Though the left brain / right brain lateralization is a well-established fact, documented by the research of Nobel-winner Roger Sperry, many people misunderstood what this really means.

While there are definite differences between the functions of the left brain and the right brain, these differences pale in significance when compared with the differences between the Old Brain and the New Brain.

The task of a salesperson or marketer is not to just reach the right brain or the left brain, which are both parts of the New Brain, but to reach the Old Brain which is the seat of emotion and emotional response.

If you want to read the long detailed explanation written by internationally renowned neuroscientists Júlio Rocha do Amaral, MD & Jorge Martins de Oliveira, MD, PhD, follow this link: Limbic System: The Center of Emotions.

The practical, condensed version continues below.

The primitive or Old Brain one is responsible for self-preservation. It is there that the mechanisms of aggression and repetitive behavior are located.

Middle Brain or limbic system, which developed with the emergence of the primitive mammals, commands certain behaviors that are necessary for the survival of all mammals. It is where emotions and feelings, like wrath, fright, passion, love, hate, joy and sadness reside.

The third cerebral unit, the cortex or New Brain, is a highly complex net of neural cells capable of producing a symbolic language, thus enabling man to exercise skillful intellectual tasks such as reading, writing and performing mathematical calculations.

What does all of this have to do with influencing and persuading others? First we must realize that buying decisions are made more with the reptilian old brain and the limbic middle brain than the cortex.

That is why when asked how or why they made a purchase most people can’t explain it. It is an unconscious, emotional process that is not easily understood or explained. To be successful marketers and sales professionals would do well to study the emotional underpinnings of why people buy what they buy. People do not buy products and services; they buy the emotional attachments associated with those products or services.

Take buying a Hummer for example. There is no logical reason for ninety-nine percent of the American public to own a Hummer. Yet why are they such a hit? According to Market Research Guru and former child psychiatrist, Clotaire Rapille, “The Hummer is a car with a strong identity. It’s a car in a uniform. For women, they say it’s a new way to scare men. Wow. And women love the Hummer. They’re not telling you; buy a Hummer because you get better gas mileage. You don’t”.

Yes buying a Hummer is “not logical” as Mr. Spock would say but it sure does appeal to the old reptilian brain’s need to dominate and survive.

What reptilian appeal does your product or service have?

If you can’t answer that you are in trouble, you just don’t know it.

Buying is an emotional decision. People buy emotionally and then justify their decision intellectually. For proof of this look at the advertising business. Michelin Tire Company became the number one tire company in the world when they put that baby in the tire. People who buy Michelins are not buying four-ply vulcanized rubber. They are buying trust, safety and security, all of which are emotions. Those are some of the same emotions people rely on when they buy anything.

Here are some statistics for you. All studies of human motivation conclude that people buy from people they trust and respect. As much as 50 to 80 percent of the reason people buy anything has to do with trust and respect. When people buy your product, chances are that they don’t fully comprehend the technical aspects of what you sell. What they do understand is that they feel comfortable, trust and respect the person they are talking with. The greatest skill any sales professional can develop is the ability to connect or bond with the prospect emotionally.

We live in a world full of uncertainty, fear and anxiety. Stock market crashes, terrorists attacks and wars are all part of our daily lives. Our fear and anxiety is constantly being nurtured and reinforced by every print and electronic media we encounter. Tragedy is brought to us in real time “live” and “up close and personal”. Information that used to take hours or days to reach us now reaches us in real time. We have become what some futurists are calling victims of “psychic distress.”

Nowhere is this more evident than in the world of marketing and selling. Because buyers have been bombarded with so much hype, over promotion and razzle -dazzle they have become jaded, skeptical and cynical of everything they hear and see. They take nothing at face value. Their belief is that a marketer is guilty until proven innocent. They believe that anything that you tell a salesperson can and will be used against you. As a result, they hesitate to share any information or reveal anything of substance about their situation. You can’t really blame them can you?

What are some of the most common fears buyers have about the selling process:

1. Fear of making a mistake.
Buyers are afraid that even though buying from you today looks like the thing to do, they’ll regret that decision tomorrow, next week, or next month. They fear buying something that they don’t really need or paying more than they should. The higher the price and the more choices they have to pick from the greater the fear.

2. Fear of losing respect of self and others.
Many people have a need for the social approval of others. They are afraid that someone: a spouse, friend, peer, co-worker or a boss will say something like, “I can’t believe you bought that” or I can’t believe you paid that much for that”.

Some buyers fear that the wrong decision might mean a loss of promotion, or prestige. Worse they fear it could result in termination. As a result, they delay and drag out the process hoping that they won’t make a mistake.

3. Fear of the unknown.
Regardless of assurances and guarantees from you, buyers may be more content to stick with a painful status quo than to opt for an uncertain future. They may not like what they currently have but the future is too big a question mark to take any risks. This fear is especially pronounced for buyers whose job may not be assured or for those who lack self-confidence.

4. Fear of losing control.
Like all people, buyers want to feel that they have choices and are in control. They want to establish the agenda and control the timing. They are comforted by being able to delay purchase decisions as long as they can. Once they feel that they are losing that control their fears skyrocket.

