NLP Persuasion Techniques for Salespeople
Building Rapport & Influence

Using NLP Persuasion Techniques to Communicate Clearly, Build Trust, and Influence Without Pressure

What Is NLP and Why It Matters for Persuasion

Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) is an approach to communication and behaviour that explores the relationship between how people think, how they communicate, and how they act. Used responsibly, NLP persuasiontechniques help you increase trust, enhance understanding, and influence decisions in personal and professional interactions.

In sales, persuasion isn’t about tricks — it’s about aligning your communication with how people actually form decisions and process language. NLP gives you practical patterns that help you communicate so others think and feel understood, increasing agreement without manipulation. In short, NLP offers a set of powerful techniques that can significantly enhance your persuasive abilities.

As one of the founders of NLP, Richard Bandler, has said:
“NLP is an attitude and methodology that leaves behind a trail of Techniques. The attitude is Curiosity and the methodology is Modelling.”

So, it wasn’t long before NLP was applied to excellent salespeople and modelling them gave rise to a trail of techniques known as NLP Persuasion.

This page shows you how NLP persuasion works in a sales context and how you can use specific NLP persuasion techniques to enhance every interaction.

Core NLP Persuasion Techniques That Work in Sales

1. Rapport — The Foundation of Influence

Let’s start from the very beginning of a sales discussion.
In order to sell to someone they have to be open in communicating with you.

Effective persuasion starts with rapport — that feeling of natural connection and mutual understanding.
In NLP, rapport is the bridge that lets conversations move from resistance to openness.

So, Rapport is the foundation of influence.

Many sales trainers will suggest you look for common ground between you and your prospect. Like, if you see a golf trophies on his desk or a picture of his children then you talk about it.

The idea behind this is that we are social people.
Once you are perceived as being in the same group as another person (i.e. you are both golfers) there is some degree of similarity which implies connection and helps engender trust.
And we all know trust precedes the sale.

The main problem I have with this is the connection is NOT on a business level. 

I’m sure you would have had the following experience.

You are with a prospect and happily talking about golf and sharing funny stories and everything is good. Now, it has reached the time you need to talk about business. You raise the subject and the prospect changes position in their chair and their tone changes instantly maybe then even fold their arms. “It’s down to business”. And what has happened to that connection, that Rapport? Gone ? Or at least changed ?

There is a better way to establish a connection with your prospect.
Rather than small talk about hobbies, build rapport by using NLP techniques.

Key elements of building rapport with NLP include:

• Matching & mirroring: subtly align your body language, tone, and talking speed with the other person.
• Use their language: reflect their concerns back in their own words.
• Attention to cues: listen for emotion and intention, not just facts.

When people feel understood, they become more receptive to your ideas — not because you’re influencing them, but because you’re communicating their priorities.

When applying these techniques, it’s crucial to remain authentic and subtle.

I have written more about it in an article called Sales Rapport.

While doing this don't forget 

• Active Listening: Pay full attention to the other person, showing genuine interest in their thoughts and feelings.
• Empathy: Try to understand the other person’s perspective and validate their experiences.
• Maintain eye contact, use a friendly tone, and keep an open posture to signal approachability.

2. Use Language With Awareness

Remember the second word in NLP is “linguistic”.

It operates in two ways in the sales process.
Firstly, we can understand a lot about our prospect by paying attention to the structure of the language they use.
Secondly, we can structure our language in terms of NLP Persuasion to have the maximum persuasive influence on our prospect.

Language patterns aren’t tricks — they’re purposeful structures to clarify thinking and reduce confusion.

Certain NLP language models are used to get a client clear about what they really want.
I touched on this in Needs versus Wants.

It can be surprisingly difficult to get people to tell you what they really want.
Often, when you ask someone what they want they will tell you what they don’t want.  
NLP gives us a way to help them figure out what they want.
“Well, ideally, if there were no constraints on size or price, what would you really like?”
Then, they have to go inside their head, remove the constraints they had imposed upon their thinking and really think about the possibilities.

NLP highlights several patterns that improve impact when used ethically.
Core patterns include:

• Presuppositions: embed assumptions that guide thinking by default.
  Example: Instead of saying: “If you decide to try this approach…” Say: “When you start using this approach…”
• Embedded suggestions: subtle phrasing that highlights desired outcomes.
• Metaphors, stories and analogies: make complex ideas intuitive and relatable.
  Example: “Adopting this system is like repairing a leak in a pipe. You might not notice the savings immediately, but over time you stop losing what was quietly draining away.”
• Use vague language to allow the listener to fill in the gaps with their own experiences. This is hypnotic.

Hypnotic Selling is very powerful.

Even how you speak can make a difference.
"It's not what you say but how you say it".

Canadian’s are well known for their tendency to raise their voice at the end of a sentence. Canadians are often perceived differently to Americans. Could this have something to do with this language habit?

You see the meaning of what we say can be influenced by our tone of voice. Especially, how we end a sentence.

Basically, we have three choices.
As we say something we can finish the sentence with:

• An upward voice intonation
• An unchanged voice intonation
• A downward / deeper voice intonation

Try it for yourself. 

Let's pick a sentence to say. "You want to buy this."

