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May 2001 - Intuitive Selling
- The Unconscious Mind and Intuitive Selling
- Internet Resources (books, articles, humor)
The
Unconscious Mind and Intuitive Selling
by Tom Wood-Young
In order to understand intuitive selling, it is necessary to understand the concept of the unconscious and the ego.
These two parts of human consciousness determine much of our behavior, thoughts and attitudes. They are also important in understanding how we relate to others.
They determine how we act on the surface and on a deeper level we cannot recognize consciously. Without getting too analytical, following is a brief description of the ego (conscious self) and the unconscious (inner self) and how they relate to your sales activities.
Take time to explore this area further. It will bring tremendous value to your sales career.
Go Inside to the Unconscious
The first step to understand the outside world better and to know what success means to you is to get in touch with your inner self or the unconscious.
The unconscious is the part of human beings that is intuitive. It is the power behind all human intentions and actions, providing us with dreams, creativity and imagination. It is who you really are at the core of your being and gives you purpose.
Why do dreams seem so real? The mind does not know the difference. This is an expression of the power of the unconscious.
Your greatest challenge to becoming more intuitive in your selling and more successful in your career is to get in touch with the unconscious and listen to its direction. This will help you stay on target toward living your mission and goals and making the proper decisions as you respond to customers and the environment around you.
The goals and mission are your internal compass, or steering wheel, in making daily and weekly decisions about your sales activities. As you make these decisions, step back, listen to your inner voice and keep them connected with your mission statement and goals. Trust the message of the unconscious; this is intuitive selling.
People may enjoy their work — some people are actually having more fun at work than play. However, most people would rather be doing something else. This is true because many people are not doing the work they love — or work they were meant to do (what their unconscious wants them to do).
The unconscious needs a mission or goal. It can’t wander, unless that is your goal or mission. Your greatest job in life is to find that mission and remove unwanted thoughts or things that are not true to that mission.
The Ego
We have a lot to learn from children. Young children have a high degree of contentment about them and the ability to bounce back from disappointment with ease, which comes from lack of ego.
Also, anyone who has ever competed in sports knows that in order to function at the highest level of ability, he/she must get into the zone. Athletes must remove their egos and operate on instinct or intuition. They must operate from their unconscious.
The ego is the conscious mind. It is the voice in our heads that is critical or "parent-like." The ego is focused on rewarding itself and not helping others. It acts as a barrier to the pure messages that come from the unconscious.
Thus, the terms "ego-maniac" or "big ego" are used to describe people who function solely from their egos. This type of functioning leads to imbalance and selfishness, two of the biggest barriers to selling success. You cannot possibly find ways to help customers and be a great listener if you are functioning from the ego.
Self-discipline can contain the ego and quiet its voice. The concepts you will read about in this book, if put into practice, can help you move away from ego-centric behaviors, which ultimately leads to better intuitive skills and a closer connection to the core of who you are, which is in the unconscious.
The ego has a need to control and the false perception that things can be made safe through control. Let go of your need for control; it’s too stressful and many times can lead to the opposite of the intended result. This leads to difficulties with change.
The ego tends to fight change through fear and worry. The best way to deal with change is to realize that your unconscious is immutable. It is who you are.
Eliminate Negative Self-Talk
The ego is the creator of negative self-talk and fear. The unconscious listens to your self-talk and takes action on what it hears or sees. This is why it is so important to avoid negative people and events.
Identify negative influences and remove yourself from them. Negative thoughts, images, and people hold you back from achieving your potential by influencing and programming your powerful unconscious.
The unconscious needs only positive influences.
Find Quiet Time
Communicating with the powerful inner parts of your consciousness is difficult, but not impossible.
The unconscious needs quiet time to work and express itself. Meditation, prayer or just sitting alone are excellent ways to quiet your mind and let thoughts emerge from your unconscious.
This is not a quick-fix process and it takes time to develop the proper skills. There are many programs that can assist you in these areas and if used wisely and with discretion, can have positive results.
Perceptions are Reality
We see the world in two ways: the way we think things are and through the value we assign to those things. Work on changing your perception of how things are to produce big changes in your life.
You create your own reality. Your unconscious is the key player in this. This is also true of your customers, who develop perceptions of you and your value to them and their organization.
Being in tune with your unconscious is an excellent way of keeping your perceptions more clear and obtaining a better understanding of the perceptions others have of you.
Self-Image
How you see yourself equals the results you get in return.
What is your self-image? Where is your internal barometer set?
- Picture yourself the way you want to be and set specific goals to improve your self-image.
- Determine and write down your specific goals and personal mission statement to be sent to your unconscious.
- These goals must be written down; if not, they will randomly move through your ego and conscious mind, rather then programming your unconscious mind.
- Be around successful people, copy them and add your own personal touch, which improves what they do.
- Follow the advice of winners and do not just listen and do nothing. They are winners for a reason.
- Let go of your ego and take action on self-improvement based on what you have learned from winners.
