The Foundation of Professional Success

1.1 The Investor as the Seller’s Doctor

Successful investing requires adopting a professional, service-oriented methodology analogous to a medical doctor treating a patient. The investor must position themselves as “The Doctor” to the Seller’s problems. Sellers must perceive the investor as professional, well-educated, acting in their best interest, and bound by a high code of ethics.

The professional approach involves following a universal three-part sequence in order:

1. Examination: Asking excellent, carefully prepared questions to gain thorough knowledge of the seller’s situation and discover the Seller’s Pain.
2. Diagnosis: Repeating the examination results to ensure mutual agreement on the detected problems.
3. Prescription: Showing the seller that the investor’s service is the best available treatment and solution.

A common mistake made by new investors is talking primarily about their company and services, rather than focusing on what the Seller wants or needs, which can lead the seller to decide never to do business with them.

1.2 Essential Business Skills: Negotiation, Soft Skills, and NLP

Success in the context of a home business, specifically the terms side of the business, relies on critical abilities, including negotiation and soft skills.

• Negotiation: Negotiating with home sellers is a key skill. Without this skill, one “can’t really do well in the terms side of the business”.
• Soft Skills: These skills are routinely taught in Business School and investment advisory training. They emphasize relationship building and possessing a service mentality.
• Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP): NLP is described as an unusual skill that not too many people have.

1.3 Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) Explained

NLP stands for Neuro-Linguistic Programming. It is defined as a set of skills that reveal the kind of communication that matters most – on the inside and out. NLP is also referred to as The other 93% of communication, since words convey only 7% of meaning.

The Three Components of NLP:

1. Neuro: Relates to the mind or brain and how states of mind (and body) affect communication and behavior. It involves developing mental maps to show how things happen and how to change course.
2. Linguistic: Refers to how mind and body states are revealed in our language and non-verbal communication. Language is the tool used to gain access to the inner workings of the mind.
3. Programming: Refers to the capacity to change our mind and body states. It involves accessing habitual programs (thoughts, feelings, beliefs) through conversation to change outdated behaviors and transform inner communication.

The Four Pillars (Foundations) of NLP:

1. Rapport: The ability to connect quickly with others to build trust.
2. Sensory Awareness: Noticing that one’s world is much richer when deliberately paying attention to the senses.
3. Outcome Thinking: Focusing on thinking about what you want, rather than getting stuck in negative thinking.
4. Behavioral Flexibility: Being able to do something differently if the way you’re currently doing it isn’t working.

1.4 The VAK Model of Inner Communication

The VAK Model is a component of NLP that describes the structure of inner communication. Inner communication is comprised of:

• Visual (images)
• Auditory (sounds)
• Kinesthetic (feelings)

The VAK Model helps analyze subjective experience; for example, tense feelings might be linked to internal negative images or sounds that the individual is unconsciously responding to. NLP was originally known as the study of the structure of subjective experience, which means it breaks down internal processes to enable constructive change.