Source: The Economist

The conventional belief of economists (and all other scientific, logical disciplines such as finance and the law) is that people are logical. What nonsense!

Homo sapiens is a highly complex creature that is difficult to comprehend. But we buy based on emotions and post-rationalise based on facts.

If you can remember the last time you bought an apartment or house, you’ll know what I mean. Maybe you had a good impression from the outside. Maybe deep-down it reminded you of somewhere else. But it made you feel good. We usually can’t put our finger on why.

However you can’t spend all that money based on feelings, so you check the details: the train service, the local schools, the nearest park and convenience stores. You want the apartment but only offer to buy when you can justify the purchase rationally.

So when trying to persuade clients to use your services ask yourself: What’s the client’s emotional hot button here?

Sometimes it will be to look good to their boss, perhaps because you frequently update them on issues and progress. Sometimes it will be sleeping better at night or to have less hassle in their life. There’ll always be something.

Rory Sutherland, Vice Chair at Ogilvy UK, speaks eloquently and says that those involved in business development need to avoid having the rational, economist mindset. You will do well to avoid being overly logical. Often doing the opposite of what your competitors are doing will work well for you.