How to Get More Leads by Triggering Buyer Emotions

Anyone with a kid knows the scene well. You’re at the mall, and your son or daughter absolutely has to have that thing ... that very expensive thing.

Will she die without the designer handbag? Will he never be able to show his face in school again without the coolest, priciest basketball shoes on the market?

We know the answer. But anyone who’s lived in Madonna’s material world also knows that visceral, pit-in-your-stomach feeling of imagining life without … that thing.

Buyer emotions trigger action, whether you’re marketing B2C, B2B, or Black Market (but we don’t recommend the latter). Here's how to get more leads with this knowledge.

How to Get More Leads by Triggering Buyer Emotions

Buyers buy to serve these 6 emotions:

• Pride -- I’ll look like a genius if I do
• Shame -- I’ll look like a moron if I don’t
• Envy -- Someone else could get it first
• Fear -- Not acting now will have consequences
• Greed -- Decisions equal rewards
• Charity -- I really love helping

Naturally, the following types of people have done tons of studies on this:

• Retail marketers/researchers/execs
• Business marketers/researchers/execs
• Psychologists
• Neuroscientists
• Social scientists
• College boards
• Tyrannical governments
• Friendly governments
• And many more

Whatever they’re selling, sellers want people to buy (or buy into) the program, to take that next step, to take action, to become a lead.

But let’s not limit this discussion to people buying for themselves. Those 6 emotions exist in the professional world, too, bringing buyers to your company’s doorstep looking for info on your product(s) or service(s).

They have a reason for knocking -- although for 81 percent of buyers your “doorstep” is in the cyber realm. (Here are more than 30 other terrific consumer statistics because we love you so much.)

• Maybe they fear for their job. They could end up in the unemployment line if they don’t get what their company needs from you.
• Maybe they’re looking for pats on the back. Pride is pushing them for something that’ll make them look heroic to the people who sign their paychecks. Sometimes, that may also be categorized as greed.
• Shame is powerful. No one wants to look stupid for not solving or avoiding a problem.
• Envy is a knee-jerk feeling that could drive the sale as your lead tries to avoid someone else getting it first.
• The saintly among us buy for charity. Someone else always needs the product or service more.

Let’s dig deeper into what makes customers bite. Neuroscience has the explanation.

Scientists long believed emotion had little to do with decision making -- with buying. But this neuroscientist and his wife jumped in following decades of research and said emotion has everything to do with it.

They found through studying people with damaged connections between the “thinking” and “emotional” areas of the brain that decisions were impossible because the test subjects didn’t know how they felt about the options.

Craving more neuroscience?

• Consumers evaluate brands and companies using personal feelings and experiences rather than features and facts
• Emotional responses to ads influence a buyer’s intentions more than the ad’s content
• Emotions impact customer loyalty more than judgments based on brand attributes
• Likeability is the most predictive indicator of whether an ad will boost sales

How do I use this to get more leads?

Think like your ideal buyer:

• What do they need?
• What do they crave?
• Why do they need or crave it?
• Where do they learn how to satisfy those needs or cravings?

Once you have the answers, give them what they need and crave.

Consider the inbound marketing methodology to help attract and educate them along the buyer’s journey and toward the right decision.