Psychology of Selling

Course: Commerce
Subject: Personal Selling and Salesmanship
Lesson: Psychology of Selling
Lesson Developer: Kangan Jain
College/ Department: Keshav Mahavidyalaya,
Department of Business Studies.

Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi

 Psychology of Selling

Lesson: Psychology of Selling

Table of Contents:

1: Learning Outcomes
2: Introduction
3: Effective selling – Psychology of Selling
4: Principle of Contingency benefits
5: Principles of Suggestion
6: Selling Appeals
6.1: Logical Appeals
6.2: Emotional Appeals
7: Buying Behavior
8: Social influences that shape buyer behavior
Summary
Exercises
Glossary
References

1. Learning Outcomes:
After you have read this chapter, you should be able to:

 understand the concept of psychology of selling,

 identify the different appeals used in selling,
 understand and relate selling with the Principle of Contingency
Benefits,
 appreciate and apply effectively the Principles of Suggestion,
 differentiate between different emotional appeals,
 appreciate the use of appeals in brand communications,
 apply the knowledge of emotional appeals in making sales,
 identify and understand the social influences that shape buyer
behavior.

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2. Introduction:
Personal selling and salesmanship is more than a sales message occupying space in and
around print and broadcast media and the face-to-face contact at the point of purchase. It
is a complex form of communication that strategically maneuvers into consumer
consciousness via the sales message. An effective brand communication must have the
strategy and creative idea moving in parallel. Salesmanship has evolved over time. There
exists a two-way link between salesmanship and the society. Salesmanship affects the
society and in turn gets affected by it. With advances in industrialization, we have a
plethora of brands offering the generic product. Our society has evolved from being a single
supplier or manufacturer and in certain cases without having a manufacturer for a particular
product. Thereby the suppliers had been inducing consumers to work and be satisfied with
substitutes. It now became a multiple supplier society wherein there is a constant
competition among suppliers or manufacturers to outsmart each other, grab a larger share
of the market and survive successfully. There are multitudes of players each selling the
same generic product under its own commercial name, making desperate attempts to create
a distinctive image in the prospects' minds to survive. It is in the light of this backdrop
created in the light of multiple players, same product, same target and question of effective
and successful survival that understanding the “psychology of selling” assumes significance.

With the passage of time, markets have more stocks than can be absorbed easily by its
customers. Because of this, salesmanship assumes the role of creating demand for the
product using the two main approaches: first, the hard-sell approach and second, the soft-
sell approach. The hard sell approach uses reason or logic to persuade a customer. The soft
- sell approach seeks to build an image that induces the customer to buy. But that suggests
that the sales personnel have to understand the psychology of the customers, the
influencing factor has to be identified and then adopt the appropriate approach to create
demand and build effective customer relationship.

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 Psychology of Selling

Figure 1: Effective Salesmanship is Building Relationship

Value Addition 1: Pause and Think

Appeals in Selling
“Greatness (of a brand) is basically an emotional issue. It is a rational issue up to a
point but beyond that point it becomes an emotional issue.” - Hrishi Bhattacharya,
Hindustan Liver Limited.
What do these words of wisdom signify? Find out and discuss this with your peers.
Source: page 307, 7th ed. Revised, Foundations of Advertising- Theory and Practice,
S.A. Chunawalla, K. C. Sethia.

3. Effective Salesmanship – “Psychology of Selling”

A selling effort is said to be effective if it is able to induce the desired response from the
target audience. The desired response may be a behavior, such as a call to inquire or it may
be an action, such as buy the product. It may also be an attitudinal change towards the
product that in future can be converted into sales. This response needs to be analyzed and
evaluated for taking decisions regarding further actions. One also may decide to start all
over again.

A popular model AIDA, helps in gauging the effectiveness of brand communications. This
model suggests that in order to be effective, a brand communication needs to grab the
target’s attention (A- attention), arouse interest (I- interest) in the subject of the
communication, create a desire (D- desire) to own or use the product and finally influence
the target in a manner that stimulates her to act (A- act) by eventually buying the product.

The 'A'- attention is sought by display or an advertisement or some effective sales

promotion program, while 'I'- interest and 'D'- desire is created by the salesmen following
either the soft- sell approach to salesmanship or a hard- sell approach. The former approach
seeks to achieve the selling objective by making appeals to the target at an emotional or a

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psychological level while the hard-sell approach seeks to achieve the ultimate objective by
using rational or logical appeal.

The impact of salesmanship on customer mind and behavior can also be captured by the
think- feel- do model. The idea here is to use salesmanship to motivate people to think
about the message, feel something about the product, and do something based on the
influence so created, such as, buy it. The 3 components of this model, namely think, feel
and do, need not necessarily happen in the said order. The order varies depending on the
type of product being sold, for example, think- feel- do order is followed in case of products
that target learning and interest such as computer games, CD, DVD. The salesman’s
objective here is to provide information and use emotions (happiness/joy) to elicit the
desired response.

Figure 2: Human mind viewed as a grey box where multiple factors are at play.

