They are sexy. They are enticing. They are cool. They are impressive.

Rapid inductions — they are also a waste of time to learn (for the most part).

Kind of ironic, don’t you think?

I was at the National Guild of Hypnotists convention in Massachusetts last weekend and had the opportunity to network with many good (and not-so-good) hypnotists. At one of the booths (a stage hypnotist whose wonderful products I am reviewing right now) I met a very interesting woman who just came back from a class on rapid inductions.

Classes on rapid inductions are always filled up. Hypnotists like rapid inductions because they are like learning a new magic trick. They are kinda “cool” and, well, who can’t use another 25 inductions, right?

But, just like magicians who do card tricks (and I was a professional magician for over 30 years so I know what I am talking about), a card magician only needs to know two or three ways to get a card to the top of the deck. However, there are a bazillion books, DVD’s, lectures and newsletters on how to do the variation of that move. Magician just like to know it all. I know… I was one myself.

Many hypnotists do the same thing and “collect” inductions. But, you only need about three: An Elman Induction, a good Progessive Relaxation Induction and — perhaps —one more. In my office, I only use the first two; I never need anything else.

Then, there’s the rapid induction. In my opinion, they are useful in two ways:

First, if your client needs to leave the room (they forgot to go to the bathroom or whatever) and you just want to get them back into state, a cute rapid induction will save time and energy.

Second, they impress the hell out of hypnotists. Hypnotists love these things and like to show them off like the latest card trick.

But, are rapid inductions useful?

Okay… picture this: Your client just paid you over $600 to quit smoking, for instance. You do the pre-talk (you do a pre-talk, right?) and then you do that new-fangled rapid induction you just learned at the NGH. It takes about 20 seconds and you proceed.

Chances are:

1. They won’t “feel” hypnotized.
2. They won’t be impressed by the new technique.
3. They may not get the desired result.
4. They may ask for a refund.

Hmmm. Why is that? Well, for one thing, they paid a lot of money for your services as a hypnotist. They want to “be hypnotized”! They want the show! They want to stare at a blue light, arm stuck in the air, eyes glued shut, etc., etc.

They need to get the whole nine yards and rapid induction deprive them of that.

However, many hypnotists try to impress their clients with the rapid induction. And, they fail. Unfortunately, the client doesn’t know the difference, doesn’t tell the hypnotist, they may not achieve their outcome and the hypnotist thinks he has succeeded.

Too bad for both parties.

And for the stage hypnotist who does a rapid induction, you are cheating the audience of the full experience of the drama of a real induction.

However, a rapid induction in a stage show is very powerful in this one instance: You see someone in the audience in a trance or she has her eyes closed. You go over to her, bring her up to the stage and do a rapid induction. Poof! “She’s hypnotized!” It’s very impressive to the audience and is a real crowd-pleaser.

But, for the clinic… no. Save the rapid inductions for the next hypnotist convention.

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting! - Bryan

What’s the best way to show how well you can change someone’s outcome with hypnotism? Do you just show them your certification? Your pendulum? Your NGH coffee mug?

The best and most often disregarded sales tool is the testimonial.

On my desk is a book with over 600 client testimonials from the past five years. It’s over three inches thick and very heavy. On my web site are more testimonials. On the office walls, my ads, etc.

It’s hard to argue with success.

So, how do you get a testimonial? Well, first (and I can’t believe I need to write this) — they must be from your own clients. I just read a post on the NGH Forum:

“Does anyone have any good before/after hypnotic weight loss pictures that they would be willing to share. I’ve started a clinic in the last couple months and I’m trying to get started with my outreach/advertising work. If you’d be willing to share any pictures I’d really appreciate it. “

Photos, like testimonials are powerful. But, unless you put a disclaimer on the photo or testimonial that isn’t your own, it is misrepresentation. And the disclaimer kinda nixes everything anyway.

Second, just ask. I have a testimonial form that my clients use to tell their stories. One thing though: They need to do it right there. They will never, ever mail it to you — even when their promise and swear they will.

