The Power Of Pain
Pain sells best.
People spend an enormous amount of time, money and energy
avoiding pain.
They avoid confrontation with neighbors, bosses and spouses, to avoid emotional pain. They gulp mountains of drugs to suppress physical pain.
When Thoreau said “most men lead lives of quiet desperation” he said a mouthful. This is where the marketer’s greatest opportunity lies: exploiting others’ quiet (suppressed) desperation; their private pain. You see, most people do not like their jobs, their relationships, their lives or even themselves. The savvy marketer understands this and is willing to peel back a scab and rub salt in it to motivate someone to action.
It’s worth noting, by the way, that very few people can clearly describe what they want – which, incidentally, is why they don’t get it – but most people know what they don’t want. Rubbing their noses in what they have that they dislike is much more effective than holding a carrot out in front of them. You must make people feel miserable before you can liberate them. Whether selling a kitchen appliance or an annuity, selling to mom at home or the CEO in the tower, you must create despair to ready the person for your solution.
This is the most reliable approach to selling.