The table below shows the different possible paths of cognitive and behavioral impact that
salesmanship has on the customers:

PATH GOAL EXAMPLE SALESMANSHIP

OBJECTIVE
Think-do-feel Learning, College, a computer, Provide information,
understanding a vacation generate valid
arguments in favour
Feel-think-do Needs A new suit, a Create desire
motorcycle
Feel-do-think Wants Cosmetics, fashion Establish a
psychological appeal

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Do-feel-think Impulse A candy bar, a soft Create brand

drink familiarity
Do-think-feel Habit Cereal, shampoo Remind of
satisfaction
Source: page 103, Advertising Principles and Practice, 7th ed., by William Wells, Sandra
Moriarty, John Brunett.

The model suggests the use of emotional as well as logical appeals to create the desired
impact on the prospect. Depending upon the goal sought and product type, the path may be
either cognition to behavioral or behavioral to cognition.
Based on the models studied above, the effectiveness of a brand communication can be
measured by the responses that it is able to generate from the prospects. An effective
communication stimulates six types of consumer responses as given below:

1. Perception: Perception is becoming aware of something via the senses. An

advertisement seeks to create perception by exposing communication to the target.
It seeks to catch customer's attention, create awareness, arouse interest and
creating recognition (mental image) of the advertised product.

2. Cognition: Cognition is the psychological result of perception and learning and

reasoning. It refers to how the target responds to information. It is the logical
response to the brand communication. Ads influence cognition by supplying relevant
facts about the product, creating an understanding about the varied features in the
product, differentiating the brand from others in the market and hence matching
product attributes to consumer needs thereby proving a solution to customer
problem (need- deprivation of some basic satisfaction). Cognition also involves
locking the understanding thus created in consumer’s long-term memory that
facilitates recall of the brand.

Figure 3: Consumer's Psychological Responses

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3. Affective or emotional response: The term ‘affective’ refers to something that stirs
emotions and arouses feeling thereby stimulating wants (desires for specific
satisfiers of need). While cognition is influenced by logic, affective response is
elicited by using emotional appeals like fear, love, happiness, humor etc.

4. Association: Association seeks to connect the brand to certain desired qualities that
define the brand in the consumers mind. For example, mountain dew is associated
with adventure and thrill. The moment one thinks about mountain dew, the first
thing that comes to mind is “Darr ke aagey jeet hai”, i.e. mountain dew is now a
symbol of thrill targeting the adventurous youth.
5. Persuasion: Persuasion is the use of logic and/or emotional appeals that attempts to
develop and change attitudes, leading to desired behavior. Persuasion leads to
conviction and liking resulting into loyalty towards the brand.

6. Behavior: Behavior here means to the desired behavior. An action of some kind is
the most important goal of any brand communication. It can be a trial, buy, or a
contact effort on part of the customer. An action of the mentioned sort suggests that
the sales effort has been successful enough in inducing the target to get involved in
the communication process and respond .The battle is more than half won if the
salesperson is able to generate positive behavioral response from the target.

Both the models discussed above show that the approach to selling is the critical area on
which the future of the brand depends. The approach can be either logical or emotional and
even better, a mixture of the two. Traditionally, sales persons have used logic to
communicate to the target focusing majorly on facts about the brand (ask your parents as

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to how products were sold in their times. It will be bit of a surprise to know that the sales
person would simply hand over the generic product without much of an effort apart from
introducing the product features and its usage, contrary to what is prevalent in
salesmanship today). This approach worked fine in the era of 1930s, 40s, 50s, when there
existed only the generic product maker and societies were supplier deficit. But as a result of
the market growth and the increase in the number of suppliers selling the same product
under different names, it became imperative for the sales persons to woo the market. This
could be best done by dealing with the prospects psychologically i.e. differentiating the own
brand from others by highlighting the beneficial features or stirring emotions or arousing
feelings. This means that psychology (mental response) and emotions (feelings) are the two
major selling tools that are the focus of sales persons these days. This boils down to the fact
that psychology of selling that is the impact, both cognitive and affective, of brand
communication or message is now the focus of sales persons.

Strictly speaking, the salesperson is not selling anything. He is simply conditioning the
prospect’s mind in a manner that he/she buys the product or service. In this sense, selling
can more appropriately be seen as the art of persuasion so as to bring the prospect in a
positive frame of mind towards the communicated brand. Salesmanship as the art of
persuasion seeks to address motivators in the prospects. As propounded by A.H. Maslow, a
popular motivation theorist, unmet needs act as motivators. These unmet needs propel an
individual to act in a manner that leads to their realization. This is to say that these unmet
needs motivate the prospect to act in a particular manner. We now proceed to understand
what is it that can persuade the prospect to act favorably towards the brand in question –
benefits, suggestions, and appeals.

4. Principle of Contingency Benefits

According to the Principle of Contingency Benefits, “Effective salesmen persuade their
prospects by making them believe that there is a bundle of benefits that awaits them for
their action”. It is this desire for future benefits or gains that propel the prospect to act
favorably towards the brand i.e. buy it. A marketing executive has rightly pointed out that a
customer when buying a drill is not buying a drill but is buying holes that the drill can make.
Likewise, a customer buying water is not buying water but is buying a solution to his thirst.
This shows that it is the set of benefits that awaits a customers’ purchase that induces him
to make the purchase. A customer buying a car is actually buying convenience, comfort and
the pride of owning a car.
Figure 4: Contingency Benefits

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An effective salesman is one who induces the prospect to buy more than what he intended
to. He does so by putting forth the benefits that lie in waiting for the prospect. Now this
bundle of benefits needs to be carefully presented to the prospects such that spoken words
paint the desired image in the prospects mind as to what he desires for.