The best time to get a testimonial is when they are happy with some results. When they quit smoking, lost some weight, stopped biting their nails, etc. And, when they are happy, get a testimonial form in their hands immediately.

You will find that, after some time, when you’ve compiled a nice collection of testimonials in a book that you will hardly have to answer the question that every hypnotist gets…

“Does it really work?”

By the way, if you do any kind of stage hypnotism, you have got to get testimonials. They best kind are on video — right after a good show.  Most people won’t hire anyone without a great set comments from past customers who love you. Put them on your web site, business card, video, etc.

Remember, it’s not you saying how good you are — it’s your clients!

Okay. Do I have your attention now?

Continuing from last week’s post where I was looking through the latest NGH Convention catalog, I saw this title from a one-hour lecture: Hypnotism for UFO Abduction Cases! I immediately went into a trance.

I mean, are you kidding me? There aren’t enough hypnotists in this business increasing breast sizes, regressing people to think they were a Pharaoh, calling themselves “doctor”, tapping on drums and working with crystals to create an aura (oh, yes… aura-reading, too!) of charlatanism? Now, we have a lecture to teach these wackos to help people who believe they’ve been abducted by aliens?

First, how do you even market such a thing? Do you put an ad in the paper reading, “Been abducted by aliens from another planet? Come and be hypnotized…” Yeah, I want these people in my office. Sure.

Next, is it even ethical? Who the heck knows if aliens exist? You may wonder if I, myself, believe in extra-terrestrial beings. Well, yes, I do believe there is life on other worlds somewhere out there. The universe is too vast to think we’re the only ones in it.

But, the point is (before I get way too far from the topic)… are they coming here, abducting people… so that these same abductees can come to you for help?

Is this really how one needs to make a living?

Craig Lang (the teacher of this stuff at the NGH), who says on his website:

“Another big interest of mine is conducting research into anomalies. Some anomalies are seen in the sky while others, such as UFO abduction or contact experiences, intrude deeply into peoples’ very lives. I work with people who have had close encounters with the unexplained, helping them to integrate their experiences into their lives, while at the same time shedding ever more light on this mysterious phenomenon.”

This guy really has in interest in this UFO thing. The funny thing is, on the page with all of the UFO stuff on it, he lists “Certified Hypnotherapist” under “Anomaly and Close Encounter Researcher/Investigator”. (So, apparently, we know which is more valuable.)

So, why is this bugging me? Why am I harping on this poor guy’s interest in aliens?

Because, this is the stuff that causes hypnotists to be classed in the same categories as magicians, fortune tellers, ghost hunters and goofballs. We need to clean up the reputation of hypnotists and hypnotism and get it away from the pendulum-swinging, spiral-twirling, eye-gazing movie images that most people have about hypnotists.

And, now, I will choose some of the classes I’ll attend this year. Oh, here’s a good one: Dowsing.

Dowsing? Yes. Very helpful. I can now find water in my reception room.

I was looking at the latest NGH (National Guild of Hypnotists) catalog for their upcoming convention and I noticed how many topics there were about increasing one’s income, marketing and sales — especially compared to previous years.

And, the funny thing is that I had always had the impression that hypnotists —in general — didn’t really care if they made a whole lot of money. It’s helping people that counts.

True. But…

… if you don’t make a lot of money in hypnotism, then how do you stay in business to help those people? (What a situation, eh?)

The first year I went to the NGH (I think it was in 2002) I noticed that many people who claimed to be hypnotists didn’t make a good living at this. And, to qualify a “good living”, I mean an executive salary — whatever that means to you. Or, what a doctor would make.

One afternoon, during a seminar break, I was wandering the “Dealer’s Room”, where you can buy hypnosis scripts, hypnotic music, scented candles, crystals, a bunch of New Age crap that has nothing to do with hypnotism, Shaman instruments (don’t get me started!), and such.

In addition to that, there were two booths about marketing your practice. One from my mentor and friend, Dr. Scott McFall (it’s a real Doctorate) and some other guy. The other guy’s business (can’t remember their name) was about increasing one’s income.

