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WHY ARE EMOTIONS IMPORTANT WHEN SELLING ANY PRODUCT OR SERVICE?

Guest post by: Billy Sharma

Article Overview: Did you know that emotions not logic control many of our selection choices? Even the most important decision we make has nothing to do with logic—I am talking about the act of falling in love.

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WHY ARE EMOTIONS IMPORTANT WHEN SELLING ANY PRODUCT OR SERVICE?

Logic is important because it helps us make sound decisions including most of our buying decisions.

For example, if we need to get from our house in the suburbs to our office in the city, logic tells us that we may need a car.

However, the kind of car that we choose, whether we buy, a ‘Cadillac’ or a ‘Porsche’ has little to do with logic. Here the decision has to do with a variety of factors from affordability to perception, our feeling about a certain product, how it matches our personality and how we may be perceived in the eyes of others.

Here emotions not logic control many of our selection choices.

Even the most important decision we make has nothing to do with logic—I am talking about the act of falling in love.

It has little to do with reason. We don’t coolly calculate or weigh the pro and cons as to why we are attracted to one particular person.

Emotions really lead us to buy certain brands for two important reasons:
One, we perceive them as being better for us.
Two, they make a statement about us.

Almost everything we choose makes a statement about us – our homes, the kind of furniture we select, our friends, our clothes, even the charity we support.

People give to a charity from the heart and not from the head.

Sure logic is important but people generally give because they are moved not because you have rationally presented a flawless argument.

Donors like to fell good. They like to feel warm or proud.

They like to feel that their help has played an important part in what matters to them, be it the environment or saving children’s lives.

For the donor writing that check is an act of love.

Research has shown that emotions account for more than three-quarters of our decision processes.

That is why all retail sales check out counters are stocked with impulse buying items that range from candy to magazines.

Another important point is that, many of our major buying decisions are based on two other very important factors.

First, the external need to be sold on a particular product or service. There are a variety of different ways this happens including a recommendation from a friend (word-of-mouth), being convinced by a sales person, the opinion of others, effective advertising or just coming to the conclusion by oneself.

Next, we need an internal justification for our own purchase decision. We all need to satisfy ourselves that we have made a wise choice. Our selection needs validation that it is was a smart decision. Here ‘cognitive dissonance’ can kick in, to help us calm our doubts. We need to read or hear positive things about the product or service we have selected to assure ourselves that we have indeed made a wise choice.

So your job is to do both, sell to the donor or buyer and give them reasons why they are making the right choice by supporting your charity or buying your product or service.

Good writing in our business is not academic writing but persuasive writing. Forget what you learned in school about good grammar, direct marketing or fundraising copy should sound like someone talking—like a conversation with the reader. Unfortunately, some academics I know also speak or communicate poorly.

Naturally the reader will raise objections and have questions, too. Anticipating and frankly answer objections in your materials, not only helps the reader make a decision in your favour but it also slowly build trust and helps close the sale.

So try writing from the heart, just sitting down with a piece of paper and honestly telling your story from your point of view about your product or charity. Using human interest and storytelling techniques.

Forget using a formula at the start. (“Make sure you ask for the gift or the sale at least three times . . . remember to balance emotionality with rationality . . . use the word ‘you’ more often than ‘I’ . . .etc. etc”) All that is secondary it should come later after your first final draft . . . You get my point!

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Article Tags: affordability, cadillac, candy, charity, clothes, decision processes, donors, emotions, important factors, important point, impulse, logic control, perception, personality, porsche, pro and cons, retail sales, selection choices, sound decisions, three quarters

About the Author: Billy Sharma
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BILLY SHARMA Billy holds a Bachelor of Science degree and is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of J.J. School of Art (Bombay) and the Hochshüle für Gestaltung (Bauhaus School of Design, Germany). After many years of working for other companies, Billy founded Designers Inc. In 1999 he became Managing Director and Creative Director of Brann Worldwide in Toronto. Under his stewardship the agency grew three-fold in two years when Brann Worldwide was elected the number one direct marketing agency in the world in 2000. Billy has extensive advertising and direct marketing experience gained in many national and international advertising agencies in Europe, U.S. and Canada. This has honed his creative skills to help provide breakthrough creative ideas for his clients.

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