Value Addition 2: Example

Principle of Contingency Benefits
An effective verbal image was created by a saleswoman for an air conditioner:
“It is 45 degrees temperature outside. You’ve had a hard day and return home dead tired.
The bus was over-crowded, co- passengers were sweaty and smelly and you had to stand
up all the way. You feel drained-out and your head aches and you know that when you
get home, the squeaky fan (which you are better off not using rather than using) will only
annoy you more. You actually dread the fact of getting home and tackling the discomfort
due to the miserable summers. Has something like that ever happened to you?”

The answer will be “Yes”, whether it has or not. So the saleswoman unfolds a huge life-
size color picture of a summer saving, refreshing, silently pleasant cooling air conditioner
with the couch well prepared only to invite you to surrender yourself to it. “Wouldn’t it be
wonderful to come home to this? No signs of stickiness, heat; a temperature that is so
refreshing and relaxing?”

A word of caution here is that the salesperson should keep in mind the bundle of benefits
mean different things to different people, apart from utility (functional), psychological
benefits (ego, status appeal) some people also seek value for money.

Value Addition 3: Activity

Principle of Contingency Benefits
Identify 5 products that you or your family has bought recently. List the bundle of
benefits that you or the family has derived by using the products.

Now respond to the following questions:

1. Do you normally list down the benefits before making any purchase decision?
2. Were you aware of all the benefits earlier?
3. Did you consider all such benefits before buying them?
4. Do you feel happy on knowing about the benefits received but not perceived
earlier?
Discuss the relevance of the perceived bundle of benefits in influencing buying behavior

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with your peer group.

5. Principles of Suggestion
As we know there are two approaches to selling – one that satisfies logic and the other that
caters to emotions. The selling approach, using emotional appeals, is based on Principles of
Suggestion. Various studies conducted from time to time by different people suggest that
most of the actions of prospects are a result of imitation, habit or suggestion. Their actions
are only reactions.
The effectiveness of suggestions depends upon how well they are grounded in the Principles
of Suggestion. Here are several Principles of suggestion that a salesperson needs to master
before impinging on the arduous task of wooing a prospect:
1. People accept an idea as true unless some blocking (contradicting) idea obstructs its
acceptance.
2. The source of suggestion has a bearing on its acceptance by the target.
3. The acceptance of a suggestion is affected by the intensity or degree of seriousness
with which it is made.
4. Recent suggestions are more likely to be accepted earlier than the ones made
earlier.
5. Repetition of suggestion enhances retention and hence its acceptance.
6. A natural and spontaneous suggestion is more acceptable than a contrived one.

It should also be borne in mind that a prospect will accept a suggestion only if he wants to,
no matter what. This is to say that if the prospect is unwilling to even listen to you, your
first task is to stimulate him in a manner that he at least is open to your communication.
Once the prospect is ready to listen, the appeals used by the salesperson would play their
role.
Figure: 5: Acceptance of a Suggestion

We will now proceed on to discussing these principles one by one.

1. Blocking Idea: The fact is that the prospect’s mind is not an empty playground. There
are a lot of gamers who have played in there before. This creates some kind of an attitude
towards the generic product and sometimes even about the brand, the sales personnel is
trying to sell. The attitude so created may be a positive response to the competitor’s
product such that the target is fully satisfied and she may not be willing to pay attention to

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the other brand communication. This positive attitude towards the competitor’s product may
be the result of a satisfying experience with the competitor’s product or it may also be due
to the competitor’s suggestion about the other's product(s).

For instance, one soft drink promotes itself as being a simple thirst quencher and no
nonsense drink implying that other soft drink make tall claims about energy, sweetness,
etc. but when it comes to quenching thirst, theirs is the best.

Also think of Cadburys 30 years back. That time, chocolates were meant just for kids and
that also in very small quantities, once in a while. The Cadbury team has successfully
overcome this block of mind and made it a universal sweet for people of all ages and for all
times- month beginning, at the start of anything new, any festival and so on. Cadburys
presents a remarkable success story for overcoming mental block.

The objective at this stage should be to understand the customer's perception about the
product or brand in reference, and if blocking thoughts are preventing acceptance of the
suggestions made, identify them and try to sync them with the product or brand one is
talking about.

Figure 6: Blocking of Ideas

Value Addition 4: Activity

Mental Block
Study the Cadbury’s strategy in overcoming the mental block of the people and how it
expanded its target market from young kids to people of all ages. You may Google it
and follow up with related links.
After studying about the Cadbury success story, make a list of steps that a company
can adopt to overcome a mental block in the market. Also think about one more such
product that has overcome consumer mind block.
Discuss the findings and observations with your peer group.

Prospects generally have pre-conceived notions about the communications and they are not
so willing to part with such notions and biases formed over a period of time. An effective
sales representative identifies such block(s) and tries to penetrate into the prospect’s mind
for the purpose of dealing with it.

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2. Source: Prospect’s absorption of the suggestion is contingent on the credibility or the

merit of its source. If a non-technical salesperson suggests to a technocrat that he can solve
a technical problem that the latter is encountering, it is highly unlikely that he will be
believed. The obvious reason for this kind of belief is that the non-technical salesperson
lacks the apparent applicable skill. Likewise, if a new, inexperienced beautician tries to
convince a regular salon goer about her skills, it is highly unlikely that the target would get
convinced about the novice’s claims.