Some these anxieties are obvious; others are subtle. You’ll increase your influence and credibility once you help your buyers discover and confront their fears, show that you are sensitive to those fears, and help them come to discover that your product or service will eliminate their fear and provide them with peace of mind.

In a complex sale, one in which there is more than one decision maker, you have four types of buyers: the Economic Buyer, the Technical Buyer, the End User and the Coach. Each of them has their role to play. The EB is concerned with the bottom line. The TB is concerned with product performance. The EU is concerned with how will this make my job easier or better. The Coach is concerned with helping you get the business. (They are your inside salesperson.)

All four of these have the capacity of “killing ” the deal. All four roles can consist of individuals or groups. Some of the players may serve in more than one role. All four of them have to be sold individually. Each of them has different “pains” or concerns. In order to make the sale, the sales person has to: identify whom the players are, develop relationships with each of them, approach and sell to each of them individually and collectively.

Failing to do this is dangerous and costly. The fallacy sales people make in situations like this is to focus on product and price. In complex selling it is NEVER about product or price. It is about process and relationship. This is the art of Strategic Selling. It is what separates the great producers from the good producers.

Psychologists tell us that while there are three major buying motives, (pain, fear, pleasure); by far the most common reason people buy is to eliminate psychological pain. Something is wrong in their personal or business lives that they want fixed and they are prepared to pay to fix it.

The best sales professionals never really sell anything; they offer solutions to their prospect’s problems. They uncover pain and make it go away. Why? Because the best sales people understand that while people make decisions intellectually – they buy emotionally. This fact is best illustrated by the following exercise.

Take a single sheet of paper and draw a line horizontally across the middle. Think of something that you thought about buying recently but decided not to. Below the line, list your reasons for not making the purchase. Now think of a recent purchase that you made. Above that line list your reasons for making that purchase.

Notice that the reasons you listed for buying are almost all emotional reasons (e.g., you wanted it, it made you feel good, etc.) The reasons for not buying were almost all intellectual reasons (too expensive, wrong size or color, etc.).

Once you accept that fact that people buy emotionally, you will quickly realize that selling features and benefits does not work. Feature and benefit selling elicits a “think it over” or price comparison response, whereas finding pain will get you the order.

How do we find this elusive pain? We do it by telling stories and asking questions. Usually it takes three or more questions to get to pain. Prospects will not tell you the real reason up front; they will usually give you an intellectual smoke screen. People buy for their reasons, not yours, and until you uncover those reasons or pain, your chance of doing business is slim.

The dictionary defines pain as suffering or hurt, but in sales, pain is something that makes your prospect uncomfortable, is personal, and gives you leverage in the selling process. The salesperson’s job is to find someone who has pain, is committed to eliminating the pain, is willing to pay to get rid of it, and is in a position to make the decision. You cannot create pain, because that is manipulation. Instead, you help the prospect discover his or her pain by gently asking probing questions.

Pain will get you the sale; price will not. So become a Doctor of Sales and learn to uncover your customer’s pain and the sales will follow!

Buyers tend to be transactional oriented or relationship oriented. Transactional buyers are concerned about today’s purchase. They do a lot of research investigating the product they are considering buying and consider himself or herself a product expert. They are not concerned about service, trust or relationship. They are concerned primarily about price and terms. They enjoy negotiating and trying to extract as many concessions out of the salesperson as possible. They see what they are doing as a game. A game where they win and the salesperson loses. They will “milk” the salesperson for free information, technical data, etc. Because of their “I win you lose” approach they have no loyalty. They are a salesperson’s worst nightmare.

Relationship Buyers consider today’s transaction as one in a series of many. They do not enjoy playing the “shopping game.” They don’t enjoy comparison shopping or negotiating. They are looking for a Business Partner or Trusted Advisory who is an expert that they can trust. Once they find someone they trust they are loyal and tend to be the best repeat customers. While relational buyers consider the money they also realize that their time is better spent doing something other than shopping around. Because of their “I win and you win” orientation they are honest, open and pleasant to deal with.

Intentionally or unwittingly, companies will target either the transactional or relationship buyer. Who is your company targeting? What kind of business are you building?

When people buy an ice cream cone, they don’t buy a lump of fat and sugar. To the ice cream lover, a delicious cone is a spirit lifter, stress buster, or hunger reliever.

When your prospect buys your product or service what emotion are they buying? While you may be providing perfectly practical benefits, selling features and benefits is purely intellectual. Most customers are motivated more by the emotional benefits they get from what you sell rather than logical benefits. People buy emotionally and then justify logically.

For example, people don’t normally buy a car strictly because it is a good way to get across town. Instead they purchase the thrill of speed, the prestige of getting admiring looks, or the confidence of safety.

Recently, I got a book from Amazon.com. It came packaged with a free bookmark. On it was a quote from Christopher Morley: “When you sell a man a book, you don’t sell him twelve ounces of paper, ink and glue – you sell him a whole new life.”

Make sure your sales and marketing effort shouts the dream you provide. Learn to appeal to the emotional nature of your prospects humanness.