Change the Order to Get the Order

The way in which customers' emotions affect their purchasing decisions has been the subject of countless books. The consensus is that you can venture only educated guesses about the influence of emotions; however, the outcomes of guesses are unpredictable. Yet, duplicating sales success is all about predictability—knowing what should happen next—and being prepared when it does (or does not) happen.

While you cannot make a sale void of emotions, use the processes and tools in this book to dilute the randomness of their impact. As Dr. Jack Katz wrote in his book How Emotions Work, "intellectual analysis seems to nullify emotions." ^[2] You appeal to customers' intellect when you make the value they receive from achieving their goals measurable in dollars. Motivate customers to change the order of their decision-making process so that everyone thinks clearer and reaps benefits. Make facts come first, emotions second. You can enhance the way you sell by enhancing the way customers buy. After all, customers do not willingly make illogical purchasing decisions. Yet, they will unwillingly make illogical decisions if they aren't aware they are missing information that would make them decide differently.

Note

Ironically, you usually find out the facts after you lose a sale or do not fulfill a customer's expectations. You know emotions drove the customer's decision when either one of you says, "If I had only known that, I would have ..."

^[2]Jack Katz, How Emotions Work (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999), p. 49.