So one has to make sure, before setting out to convince the prospect, that she is credible
and qualified enough to make the prospect believe in.

Figure 7: Technical person demonstrating the technical aspects of a machine

Source: http://www.cse.zju.edu.cn/attachments/2010-11/07-1290744196-
32326.jpg

If technical experts explain technical aspects of the machine in question, it is more willingly
accepted by the prospect.

3. Intensity: The delivery of the words does affect their reception by the prospect. The
intonations should be modulated according to the situation, product and brand image. A
deep, firm and intense voice suggests the confidence in one's own product. For example, if
one is selling a children’s’ encyclopedia, one definitely needs to talk like a knowledgeable
person, who knows a lot (due to access to that encyclopedia). At the same time one has to
involve not only the parents but also the would-be user child by making exciting fun filled
chats. Infuse in the prospective child the urge to own it. The best way to deliver the lines
effectively is to first believe in what is said. Once one believes in it, one is automatically
infused with the right spirit to make the other person believe in it. And trust me, it is this
enthusiasm, drive to make others believe in what one does, that is going to intensify the
words used and generate the desired response.

Figure 8: Intensifying Communication

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4. Repetition: What is out of sight soon becomes out of mind. Likewise, if some news does
not hit our ears very often, it is soon forgotten. With this in mind, key suggestions should
be repeated for maximum effectiveness. At the same time, one should not go overboard to
an extent that the prospect finds it irritating. With repetition, overtime sales rep’s
communication gets well absorbed by the prospect who is then ready to act on it.

5. Spontaneity: The effectiveness of a suggestion also depends on the ability of the

salesman to appropriately customize his lines to complement the prospect’s reaction.
Depending upon the prospect’s doubts, the salesperson should provide clarifications, as
opposed to reciting the prepared script. A salesperson should not be rigid with the sales
pitch and presentation; rather he should be creatively innovative to be able to convert the
sales meets into an ongoing buying field eventually. An effective sales person is one who is
spontaneous to react. The ability to appropriately customize the behavior is what helps to
climb up the salesmanship ladder. The figure below shows how spontaneously the sales
representative expresses the joy on his prospect’s win.

Figure 9: Click on the link below to view a salesman sharing joy with the prospect on
his win

Source: http://pastors.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/baptism-photo.jpg

Last but not the least, the prospect’s desire to believe is what ultimately determines the
efficacy of all the suggestions. A prospect will believe a suggestion only if he wants to, no
matter what. If an industrialist wants to believe that an E-class Mercedes will elevate his
status, he will believe it, do whatever you may. This is to say that unless a prospect wants
to believe, he just would not give a patient hearing to the claims made. It is seen that
people harbor and cherish lies when the truth is painful to accept. A cosmetic saleswoman
suggests to her haggardly middle aged, charm losing client that daily application of her
brand’s skin renewal cream will make her client’s skin look 10 years younger and the
difference will start becoming apparent within 15 days. It is known to everyone very well
that ageing is an ugly truth of life which can’t be denied and regressing back into time is not
possible (at least not by cosmetics!). The client believes the suggestion because she wants
to believe it. It is painful for her to accept the fact that she is no longer attractive or that
she is getting old.

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Figure 10: Click on the link below to see how an Olay ad effectively captures the pre
and post Olay usage face, for those women who find it difficult to accept signs of
aging. This is indeed the reason for success of the brand.

Source:
https://danielthompsonbeauty.com/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/field/ima
ge/BLOG_wrinkleCream.jpg

6. Selling Appeals: Selling appeal refers to selling attractiveness that interests, pleases or
stimulates the target. Advertisers influence the prospects’ purchase decisions by two types
of appeals – rational and/or emotional.

Human needs and wants serve as the basis for selling appeals. Marketing is primarily
concerned with satisfying human needs and wants. Needs pre-exist marketers. Marketers
along with other societal forces influence wants. Selling being an integral part of marketing
also begins with human needs and wants. All selling appeals are created to conjure human
needs and wants by explaining to the prospects how the advertised brand, with its prime
features can satiate them. While need is a state of deprivation of some innate or basic
human satisfaction, wants are desires for specific satisfiers of need. Needs are few, wants
can be many. For example, on being hungry, one may feel the need for food, while having a
desire for pizza/burger/Chinese to satisfy hunger becomes want. Needs are felt for more
essential items, hence needs are primary in nature. Wants are secondary needs. Maslow’s
Need Hierarchy theory of Motivation depicts various needs in an individual in a hierarchical
manner that can be used by a salesman to motivate the prospects in making a favorable
response to buy the product.

Figure 11: Use of Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory of Motivation to influence Prospects.

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Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Maslow%27s_Hierarchy_of_Needs.svg

The lower level needs in the hierarchy namely – physiological and safety needs must be
satisfied before moving to the higher order wants such as belongingness, ego and self-
actualization. The lower level needs exist for products such as medicines, staple items,
generics, water, sleep, food etc. and the insurance, alarm systems, retirement benefits,
investments all satisfy the safety needs in terms of security, shelter and protection etc. The
physiological needs call for a logical appeal from the advertisers to influence the prospect.
The safety needs require both emotional such as peace of mind, overcoming of fear etc. and
rational appeal for influencing the prospects. Products such as clothing, clubs, drinks, cars,
travel, education, cosmetics, etc. which cater to secondary needs/wants focus more on
emotional appeal than on rational to influence the prospects. These products are purchased
against the motive of pride, distinction, social status, achievement and so on. It is to be
noted here that unsatisfied needs act as motivators that propel the prospect into action
(buy). Hence, the relevant salesperson’s task is to identify those unmet needs and conjure
human emotions such that the prospect is motivated to buy the advertised brand.

