by Joe Vitale
I love magic. I know many magicians and often attend magic conventions and shows. I haunt the dealer room, where magic tricks are sold. I’m looking for the tricks that make people gasp in surprise and delight.
Unfortunately, most magic is on the level of a prank or kid’s joke. That’s not for me, so most magic that I see disappoints me.
But one day I met a magic dealer at a convention who was very friendly. He took his time with me, listened to my needs, and then responded with some truly hypnotic stories. For example:
“I went into one of those big discount stores,” Mr. Williams, the dealer, began. “The woman behind the counter seemed bored so I decided to do a little magic to liven up her day.
“I asked her to pretend I had a deck of cards in my hand. I then let her shuffle the make believe cards, cut them, deal them out, and pick any card she wanted.
“Remember, all of this was done in her head,” William explained.
“After I let her choose her card, I asked if she wanted to change her selection. She said no. I then announced that her card was the seven of spades.”
Mr. Williams paused before telling me this next statement:
“Well, you could hear this woman’s scream all throughout the store.
“But the story doesn’t end there,” he continued.
“There was a man and his son who heard the scream and went over to see what happened. The woman who saw the trick pointed at me and said, ‘He just fried me by reading my mind!’ They were all as white as ghosts after that.”
As this magic dealer told the story, I could see it all happening in my mind. The details were rich enough to help me picture it in my head. And when he said the woman screamed, I felt that rush of excitement that said, “Get that trick, Joe.”
And yes, I bought that trick.
This same dealer told me two more stories, about magic tricks he did for people and their reactions to them. In every case I was there, mentally, and I ended up buying the tricks.
If you haven’t caught on yet, this is Hypnotic Selling at work.
I’m sure the magic dealer has no idea what Hypnotic Selling is. He does it naturally. So let’s review some key points:
1. He listened to me.
He couldn’t offer any suggestions or stories to me until he first knew what I wanted. So he probed to discover I wanted magic that made people gasp. That clued him to what he should offer me. Had I said I wanted magic for kids, I’m sure he would have told me a story about performing magic for kids. He tailored his story to me. Be doing so, he met me in my existing trance.
2. He told true stories.
He didn’t make up his stories. He told me exactly what happened when he used these tricks in the real world. That subliminally communicated to me that he was honest, and that these tricks would work for me, too. People are always making conclusions based on the little information you tell them. Always be honest, so trust is there when it’s time for the order.
3. He used lots of details.
He told me what store he went to, the name of the woman he performed the trick for (I left them out here, though), and all the details of her reaction. This brought the story to life in my mind and made it easy for me to see myself performing and receiving the applause. People will generally “live out” the story you tell them in their head. The more specifics you can offer, the easier it will be for them to relate to your story.
You get the idea. Hypnotic Selling is all about delivering a message to people that fits what they are looking for, and is delivered in a vivid way.
Do this and you’ll see real magic. People will marvel at your storytelling skills — and they’ll pay you real money, too.
And that’s the best trick of all.
Dr. Joe Vitale is the author of way too many books to list here. Find him at: http://www.mrfire.com
Joe Vitale is one of the experts featured in the documentary Beyond Belief. Get the DVD: www.beyondbeliefthemovie.com