He was standing in the isle with a clipboard asking people if they were making as much money as they wanted in their hypnosis practice. Most said “no”, but when he asked how much they currently made, I was astounded. (Yes, I eavesdropped!)

The majority of the answers were in the range of $20 to $40 thousand a year. (Any good birthday party clown makes more than that.)

Then, he asked them if they would like to make $50,000 a year. Some said “yes”… others said “no”!

This got me thinking and, after they left the guy, I would find them and ask, “Why don’t you want to make more money at this wonderful business?”

Their answer was almost always, “Because I didn’t get into hypnotism for the money; I want to help people.” It was uncanny how many hypnotists had the same view (or is it a limiting belief?).

The worst part about it was these are the same people who don’t have enough money for a real office so they work out of their house — not an office in their house, but their living room, usually. They can’t buy nice clothes (like that $800 - $1,200 suit) or the latest office equipment.

And, within a few years, they wonder why they are struggling to stay in business.

But, the answer is so simple: Make more money.

If you market yourself and your business in the right manner, you can have a real business, help more people and you’ll be happier.

Yes. In general, you can have money or you can be poor. Having money in the bank is better.

Oh, by the way, when that man asked me if I wanted to make $50,000 a year I just answered, “Oh, you mean you want me to make less money than I did last year?”

He squinted at me and asked, “How much did you make last year?”

Avoiding his question, I just said, “Well, let’s just say that my advertising alone this year is $50,000. You can figure it out.”

He dropped his clipboard as I walked away.

[By the way, if you want to find out how to market your hypnosis business, drop me a message at the forum. — Bryan]

One of the most common questions that a hypnotist may get is:

“Was I really hypnotized?”

If you have never gotten that one, you haven’t been doing this long at all. When I was taught hypnotism by Dr. Scott McFall, one of the first things he drilled into my head was to make sure that my hypnosis clients (or stage hypnosis show participants) knew — absolutely knew — that they experienced hypnosis and the trance state.

The reason is that if your client doesn’t know that she was hypnotized, chances are, she’ll sabotage the entire session by analyzing it and judging it.

If you ever knew anyone who went to a group session for smoking cessation, for instance, they usually say that it didn’t work because they didn’t think they were ever hypnotized. (I hear that from potential clients all the time.)

So, how do you get them to realize the they were actually hypnotized? It’s easy. You need convincers.

A convincer is a tiny, but very effective technique — usually done during the induction — to “prove” that they are/were, in fact, hypnotized.

Good convincers are:

• Eye catalepsy (Catalepsy: A condition characterized most often by rigidity of the extremities)
• Arm catalepsy
• Saliva flow
• Heaviness
• A “floating” sensation
• Tingling hands/feet
• Time-distortion
• Glove anesthesia or analgesia

There are more, but those are the ones I mostly use. It’s enough to make the point.

Now, many hypnotists do this, not to show their clients/participants that they were hypnotized, but to show or “test” hypnotic “depth”. Hypnotic depth is a subject for another article, but just to let you know what I think about it: I ignore it completely. (How’s that?)

Note: In stage hypnosis, convincers aren’t as important because they are experiencing the phenomenon as a part of the show (forgetting the number “eight”, feeling hot or cold, smelling something odd, etc.). Usually their friends convince them they were hypnotized by all the stories they tell and the photos they took.

So, during the induction I do most of the above convincers. After emerging them from trance, I then review the convincers for them. This is vital. I ask them if they remember this and that, only continuing to the next one when they affirm that the phenomenon did happen.

“How long do you feel you’ve been in this room in hypnosis?”, I may ask.

“Oh, not long… about 10 minutes?”, they inquire.

“Well, let’s see… Oh! It’s 4:30! You’ve been in here for about an hour!” I exclaim.

They always look shocked.

Time distortion is a great convincer and usually the first to bring to their attention.

I many see about 20 clients a day and never do I hear the question, “Was I really hypnotized?” Then, we never have to discuss it, they start to change and everybody’s happy.

Do convincers and your results will skyrocket.