Motivators for the prospect serve as appeals that salespersons can craftily use to maneuver
customer consciousness to influence their buying decision.

Value Addition 6: Did you know?

Envy
‘Envy, thy name is woman.” – (William Shakespeare)
Women grudgingly admire and desire to have something that is possessed by another
woman, especially jewellery, designer clothes, fashion accessories, fragrances, etc.
This particular trait of women is largely captured by advertisers.
Can you remember the ad in which a woman says to herself, ”Uski saree meri saree se
safed kaise?” or the Himalaya face-cream ads and the like.
Advertisers have gone a step forward and used “envy” to entice men as well.
Onida’s punchline – “Neighbours envy, owners pride” is a good example in this regard.

Broadly speaking advertising or as we may also say selling appeals are of 2 types: logical
and emotional (suggestion). Let’s move on to understand these one by one.

6.1 Logical Reasoning

Anything that is objective and satisfies the questioning ability of your brain is logical. Logic
is based on an objective premise. When you sell your product using logic, you expect the
prospect to critically evaluate your proposal, weigh the pros and cons and base his decision
on sound grounds. Rational buying motives encompass factors such as price, usage cost,
durability, servicing, reliability and useful life. At this junction, it is valid to introduce to you
the concept of “logical Syllogism”. It is deductive reasoning in which a conclusion is derived
from two premises. Logical syllogisms are made up of three parts: a major premise, a minor
premise and a conclusion. Read the examples that follow to understand the concept.

In selling apparels, such conclusion based on logic might be deduced:

I. Major premise: land rates here are about to rise.

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II. Minor premise: I am offering you a land here.

III. Conclusion: Therefore, you should buy this land.

Likewise, in selling laptops to corporate offices, this is how logic may be presented:
I. Major premise: Rational managers want to maximize the productivity of their office
staff.
II. Minor premise: My laptops will maximize productivity.
III. Conclusion: Therefore, you must buy my laptops.

Value Addition 7: Activity

Logical Reasoning
You are a sales representative. Develop a logical syllogism assuming you are selling:
a) A sophisticated latest technology, touch screen, dual sim smart phone.
b) A full family nutrition supplement.
c) A car that is economical on gas.
Discuss with your peer group.

Logical decisions take time to manifest. The prospect needs to be presented with facts,
which he/she then evaluates. In comparison to this, suggestions (emotional appeals) work
faster.

In case of low priced items like matchsticks, salt, etc., the purchase is generally driven by
impulse; logic is not essentially applied. While in case of products that constitute a major
chunk of a prospect’s expenditure such as car, air conditioner, television, laptop, etc. a
careful consideration of facts about the product form the basis of the prospect’s decision.
Though the emotional appeals do work here, but logical reasoning is the pre-dominant force
that guides the prospect’s purchase. The main objective behind using logic is to rationalize
the buyer’s spending.

Figure 12: Salesman influencing the Prospect Rationally

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Logic gains pre-dominance over suggestions in case of:

 Professional/Industrial buyers making purchases for the organization.

 Technically expert buyers (engineers and the like).
 Products that involve a big outlay of cash.
 Selling anything that is new to the prospect involving logic to support arguments in
favor of it.

Persuasion by alternatives and comparison of similarities also fall into the realm of logical
reasoning. Humans, being rational beings (“economic man”) seek rationalization of their
behavior to satisfy their logical instincts. Care should be taken to avoid generalizations,
unless one has strong foundation of facts to support it, in the wake of providing logical
reasoning to make your brand desirable. Statements like, “we are the best”, “No one does
better than us”, should be avoided. Be careful to avoid making generalizations unless you
have solid facts to buttress your stance or else the prospect will ignore then as unworthy of
consideration.

6.2 Emotional Appeals, Motives or Selling Points

Effective salesmanship calls for an appropriate mix of rational and emotional appeals in
designing brand communication. Emotions are driven by feelings, a physical sensation that
one experiences. Several emotional motives such as ego, pride, entertainment, security,
comfort, luxury have been compiled by different thinkers in this area. Emotions being an
extremely complex attribute cannot be put into one exhaustive list. The emotional mix that
drives a prospect’s action for the same product might be different for two different people.
For example, there are two companies – A and B. Their MDs are MD (A) and MD (B)
respectively. Both the MDs buy a top class AUDI for ego gratification. But the other
underlying appeal playing a role in their purchase might be different. MD (A) might want to
use this new car for his external prestige enhancement (to his clients) while MD (B) might
have purchased the AUDI for internal prestige enhancement (to his subordinates), ego
gratification being common to both MDs.

It is thus important to know and understand that the emotional buying motive may be same
or different for different people. However there are some common buying motives that
make the prospects to buy.

The following discussion is related to some common emotional buying motives/buying

points.