Say that sentence with an upward tone at the end.
Sounds like a question, doesn’t it?
Now say that sentence again and say the last two words louder and deeper.
Can you notice the difference?

I discuss this in my post on NonVerbal Communication.

For more on tone and persuasion go to Subliminal Persuasion.

3. Observe and Adjust to Sensory Preferences

People internally represent experiences in different “sensory channels”: visual, auditory, or kinesthetic. Skilled communicators listen for cues like:

• Visual words — “see”, “picture this”
• Auditory words — “hear”, “sound good”
• Kinesthetic words — “feel”, “experience”

Reflecting a prospect’s preferred sensory language builds internal alignment and ease.
You are effectively speaking THEIR LANGUAGE. 

4. Anchoring for Emotional States

We experience each moment we are alive in some sort of state.
We are either happy or sad or curious or bored or excited etc.
Many of these states just happen to us, so we think.

When you all of a sudden seem happy for no particular reason expect that Anchoring had something to do with it.

Anchoring is when the memory of a past event is revived and you respond by going into the state you were in during that past event.
More broadly, Anchoring means associating a positive or negative state with a cue (tone, phrase, or moment).

NLP teaches us to use anchoring to manage both our state and the state of our prospect.
Imagine how much better you’d sell if you were in the right state and how much easier it would be to sell to a happy client.

I wrote more about Anchoring here. Including using it to influence the state of your prospect

5. Reframe Objections

Reframing is another NLP Persuasion technique of great utility to a sales person.
It’s the art of taking a statement or a belief and looking at it from another perspective.
So, Reframing is an NLP persuasion technique where you shift perspective on a concern without dismissing it.

Instead of arguing against an objection, ask:
“What would it take for this to not be a barrier for you?”
This engages the prospect’s thinking and often reveals the real underlying issue.

Another example is a statement like, "the issue isn’t really about X, the issue is Y, isn't it?"

Prospect can often get themselves into a negative viewpoint about some aspect of your product or service and you can use sales reframing to change that to a positive or at least a neutral perspective.

Used well it enables you to alter a prospects reality quite dramatically.

I have discussed Reframing in a previous issue of YourSalesSuccess.

6. Tailor Your Questions to Get More Information

NLP’s Meta Model helps uncover specifics quickly by challenging vague statements.

Instead of:
“I’m not sure your service fits.”

Use:

“What exactly would need to change for it to fit?”

Structured questions like this deepen clarity and uncover true needs.

7. Metaprograms

Metaprograms are like high level filters on how we think and act.
They are a more advanced nlp persuasion technique.

Once you understand how to spot these filters and use them you will be able to speak in ways that your prospect will easily understand and in ways that will motivate them to buy.

In its simplest form (yet do not underestimate its power in selling) people are either motivated by the carrot or the stick.
And how you approach a prospect should be consistent with whether they are "seeking a carrot" or trying to "avoid the stick".

For an example of a Metaprogram in action take a look at  ”Where do your prospects make decisions ?”

Integrating NLP Persuasion with Ethical Sales Practice

While nlp persuasion techniques are powerful, they are most effective when grounded in:

• Empathy — understanding and addressing your prospect’s true goals
• Transparency — being clear about intentions and outcomes
• Mutual benefit — aiming for win–win decisions

Many NLP practitioners also recommend integrating persuasion frameworks like rapport building with broad sales principles — the goal is influence, not manipulation.

FAQs About NLP Persuasion Techniques

How Does NLP Differ from Traditional Persuasion Techniques?

Traditional persuasion techniques often rely on logic, rhetoric, and set formulas — present the benefits, handle objections, close the deal. The assumption is that if the argument is strong enough, the person will agree.

Instead of focusing primarily on what is being said, NLP focuses on how the individual processes information. It looks at a person’s internal experience — their language patterns, mental filters, emotional associations, and unconscious decision-making processes.

Where traditional persuasion tends to use general techniques, NLP emphasises alignment. It asks:

• How does this person make decisions?
• What language resonates with them?
• What meaning are they assigning to this situation?
• What internal criteria must be satisfied before they feel comfortable moving forward?

Rather than pushing an argument, NLP adapts communication to the individual’s subjective experience. The goal is not to override resistance, but to understand it — and then communicate in a way that fits how the person naturally thinks.

NLP is less about “convincing” and more about calibrated communication.

Are these techniques manipulative?
No — NLP persuasion techniques are tools for clearer communication. Used ethically, they help others think more clearly about their choices rather than trick them.

Can these techniques be used in written communication?
Yes. Language patterns, sensory words, and framing also apply to proposals, emails, and follow-ups.

How long does it take to master NLP persuasion techniques?
Basic techniques can be learned quickly, but effectiveness grows with practice, reflection, and real-world use.

Wrap Up

NLP persuasion techniques aren’t secret tricks — they are precise ways of aligning your communication with how people actually think and decide. When used responsibly, they improve rapport, clarity, trust, and influence in every sales conversation.

They can make a huge difference to your sales results.

Taught well, practiced often and used wisely they may increase your sales 300% or more.
Read through the articles referenced in this article and find out more about how to use these valuable skills.

Here’s to your continued sales success — with words that sell without selling out.