Sell Them Emotions, Not Things.
It’s not about the features or the assumed quality.
Most people are swayed by their emotions most of the time when it comes to almost every aspect of their lives. Even the smartest people can easily be manipulated in certain circumstances. Humans are emotional creatures that are vulnerable to ego stroking, having their anger incited, lies, propaganda, and having sympathies and sexuality aroused pretty easily. Some of the biggest companies and the greatest marketers and salespeople understand this and leverage these principles.
Most of us — employees, business owners, students, children, and adults — buy with emotions and justify with logic. I want you to take a look at some items or products you have recently purchased and ask yourself why you bought them in the first place. You may give some logical reason for buying them but if you dive deep and peel through the layers, you’ll find that these are your emotions getting the better of you.
Look at the current state of our society and the people around us, clearly logic isn’t always our strong suit as compared to emotions or impulses and this has been leveraged by some of the biggest brands for a while now; you want to buy a nice car because you want to feel significant amid your friends, you want the latest version of the iPhone because you have already built that iPhone-only identity among your peers and people that know you, you buy those $1000 Bluetooth headphones because that’s what makes you feel “cool” even though your current headphones will do just fine.
Once you understand basic human emotions and consumer behavior, you will not only sell yourself or your ideas better but you will also hopefully make better buying decisions.
Emotions Rule
The impact of emotions on judgments, evaluations, and decisions has long been important to psychology and consumer behavior; the idea of emotions ruling consumer behavior is certainly not new.
Despite millions of years of evolution and the development of abstract thought and critical thinking, humans still rely heavily on emotions when making decisions.
That’s right, regardless of all your “data analysis” and that awesome pros/cons list you made, your decision to buy (and that of your customers) is largely influenced by one of the more primal brain areas and less about by what makes us so smart.
Sell The Sizzle, Not The Steak
Selling the sizzle rather than the steak is a reference to the old sales technique of selling the benefits of a product (to trigger emotions) rather than the features (to appeal to logic). The benefits are the sizzle and the steak is the product or features of the product.
Let’s take the Acer Inspire C24–865-ACi5NT AIO Desktop as an example.
Features
Features are basically the facts and figures of a product or service.
In this case, the Acer Inspire has the following features:
- 8th Generation Intel Core i5–8250U Processor 1.6GHz (Up to 3.4GHz); Operating System Architecture: 64-bit
- 23.8" Full HD (1920 x 1080) Widescreen Edge-to-Edge LED Back-lit Display
- 12GB DDR4 2400MHz Memory & 1TB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
- 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet LAN & Bluetooth 4.2LE
- Built-in Stereo Speakers
- External 1 MP Webcam
- Wireless Keyboard and Mouse
Now, do you think these things matter to the average person?
If you took the average person, they wouldn’t even know what an Intel Core Processor or Operating System Architecture is.
Do you think knowing that information would convince them to purchase?
Benefits
Benefits, on the other hand, get to the root of why a customer is purchasing something. Benefits are what the customer gets out of a product or service — which is generally what they’re more interested in.
In this case, the Acer Inspire has the following benefits:
- Computer and display are in one unit, which saves space
- Setup takes 10 minutes or less, so there’s no hassle
- Wireless mouse and keyboard means no wires creating clutter
- The thin unit means taking up less space on the desk
- More than enough power to upload, download, browse the internet, make video calls, and stream shows or movies
Now, how much more compelling is that than knowing it has the 8th Generation Intel Core i5–8250U Processor 1.6GHz.
Why People Buy Expensive Sh*t
Global demand for luxury goods is strong and rapidly growing, with over $200 billion in annual sales each year. Consumers purchase these goods for a variety of reasons, among them because they convey a sense of status, wealth, and exclusivity. These purchases lead others to make quick judgments about the character of the purchaser (e.g., successful, arrogant, among many others). Further, using and displaying luxury products can elicit various emotions on the part of the user.
What kind of phone do you use? What kind of purse do you carry? What is your favorite brand of clothing? Why?
While product quality does matter, think about why you’ve bought most of the things you own or why you want to buy those expensive things you know you’ll do fine without.
That $1000 purse you just bought? That $100,000 car you just leased? The $500 jacket you just got? Each of these items can bring individual significance.
Luxury goods target our feelings of self-worth, acceptance, and status in the world. Communication devices excite us by offering a connection to friends, family, and a broader network of people. Athletic brands inspire by offering adventure and glory through the act of competition. And many other products, such as perfume, cologne and lingerie, target emotions related to love, relationships, and sexual desires.
Further, despite the widespread availability of good quality cheap products (watches, handbags, cars…), there will always be a remarkable demand for extremely expensive versions of them — which seems deeply weird at first sight but makes sense when you realize that these so-called luxury brands understand why people buy overpriced things in the first place.
Brand Connection
The relationship between brand and customer is a unique one that can have positive outcomes for both parties. Many customers develop relationships with brands and think of them as partners. Brands become more human to customers and obtain meaning and value. This type of relationship relies on quality. There are a number of factors that lend themselves to creating a quality relationship between a brand and consumers, like the consumer’s ability to identify the brand in the first place, and their willingness to trust and commit to it.
Let’s take a look at Apple for a moment: people buy iPhones because of their profound emotional connection to the brand. Like loyalty to a beloved college football team, it is a resolute and inconspicuous connection, never to be broken. Bernard Kelvin Clive’s philosophy puts it really well:
“Customers don’t just want another cool product or service, they want to have an experience worth sharing”
People buy the iPhone because it’s a phone that Apple built for enthusiasts: using an iPhone is real enjoyment, real gratification, and a real pleasure. Apple works very hard to ensure they don’t do anything to bungle this profound, emotional connection they have built with millions of the brand’s fans worldwide.
I can tell you about many of my own friends who only buy a few specific brands (despite the fact they can’t even usually afford them) even when they don’t have a logical answer for why they always buy the exact same thing every time. That’s because the brands that they buy from do a lot more than just sell products; they build connections and relationships with their fans.
Whether you’re a consumer or a salesman, knowing what people like to buy and why they buy what they buy, you will not only persuade more prospects and make more sales in general, you’ll also become more aware of your own buying habits and hopefully, invest that $3000 in an index fund instead of spending it on a watch you can do fine without.