Figure 13: Emotional Appeals used by Salesman

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1. Physical pleasure; comfort; convenience; avoidance of effort: Going by the Maslow’s

need hierarchy, only when basic physical needs such as food to eat, shelter, vehicle
for convenience, clothes to protect our body, emotional and financial security get
satiated, do human beings think beyond them. Until such time, gratification of these
needs is the predominant force driving the prospect’s actions.
Things such as cars, washing machines, ready to eat foods, microwaves, basic
clothing, refrigerators, air conditioners, etc. are products that satisfy this urge. In
other words, purchase of such products is driven by such motives.

2. Play; relaxation, recreation/ entertainment: In today’s busy life where man works
like a machine, relaxation and recreation have become much sought after emotions.
Products such as radio, television, play stations, vacations, etc. satisfy this urge.
Airplanes and automobiles (recall the latest Mahindra Quanto add and try to get a
peek into how the sales rep here tries to convince the prospect) serve as means to
this particular end. With a view to satisfy this desire for recreation and relaxation, a
lot of resorts, spas, cine-multiplexes, sports bars and clubs have mushroomed.

Figure 14: The salesman selects right words to create a longing for a soothing, calm
and peaceful holiday feel to a prospect with his/her dear ones.

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Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Town_and_Country_fh000023.jpg

Figure 15: Click on the link below to view a visual that is created by a salesperson through
his communication with the prospect to make him yearn to be part of fun.

Source: http://www.fairviewfriendsfoundation.org/images/en/user/cms/Healthy-
Lifestyle.jpg

3. Aesthetic Pleasure: This appeal justifies the adage; “ A thing of beauty is joy
forever.” Beauty may manifest itself in anything – color, form, design (car, phone,
camera, television), literature, music, home, furniture and almost anything.
An effective salesman combines the above three appeals (comfort, play and beauty)
to influence the prospect positively. He would display a comfort/ convenience
providing product in a manner that its beauty also gets highlighted.

4. Self- esteem, ego, power, status: Once the lower level needs get satiated, an
individual seeks gratification of ego and moves in pursuit of enhancement of self-
esteem. It is instinctive in human beings to feel important and recognized. This need
exists in all individuals. For people whose lower level needs are unmet, these needs
take a back seat and for those who are blessed with all the basic amenities, the urge
for ego, status enhancement is predominant. For example, a company CEO buys a
Maserati only to give a boost to his ego as also to enhance his internal and external
prestige. An ordinary car would do the same function but he prefers the Italian
luxury car to suit his status.

5. Imitation: Young girls buy cosmetics their favorite actress endorses, young boys buy
bikes, sports wear, cool beverages that their superstars promote. On the same lines,
we can find multiple examples from our daily life. These are all instances of
imitation. It is human psychology to hold someone (whom one admires) in a high

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pedestal and try to emulate him/her. Each brand has its own personality and
prospects tend to associate their personality with the brand personality. For
example, Levis conveys a rugged and adventurous image, Thumbs up conveys a
rough, strong image, ponds talc conveys a delicate image, and so on. There are
more than 170 such brand personalities that have been broadly grouped into the five
heads of – sophistication, ruggedness, excitement, sincerity and competence. In
trying to influence the prospects, make sure to address this imitation factor.

6. Acquisitiveness: It is human nature to feel the urge to possess, to call things their
“own”. It is to cater to this urge that salespersons offer attractive financing schemes
so that it is easy for the buyer to own the product. This desire is stronger for
electronic durables, automobiles and real estates.

Figure 16: Click on the link below to view an image showing ‘Pride of owning a
Premium Car’ being used by the sales rep, to convince a prospect for buying the
same.

Source: http://work.chron.com/DM-
Resize/photos.demandstudios.com/getty/article/81/158/83253685.jpg

7. Health and fitness; physical and mental well being: Last two decades have seen a
spurt rise in people’s consciousness regarding their physical and mental well being.
With living being more comfort centric, people have now started to realize the long-
term implications of this fast and away from nature life on their physical and mental
health. With health concerns rising, sales reps offering gym, swimming, spa, yoga
subscriptions, are doing good business by touching this particular nerve of the
disquiet prospect. Also, with rise in competition, one, adults as well as kids, has to
have an agile and a strong mind to cope with the need of the hour. This is very well
taken care of by the sales reps selling health/nutrition supplements. We all want a
healthy long life. It is this desire that drives people to act positively towards sales
reps who are able to convince them enough about their product and its association
with their wellbeing.

Figure 17: Sales representative uses Appeal of ‘Fitness and Strength’ to encash upon
the words like: exercise, gym, diet and fitness that have become a buzzword in the
market.

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Source 17(a): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Aerobic_exercise_-

_public_demonstration07.jpg

8. Fear, precaution, concern: This being the opposite of all motives finds its place at the
bottom of the appeals list. The fear of losing any pleasure or not being able to have
it causes the prospect to act favorably to the salesperson’s suggestions. Also, man
has an inherent fear of loss of life, health, status, recognition, security, money,
comfort and anything and everything that one values. The very thought of losing
these valuables is bothersome.

An effective salesperson makes use of fear appeals to stimulate the prospects. The
fear factor or security concerns intensifies with the progressing of age. It is for this
reason that a lot of insurance plans, pension plans are being sold successfully.
Products such as investment options (real estate, stocks, bonds, etc.), residential
townships, low calorie/cholesterol free eats, heart-safe cooking oil, insurance,
pension plans, etc. can be effectively sold by aligning the prospect’s fears with the
product’s benefits.