- There is plenty of room at the top and success is lasting, otherwise it is not success.
- How would you act if there were no chance of failure? Act this way.
- Visualize your success and focus on the end results, or actions, you will be doing when success comes.
- Remove limiting thoughts about success.
- Do not say, "I need to be"; rather, say, "I am this person."
- Visualize how you expect to be in the future and begin acting that way today.
If sales is your profession, then realize that selling is extremely valuable and a service that helps people. It is fun, rewarding, and fulfilling to help others.
Action Steps:
- Learn more about the ego and the unconscious.
- Make time for quiet moments, with no interruptions, and let your mind be silent.
- Listen to the messages about your life’s purpose from your inner self.
- Ask how you can create a personal mission that serves others (see Chapter Five).
- Begin living this mission.
- Learn to control the ego and to release your true inner self. This is the key to happiness and to developing intuitive selling abilities.
About the Author:
Thomas Wood-Young, President of Wood-Young Consulting, a marketing consulting firm in Colorado, is our guest author for May. Thanks, Tom!
This article is an excerpt from his book, Intuitive Selling currently available from Amazon.com, at http://www.IntuitiveSelling.com or by request at your local bookstore. He can be reached at tom [at] woodyoungconsulting.com.
© Thomas Wood-Young 2001 Used with permission
Internet Resources
- Intuitive Selling
- Daily Fix http://www.dailyfix.com/
- "Quotes related to Intuition" http://www.intuitionworks.com/quotes.htm
- Quotes http://www.plumbingstore.com/quotes.html
Books - Disclosure: We get a small commission for purchases made via links to Amazon.
- Intuitive Selling, Thomas Wood-Young 2001. Wood-Young Publishing. ISBN 0-970-62330-5
- Jesus Inc: The Visionary Path: An Entrepreneur's Guide to True Success. Laurie Beth Jones 2001. Crown Business. ISBN 0-609-60717-0
- Slack: Getting Past Burnout, Busywork and the Myth of Total Efficiency. Tom DeMarco 2001. Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-0768-X
Articles
- "Major Account Selling in High-Technology Companies" http://www.saleslinks.com/majoraccounts04.html
- "The Intuitive Child" http://www.ikosmos.com/wisdomeditions/essays/mw/kramer01.htm
- "Switched-On Selling: Balancing Your Selling Brain" http://www.teplitz.com/article5.htm
- "Who Am I? An Intuitive Exercise" http://www.accessnewage.com/articles/mystic/lpete.htm
- "The Conscious and Unconscious Mind" http://www.redrival.com/muzes/channel/ch17.htm
- "The Dream and the Unconscious Mind" http://www.dreamsonweb.net/en/dreamsjournal/200011/the_dream_and_the_unconscious__4.html
- "Which "Unconscious Mind" Do You Trust — Or Train?" http://www.neurosemantics.com/Articles/Unconscious.htm
- "Breaking Through Blockages in the Unconscious Mind" http://www.naturalawakenings.com/brbl1099.htm
- "Unconscious Mind" http://www.w3px.com/poems/1996/1996_06/week_4/pxp02839.htm
- "Insights in Problem-Solving" http://www.medfaq.com/inta4.htm
- "Guerrilla Marketing:No Funny Business - Humor can really screw up your sales process" http://www.infousa.com/homesite/eg_gm_funny.html
- "19 Intuition Tips" http://www.lynnrobinson.com/articles/19tips.html
- "Positive thoughts, positive results" http://www.usatoday.com/life/health/mentalh/lhmhe042.htm
- "Positive thoughts for a positive life" http://www.mensajedeamor.com.ar/Positive%20Thoughts%20English.htm
- "Keeping positive thoughts in your head" http://www.scienceofgettingrich.net/wwwboard/messages/1581.html
- "Success stories share the joys of turning misfortune into opportunity" http://detnews.com/1999/detroit/9908/03/07280064.htm
- "Silence, solitude can help you find your inner self and indeed set you free" http://detnews.com/1999/detroit/9903/30/03240062.htm
The Lighter Side
- "The Family Man: Sales" http://www.ksu.edu/wwparent/humor/family/sales.htm
- "Sales Calls at Home Can be Annoying" http://www.baltimoremd.com/humor/durai042.html
- "Computer Sales Jargon" http://scout18.cs.wisc.edu/NH/95-07/95-07-19/0041.html
- Business/Sales Humor (collection) Warning: Some of these jokes use offensive or non-businesslike language http://www.frogtown.com/~mblake/text-files/humor/business-sales-humor.txt
- Sales Humor (collection) http://www.becquet.com/laughter/29.htm
- Sales Humor http://www.jr.co.il/humor/sales.txt
- Zodiac Career/Office Humor http://www.caryn.com/links/caryn-astrology-humor.html
- Michael Teachings Humor http://www.shepherdhoodwin.com/Humor.html
- "Ineffective Affirmations" http://www.inspiredinside.com/humor/humor_IneffectiveAffirms.htm
Page updated: October 16, 2023
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