Did you know there are emotional motivators that make people buy a particular product or service?

It’s true!

Believe it or not, everyone buys based on emotional triggers…and then they justify their buying decisions with logic.  (Yes, even you.)

So if you want to motivate your customers to buy, you need to know exactly which core emotions will “press the hot buttons” of your potential customers.

These are five core emotions that motivate people to buy. While not all five apply to every business, most of them will apply in one form or another.  And you’ll want to use them all to make sure you reach as many potential customers as possible.

Emotional Motivator #1:  Curiosity

This first emotion is crucial when your brand, product or service is being introduced to someone for the very first time.

If your initial brand message doesn’t ignite their curiosity, then you’re done before you’ve even started.

So the first step to motivating people to buy is to catch your prospect’s attention and create curiosity.

Emotional Motivator #2:  Pain and Anger

There are two emotions that cause people to take action: the pain of how things currently are and the desire for things to be better in the future.

Intense pain is usually a more powerful motivator than desire.

Have you ever known someone who has wanted to make more money for years…and yet they’ve never taken any action to make it real?  However, if that same person was at risk of missing a rent/mortgage payment…they’re probably going to take massive action to prevent that from happening.  In other words…they’re motivated to take action.

When you want to motivate someone to buy, you should start from the pain point.

Why do they want to change?

What’s not working about the way things are?

Emotional Motivator #3:  Hope

Hope is an incredibly powerful emotion. It’s the reason people buy just about any product…and it’s the primary motivator for just about every product in the beauty industry!

People buy a product because they believe that life has the potential to change. They have hope that their life can be better. To motivate people to buy, they need to believe that your product can help get them there.

When you’re selling a product, build up people’s hopes for the future. Paint pictures for them about how their lives could be. Show pictures and videos from people who live the lives they want to live.

Emotional Motivator #4:  Urgency

The greatest motivational speakers are people who have a strong, solid call to action. They get people to feel the urgency of the moment and act right away to take action.

Have you ever watched an infomercial?  Infomercials do a great job of presenting a problem, sharing the solution, and then creating a call to action with bonuses for acting quickly.  (Say it with me now…“But wait…there’s more!”

Your message should always start with a problem that your potential customers want to solve…and solve quickly.

Adding that pinch of urgency is crucial.  Urgency gets people to act. Urgency gets people to call their friends. Urgency creates motivation.

Emotional Motivator #5:  Appeal to a Higher Purpose

Finally, appeal to a higher purpose or vision.

This vision could be something as big as saving the world. Help the world by signing up to your cause.

Or it could also be the higher purpose or vision of a specific person. Instead of just making money to get rich, call on your audience to become wealthy so they can do what they were meant to do in the world.

Altruism and long-term visions are inherently motivating. If you can tie them into your vision, you’ll be able to greatly increase the motivational power of your message.

P.S. Want to learn more about using emotional motivators to make people want to buy?  Here are my 3 favorite books on the topic: Buy Now by Rick Cesari & Ron Lynch (a really fun read!); Influence by Robert B. Cialdini; and Sleight of Mouth by Robert Dilts.