Apart from the above-mentioned appeals there are other appeals too that work
strongly and effectively. Man being a social animal seeks approval of other members
of his community, gets attracted towards the opposite sex, wants to get noticed,
appreciated and recognized. This motive is strongly catered to by many sales reps
especially in case of cosmetics for females and males, fragrances, bikes, scooties,
etc. There is also a desire for adventure and novel experiences that drives people to
try new vacation destinations.

A good way for a sales rep to be able to get his prospect interested in his product is
by arousing his curiosity regarding it. The approach of arousing and then satisfying
curiosity has been well cashed upon by sales reps of financial products for example,

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Recollect how the bank and insurance dealers have tried to convince your dad or
brother about the latest financial products that they finally opted for or purchased.
That is where a sales rep needs to understand the buying behavior.

7. Buying Behavior

Consumer mind is an enigma which marketing researchers have been trying to reach
through. Consumer’s mind as best can be viewed as a grey box; you feed information, its
reception is painted by multiple internal and external influences, in light of these influences
the consumer makes his decision of buying or leaving. There have been multiple schools of
thought that have delved into the realm of buying behavior. We will now discuss few of such
significant theories in this regard.

 The Problem Solving Approach: An ideal way for the pragmatic salesperson to justify
buying behavior is to consider that all products people buy are solutions to some
problem that they face. This can be seen to be similar to the 4 Cs of marketing given
by Robert Lauterborn (customer problem, cost, convenience, communication) to
address which Mc Carthy introduced the 4 Ps framework (product, price, place and
promotion respectively). For example, if one is thirsty, the problem is thirst. The
solution to this problem lies in water. Hence, people buy water to satisfy or quench
their thirst.

 The Self-Concept Theory: This theory is akin to the ego gratification behavior of an
individual. According to this theory, one buys a particular product in order to satisfy
his consciousness of his own identity aka ego. This is an integrated theory that
combines both the rational and the emotional approach. Behavioral scientists have
identified different selves that influence buying behavior. Following are some
prominent ones:
a) The real self: The real self of a person is what he thinks he really is. An
individual's perception of his capabilities, intelligence, character, personality,
etc. determine his real self.
b) The ideal self: This is one's personal goal. It is what one wants to be. One
might be interested in being a rich industrialist, influential, charismatic, etc.
Then all the actions in this case would be driven by the desire to attain the
ideal self. The goal of every individual is to bridge the gap between the real
self and the ideal self.
c) The real other: This is the perception of what others think of you.
d) The ideal other: This is what one wants others to think of oneself. All these
different selves play a role in influencing the prospect’s decision.

Ponder upon the impact of driving a Mercedes to your premium residence adorned with fine
furnishings on your self-concepts. All these tangible things reinforce your self-concepts.

Figure 18: Reinforcing consumers with Buying Behavior Theories

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8. Social Influences that Shape Buyer Behavior

Man is a social animal. Every individual is a member of some social group: neighborhood,
work, club, school, college, family, religious, music, dance, etc. All these groups influence
consumer behavior. Social influence on consumer behavior can be studied under the
following heads:
Such groups are called reference groups. A reference group can be any group with which
an individual compares and evaluates himself and his own behavior.
1) Groups
2) Family
3) Roles and Status

Groups: Groups that influence consumer behavior are called reference groups. These
groups provide benchmarks for assessment of individual behavior. For example,
people belonging to a particular religious group do not eat non-veg; do not use
products that inflict sufferings upon any living creature. All members of this group
abide by this norm. Individuals belonging to the same dance class, wear similar
costumes and so on.

Figure 19: Consumer mind is affected by multiple social factors – groups,

family, social networking sites etc.

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Value Addition 8: Activity

Role of Reference Groups in Influencing Buying Behavior
Identify different reference groups of which you are a part.
Make a list of 2 such things, in purchase of which, different relevant reference groups
influenced your decision.
Discuss your finding with other members of your group.
Do factors like age, social and cultural environment, education etc. have relevance in
the dominance of a particular kind of reference group? Discuss your opinion with your
peers.

Value Addition 9: Did you know?

Types of Reference Groups
Read about the different types of reference groups and answer the questions that
follow in the link given below.
Source: http://www.umich.edu/~kcourses/smc435/PDFfiles/ref.pdf

Family: Family constitutes the prime source of influence that guides consumer
behavior. An individual as a child gathers much of the information, and behaviors of
family members (family of orientation) that paint his imagination and perception
towards brands for the time when he makes decision for his family (family of pro-
creation). For example, a person who has seen his family happy using Colgate
toothpaste is likely to carry forward this positive image about Colgate to his children.

Figure 20: Click on the link below to view an image showing descend of the
family influence.
Source:
https://d3r4ecz8hnfnqf.cloudfront.net/508a7140e4b00c5379bd49ec/full/us-

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navy-021029-n-3228g-007-navy-family-shops-at-the-pearl-harbor-
commissary.jpeg

Roles and status: A person’s behavior towards brands is also determined by his role
i.e. what he is expected to do by the society and his status or his image in society
due to his profession. A company MD is expected to drive a better/superior car than
his subordinates. This induces people to buy products that reinforce their social
status.
All these social factors together influence consumer behavior.

