The Tear & The Tickle

It all comes down to the tear and the tickle. I'm talking about persuasion. I'm talking about getting people to make the buying decision, or at least to take the next step in the buying process.

Whether you're selling face-to-face, on the phone, over the airwaves, on the internet, or in print, you must realize that buying is an emotional experience. Most of the time for the seller, but always for the buyer.

You see, we buy with our hearts, not with our heads. Decisions are made not in our brains, but in our guts. As a marketer, if you don't get to the tear or the tickle, you're not likely to get to the cash.

Every human on the planet is tuned to the same radio station. It's WIIFM "What's In It For Me." We all make decisions that are in our own best interest. We make decisions based on our human needs. I mean, we buy what we want. And what we want is based on our human needs. Those human needs are primarily emotional in nature.

What are these driving human needs? There are five. The need to survive; the need to love and be loved; the need to feel important; the need for variety; the need for convenience.

Of the five, only survival is not primarily emotional. But it is also the least compelling as a buying motivation, as long as the basics are covered. In other words, if you have food, shelter, clothing, a job and transportation, your survival needs are covered. Unless you've got a life-threatening ailment, you don't think much about survival, when the basics are covered.

The need to love and be loved and the need to feel important may be the strongest drivers of the bunch, and here is where the tear and the tickle come in. These two emotional drivers are the underpinnings of the needs for variety and convenience as well. So it is vital that you understand them and how they work.

Understand that men and women will do almost anything move heaven and earth for love. And we all walk around with an invisible sign around our neck that says, "Make me feel important."

When you can promise your prospects love and importance, your chances of getting the sale go up dramatically. But it's not simply a matter of saying, "When you buy my product, you'll get the love you're longing for and the recognition you deserve." That's cognitive. You've got to help them feel it.

You know that little tickle you get in your stomach when you get excited; when you anticipate something cool coming? Or remember getting teared up with a

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