Why People Like to Buy

Consider Billy. When it comes down to it, Billy makes his own choice. He likes that. He craves it. He loves it. He'll fight a war over it. When you try the hard sale, you're removing Billy's sense of freedom. Instead, start creating an environment where he can choose to buy. Take it from former HBR editor Edward Bursk

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People like to buy. This is the fundamental psychological reason for the effectiveness of low-pressure techniques. Assuming for the moment that none of the customary deterrents to buying are present, we can say that the act of buying gives the normal person a sense of pleasure. There is a certain feeling of power in being able to acquire things, entirely apart from any anticipation of enjoying the products or services bought. Buying flatters the ego. Certainly vanity is involved, particularly when a person thinks he is buying wisely and shrewdly, "getting a bargain."

The moral: think "buy"--not "sell". A switch in perspective will change your business. (Dramatically.)

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