Want to get much better results when helping clients to stop smoking with hypnosis? In this article we interview three experts who reveal their secrets.
Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death in the world, killing 8 million people annually. Nicotine replacement methods, such as gum and patches, are the most advertised way to encourage people to quit smoking, but they can boast a less than 15% success rate, and they can have terrible side-effects.
Hypnosis has been used for decades as an effective way to help others quit smoking instantly and without side-effects. Some hypnotists advertise success rates as high as 95%. Wanting to tap into what makes their individual methods so effective, we interviewed hypnotic smoking cessation experts Freddy Jacquin, Ken Guzzo, and Steve Roehm to see what makes their sessions unique, and discover what all hypnotists can implement in their sessions to improve their own success rates.
The Authentic Connection and Client Rapport
The number one tip across the board was to make an authentic connection with your client. Ken Guzzo teaches this as the foundation for any protocol. “When you have a connection, you have rapport, which is necessary for trance to happen; you've got the agreement, you’ve got compliance, and all sorts of other things fall into place when you get that first step handled.”
Guzzo’s pre-session method begins by thinking of his son, who is someone he loves unconditionally, filling his heart with that love, and then shining that light on to the client with the intention of hypnotizing them. This method creates a safe space rooted in unconditional love, which allows successful hypnotic work to begin. “Accept every client that we see as if they are a miracle,” he says.
Freddy Jacquin agrees, saying, “I never get bored. Every client has their own story, and I love stories, and I’m going to hear what their story is, and I’m going to listen for 20 minutes, and we’re going to have that conversation before we go into hypnosis.” By being able to connect with your client emotionally, your success rate will increase.
“Anybody who is stuck to a script,” adds Steve Roehm, “is making huge mistakes in their business because they’re not connecting with their clients.” He explains that understanding the client’s needs, values, pains, and outcomes will ensure that the results stick.
The Power of Pre-Talk
Another similarity we noticed between these 3 hypnotists is that they promote the power of a good pre-talk. Jacquin says clients who smoke believe they can’t quit, they’re addicted, and/or tobacco does something for them.
Breaking down those beliefs within a solid pre-talk will allow them to let go of their habit forever. He explains that the key to a productive pre-talk is a thorough break-down of these beliefs, paired with emotion. “Think about the people you love,” he says to clients, which helps them tap into their own inner strength.
“90% of the work happens in the pre-talk,” states Roehm, who uses subtle and refined mind-bending conversational hypnotic language techniques in his sessions. “Most of the work happens before they are even aware that we’ve done any work.” Roehm says being able to implement an appeal to a client’s sense of logic using honesty and truth in a pre-talk will help them believe they can quit, which allows them to quit like magic.
Guzzo warns that a pre-talk full of scare tactics will not work on smokers because they are already aware of the statistics and the risks, and they smoke anyway. His clients are often worried they will fail, they are nervous about being judged, and they’ve chosen hypnosis as a last resort. By focusing instead on how their life will be better by not smoking, clients will be more excited about the session, and more ready to let go.
Make Hypnosis Successful with Solid Screening
The final, and arguably most important factor in having an effective session, is to interview your clients before you agree to a session with them. “Number one, I screen my clients on the phone,” says Roehm, “I fire people all the time. If they’re not ready, I‘m not going to take them; I’m not going to waste my time or their money. That sets me up for success.” He explains that some clients expect the hypnotist to make them quit, which he tells them he will not do.
Guzzo, who has been 100% referral for 9 years, and openly charges $700 per session, sees this as a screening process. Clients who come to him have heard a strong testimonial from a trusted source, and they have invested a thoughtful chunk of money.
Jacquin also screens clients, saying that if a client challenges him, he agrees with them that he will lose. He does not want to make anyone do anything. His goal is to give his clients the opportunity to live with more choices, not less. He will postpone a session until a client can tell him they want to quit, they’ve had enough, and they are ready. Using a screening process will help any hypnotist increase their success rate, and allow the work to be more fulfilling as they work with clients who make the work effortless.
Hypnosis to Stop Smoking Has Far Reaching Effects
“We can underestimate the value of helping people quit smoking,” Jacquin says as he explains the powerful, generational ripple effect of helping one person quit smoking. “When you take someone out of the smoking habit, you are affecting their family. You are affecting their future family,” he says. He adds that when he goes to bed, he happily thinks about all of the people he has helped, directly and indirectly. “Get passionate and see how many people you can help,” he exclaims.
Roehm learned about hypnosis after being hypnotized himself to quit smoking 21 years ago. He has since gone on to help over 5,000 others. “How many people has that affected?” he asked. “They’ve got spouses and kids and family members and friends and people they haven’t even met yet that that work is going to affect. That 5,000 people has affected hundreds of thousands. When somebody sits down with me, I’m not just working with them, I’m working with everybody in their life because it’s going to have an effect on everybody around them.”
“The average smoker gains back 14 years of life. So that’s a lot of people that are going to be at their grandchildren’s wedding and graduations, that might not have been otherwise. And that’s a lot of other family members that I'll never know that aren’t sitting with their grandfather or father-in-law, going through chemo,” says Guzzo, sharing how proud he is of his success stories.
How to Learn More
Any smoking cessation hypnotist can go through years of trial and error, or take a quality training course that will help them enjoy a lucrative and effective business quickly.
Our own online training, the Mike Mandel Hypnosis Academy is an easy, fun and cost-effective way to get started.
And each of the three experts that we consulted for this article also run their own highly recommended training.
Ken Guzzo’s “Guzzo Protocol” is a neurological experience that incorporates hypnotic phenomena and street hypnosis with fractionation.
Freddy Jacquin runs the Jacquin Hypnosis Academy, which teaches an advanced communication technique with emotional conversation, and the “Jacquin Time Machine”.
Steve Roehm (masterhypnosistraining.com) uses refined and nuanced conversational hypnosis to quickly create effective, lasting change.
Whichever training method you choose, keep your heart open, choose clients who are ready to work with you, develop a solid pre-talk, and you will enjoy a profitable and rewarding career that truly helps make the world a better place by impacting all current and future generations.