Summary:
 Selling Appeal refers to advertising attractiveness that interests, pleases or
stimulates the target. It refers to the use of appeals (rational and emotional) to
appeal (attract) the prospects.
 Appeals used in selling are primarily of two types – rational /logical and emotional.
 Rational appeals work well for generic, staple products that seek to satisfy
biological/primary needs. Emotional appeals are more widely used for products such
as insurance, cars, cosmetics, suiting, etc. that seek to satisfy wants/secondary
needs.
 Principle of Contingency benefits: says that it is this desire for future benefits/gains
that propels the prospect to act favorably towards the brand i.e. buy it.
 Principles of Suggestion: says that emotions are the main drivers of a purchase
decision.
 Effective salesmanship calls for a judicious mixture of rational and emotional
appeals.
 Social factors like reference groups, family and roles and status influence consumer
behavior.

Exercises:
A. Objective Type Questions:

1. State true or false for the statements given below:

i) Emotional appeals work better for products that satisfy basic human needs.
ii) Soft sell approach uses reason/logic to influence the prospect.
iii) Hard sell approach uses emotions to create an impression on the prospect’s
mind.
iv) Logical syllogism is the focal point of the hard sell approach to salesmanship.
v) Physical comfort, play, recreation, aesthetics, health and fitness, acquisitiveness,
etc. are types of emotional appeals.

2. Choose the most appropriate option for the statements that follow:

i. Identify a pro-active emotional appeal.

a) fear /precaution

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b) acquisitiveness
c) aesthetics
d) health and fitness
ii. Identify a case where logic gains pre-dominate suggestions.
a) Professional/Industrial buyers making purchases for the organization.
b) Technically expert buyers (engineers and the like).
c) Products that involve a big outlay of cash.
d) all the above

iii. Identify which of the following is not a Principle of Suggestion.

a) Blocking ideas
b) Source of suggestion
c) Recent and repetitive
d) Bundle of benefit

iv. Identify the principle that suggests “Bundle of benefits”.

a) Suggestion
b) Contingency benefits
c) Problem solving
d) Self concept

3. Pick the odd one out:

i. Physical comfort, relaxation, aesthetics, health and fitness, fear.
ii. Fear, health and fitness, convenience, acquisitiveness, logical syllogism.
iii. Real self, real other, problem solution, ideal self, ideal other.
iv. Family, reference groups, role and status, income.
v. Fear, precaution, concern, convenience.

B. Short Questions:

1) What do you mean by psychology of Selling?

2) What are the different appeals that salespersons may use in order to sell
effectively?
3) What do you mean by logical reasoning in context of personal selling and
salesmanship?
4) What do you mean by Principle of Contingency?
5) What are the Principles of Suggestion?
6) What is the problem solving approach to explaining buying behavior?
7) How do different selves (self-concept theory) influence buying behavior?
8) How does the society influence consumer behavior?

C. Long Questions:

1) Man is a rational being yet emotions play an important role in influencing his buying
behavior. Elucidate.
2) What do you mean by fear appeal? You are a sales rep of ABC ltd. Selling pension
plans to people in the age group 50-60. Devise a suitable selling proposition for your
prospects and justify your use of appeal.
3) Explain the different theories that influence buying behavior.

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4) “Man is a social animal. Society plays a major role in shaping his behavior”. Justify
this statement in context of consumer behavior.
5) An effective salesperson is one who uses multiple suggestions to influence his
prospects and at the same time provides rational justification for the desired
behavior. Justify.

(Answer key to objective type questions:

1. i) False ii) False iii) False iv) True v) True.
2. i- a ii- d iii)- d iv- b
3. i- fear ii- logical syllogism iii. problem solution iv. income
v. convenience.)
Glossary:
 Advertising Appeal: refers to advertising attractiveness that interests, pleases or
stimulates the target.
 Affective / emotional response: affective refers to something that stirs emotions
and arouses feeling thereby stimulating wants.
 Association: seeks to connect the brand to certain desired qualities that define the
brand in the consumers mind
 Cognition: the psychological result of perception and learning and reasoning.
 Creative idea: The central idea or theme of the conversation that creates a
cognitive image of the subject in the prospect’s mind
 Ego: An inflated feeling of pride in your superiority to others.
 Emotional mix: It is a set or a mix of emotions that induces the prospect to act in a
particular manner. Several emotions play in a prospect’s mind and a mix of them
leads him towards his/her final act.
 Perception: becoming aware of something via the senses.
 Persuasion: It is the use of logic/emotional appeals that attempts to develop and
change attitudes leading to desired behavior.
 Reference group: Any group with which an individual compares and evaluates
himself and his own behavior.
 Strategy: The logical planning that gives direction to the brand communication and
sets its focus

References:
1. Suggested Readings:
 The Psychology of Selling: Increase Your Sales Faster and Easier Than You Ever
Thought Possible [Paperback] by Brian Tracy
2. Web Links:

 Click on the link http://www.copyblogger.com/psychological-selling/ to read 12 tips

for ‘Psychological Selling’
 Click on the link
http://www.tenandahalf.co.uk/resources/top_tips/10_secrets_of_the_psychology_of
_selling to know about 10 secrets of psychological selling.

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 Click on the link http://www.helium.com/items/1887551-the-principle-of-suggestion-

in-salesmanship to read on principle of suggestion in salesmanship.
 Click on the link http://www.acrwebsite.org/search/view-conference-
proceedings.aspx?Id=9703 to read about the buying-selling interactions among
insurance agents and prospective customers.

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