in a person's face. First, look at the person's forehead. If there are no lines there, that indicates the person's main activity is probably mental. It indicates someone who is constantly making quick decisions. Second, look at the lines above and to the outside of the eyes. Those are "judging" lines. Picture someone who raises her eyebrows a lot as if saying, "Oh? I'm not sure this meets my criteria."The lines above and to the outside of the eyes are created by raising eyebrows while judging. Third, look for vertical lines between the eyebrows. Those lines indicate deep thought. People with those lines take in information - great quantities of information. They're not necessarily good at making decisions because they're always looking for more information. Fourth, look for horizontal lines across the forehead. I call those the "Roy Rogers" lines. They're created from excitement. The person who has them has a tendency to get excited and raise both eyebrows as if to say, "Wow!" Fifth, look for those sweet-looking smile lines on the outside of the eyes. They're created when the person smiles in his or her eyes. That's a nurturing smile as in, "Oh look at the baby!"or "You deserve a hug today." The culture in England contains a beautiful phenomenon called the neighborhood pub. The pub lives or dies based on how quickly the bartender establishes rapport with people when they first walk in. Maybe you've had a waiter or clerk or bartender who gave you the luxurious impression that he or she was there to give you the best service you'd ever experience. Within seven seconds, you get that impression, or you can sense that the bartender believes you to be there for him to make money from. There is a world of difference between the two, and that choice point is inherent in your business too. Your prospects know in seven seconds if you're there for them, or if they're there for you. On the other hand, you have seven seconds to give that impression. The first step to doing that is to read the map on the other person's face. The second step is to mirror that map. Continued Next Month Michael Lovas is the author of Beyond Wave Marketing - how to add credibility to your relationship marketing program. He's a sales and marketing coach specializing in the financial industry. And, he's a licensed practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming. Michael teaches professionals how to develop their personal credibility to make more sales with less effort. He has spoken to: MDRT, IAFP, NAILBA, Society of Certified Senior Advisors, NALU chapters, NAHU chapters, American Marketing Association chapters, and many businesses. Michael also writes Credibility Marketing programs, ghostwrites books for financial professionals, and in his spare time he's a professional musician. For bookings, or to order Beyond Wave Marketing: Michael Lovas c/o AboutPeople 10718 Morning Glory Drive Dallas, TX 75229 michael@aboutpeople.com http://www.aboutpeople.com/CredibilityMarketing